“The individual has to wake up to the fact that violence cannot end violence; that only understanding and compassion can neutralize violence, because with the practice of loving speech and compassionate listening we can begin to understand people and help people to remove the wrong perceptions in them, because these wrong perceptions are at the foundation of their anger, their fear, their violence, their hate.”—Thich Nhat Hanh
“(The Early Church Community) was a community fully alive in the exploration of the meaning of genuine inner power (dunamis) and genuine socially sanctioned power (exousia); a church exploring the meaning of holy disobedience.”—Leonard Desroches
Verse of the day
“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”
– Psalm 46:10
Voice of the day
Solitude with God repairs the damage done by the fret and noise and clamour of the world.
– Oswald Chambers, Christian Disciplines, Volume 2 (1965)
Prayer of the day
In this clamorous life, may we find refreshment and peace in you.
If you were to ask me point-blank: “What does it mean to you to live spiritually?” I would have to reply: “Living with Jesus at the center.” . . . When I look back over the last thirty years of my life, I can say that, for me, the person of Jesus has come to be more and more important. Specifically, this means that what matters increasingly is getting to know Jesus and living in solidarity with him.
A powerful and timely quote for our current times… Genie and Bob offer wonderful daily inspiration through their blog (blog link)
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”―…
Strive to Become Better
“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.
