“A society that lacks people of vision is a society certain of its end. Perhaps the crisis in our country, our church, our world today is a result of a lack of dreamers . . . to open our minds . . . to strengthen our hearts . . . and to employ new energies to change our society.”—Leonardo Boff
Verse of the day
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”
– Matthew 19:14
Voice of the day
Banning books will not protect students. It will only cause them harm and hinder our ability to share the gospel.
– Ryan Duncan, “How Book Bans Hurt Kids and Hinder the Gospel“
Prayer of the day
Remind us of your instruction to welcome children’s hunger for knowledge — to recognize the kingdom of heaven within each of them.
You are not what you do, although you do a lot. You are not what you have collected in terms of friendships and connections, although you might have many. You are not the popularity that you have received. You are not the success of your work. You are not what people say about you, whether they speak well or whether they speak poorly about you. All these things that keep you quite busy, quite occupied, and often quite preoccupied are not telling the truth about who you are. I am here to remind you in the name of God that you are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God, and that God says to you, “I have called you from all eternity and you are engraved from all eternity in the palms of my hands. You are mine. You belong to me, and I love you with an everlasting love.”
The words of Jesus “Set your hearts on God’s kingdom first . . . and all other things will be given you as well” summarize best the way we are called to live our lives. With our hearts set on God’s kingdom. That kingdom is not some faraway land that we hope to reach, nor is it life after death or an ideal state of affairs. No. God’s Kingdom is, first of all, the active presence of God’s Spirit within us, offering us the freedom we truly desire.
And so the main question becomes: how do we set our hearts on the Kingdom first when our hearts are preoccupied with so many things? Somehow a radical change of heart is required, a change that allows us to experience the reality of our existence from God’s place.
Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don’t you often hope: “May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country, or relationship fulfill my deepest desire”? But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burnout.
Verse of the day
Now may the God of peace give you peace at all times and in every circumstance. God be with you all!
– 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (The Inclusive Bible)
Voice of the day
We believers do not lose hope for a glimmer of conscience in those who hold the destinies of the world in their hands.
– Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Prayer of the day
Take any hate and acts of impulse from us; / make leaders wise, amid competing claims. / May we seek peace, O God of love and justice; / may love and mercy be our highest aims.
– Carolyn Winfrey Gillette “We Pray for Peace”
As I watch events unfolding in the Ukraine with a very heavy heart, I am reminded of history. When a ruthless dictator is allowed to wreak havoc without restraint, the common people are crushed in order to satisfy the hubris of a megalomaniac. Have we forgotten the lessons of the 1930’s and 1940’s? What about Mr. Gorbachev, tear down the wall? I well remember the Cold War and how the insanity of potential thermonuclear destruction was very real. Have we learned nothing from our past? Or are we condemned to repeat it in a new generation?
As I contemplate and pray… as I seek to see the light of peaceful and let that light shine on and through me, I am revisiting some mentors.
When I pray for peace, I pray not only that the enemies of my own country may cease to want war, but above all that my country will cease to do the things that make war inevitable. – Thomas Merton (New Seeds of Contemplation)
I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. – President Dwight D Eisenhower (Address before the Canadian Club, Ottawa, Canada, 1/10/46)
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time, there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed . . . I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other. – Thomas Merton (New Seeds of Contemplation)
As much as the world has an instinct for evil and is a breeding ground for genocide, holocaust, slavery, racism, war, oppression, and injustice, the world has an even greateer instinct for goodness, rebirth, mercy, beauty, truth, freedom and love. – Archbishop Desmond Tutu
My Lord God, may this world be guided by your Spirit of peace. I fervently pray that we may beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. For the sake of the innocents caught in the crossfire… Dona Nobis Pacem et in Terra.
“The nonviolent person does not seek an impossible compromise with the times, nor a prior, intemperate synthesis for the times. The nonviolent person sees life in terms of a choice toward change, involving a re-ordering of life.”—Daniel Berrigan
Verse of the day
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
Voice of the day
It is possible to become discouraged about the injustice we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. [God] gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on this earth. It is an awesome opportunity.
– Cesar Chavez, “Statement by Cesar Chavez at the end of his 24-day fast for justice” (1972)
Prayer of the day
In this world of injustice, may we reach toward one another in encouragement and love.
“We are so accustomed to having the texts we need readily available, that I often wonder what it would be like if those words didn’t live on paper digitally but were inscribed on our hearts.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
How might you be shaped by the invitation of words learned by heart rather than continually accessed as text?
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