A word from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase Bible, The Message. Food for thought…
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” — Matthew 11:28-30
As I watched the sun set this evening after a long and complex day I actually breathed a sigh of relief. Denise is back home and my Dad is back in his apartment following a hospital visit. We continue to listen for the Spirit’s call to go deeper into the life God calls us to live. That is why Thomas Merton’s words from his journal spoke to me this evening.
The wonder of being brought, by God, around a corner and to realize a new road is opening up, perhaps—which He alone knows. And that there is no way of traveling it but in Christ and with Him. This is joy and peace—whatever happens. The result does not matter. I have something to do for Him and, if I do that, everything else will follow. — A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk’s True Life, January 23 and 24, 1958
Will you join me dear reader as we respond together to the Spirit’s nudging and call?
Verse of the day
I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
– Joshua 1:9
Voice of the day
Be courageous. Be kind. Be hopeful about your ability to bring about a better world.
– Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss
Prayer of the day
May I act with my hope and kindness, shaping a more just world in my own way.
Solitude is something to be cherished. It is also something that is found close to home. It is found within you. That has been and continues to be a challenge for me. Merton reminded me of this gift within each one of us. It is there where one can also find sabbath rest and refreshment.
Solitude is not found so much by looking outside the boundaries of your dwelling, as by staying within. Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for solitude in the present, you will never find it. — Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer: The Journals of Thomas Merton, (volume 2: January 2–3, 1950)
Dear reader, my prayer for you and for me is that the Spirit will indeed guide each of us in that search for solitude and sabbath rest.
Verse of the day
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
– Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
Voice of the day
There is no path to peace, but peace itself is the path.
– Richard Rohr, OFM, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (2007)
Prayer of the day
Help us to forge the path of peace. May it lead us toward justice and reconciliation.
Verse of the day
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
– 1 John 4:7-8
Voice of the day
The whole cosmos is a Self-giving of God. And we will find our place in the great dance only to the extent that we love.
– J. Philip Newell, Christ of the Celts(2008)
Prayer of the day May my love for others direct the search for my place in the cosmos.
This picture is from our time in Florence, Alabama after Denise’s father’s death whilst we were working on sorting out his estate. It continues to be a challenge for my sweet partner in life and faith. The challenge continues into this new year. This prayer shines a light for us as we walk this pathway together.
Guide us, our great Mentor, through the ups and downs of life. Strengthen us to leave behind what hinders our calling, and to keep moving
toward ever-greater reality.
A prayer from Tree of Life: Celtic Prayers to the Universal Christ by Ray Simpson (p. 35)
There are days when one wonders… when one struggles to recover the plot or the path. On those days, this is a beautiful reminder:
The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them. – Thomas Merton (No Man Is an Island p. 168)
Thank you, Thomas Merton, for this reminder ♥️
“It’s not you who should solve my problems, God,
but I yours, God of the asylum-seekers.
It’s not you who should feed the hungry,
but I who should protect your children
from the terror of the banks and armies.
It’s not you who should make room for the refugees,
but I who should receive you,
hardly hidden God of the desolate.
You dreamed me, God,
Practicing walking upright
and learning to kneel down,
more beautiful that I am now,
happier than I dare to be,
freer than our country allows.
Don’t stop dreaming me, God.
I don’t want to stop remembering
that I am your tree,
planted by the streams
of living water.”
—Dorothee Soelle
“Monastic tradition has taught me the treasure offered in the rise and fall of each day and the invitation to tend the gift and quality of each moment.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, The Artist’s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
In which part of your day do you most often find “treasure?”
