The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long day, Lord
It was good to be at work for a while
Yet tonight my fever returns as COVID appears to linger
As I pray for our community, nation, and world
I pray for sanity and mutual care and cooperation
I pray that the light of the Prince of Peace will indeed shine in this darkness
Lord in your mercy, hear this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“Every day nonviolence invites us to move . . .
From mechanistic to organic
From dualistic to holistic
From event to process
From react to reframe
From extremes to complexity
From fragmented to integrated
From unhealthy to sustainable
From violence to wholeness.” —Pace e Bene
“When we practice watchfulness, we become aware of the wonder that surrounds us. Walking the path of wonder is a radical act in a world numbed by cynicism and despair.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Earth, Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
What holy surprises await you when you pay attention?
“We learn to practice nonviolence one step at a time, one choice at a time, one day at a time. Through our daily nonviolent choices and actions we each, in our own way, move the world in a direction of peace.”—L.A. Season for Nonviolence
Verse of the day
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.
– Matthew 6:28
Voice of the day
Consider the lilies of the field, my friend — their beauty as well as their impermanence. Their lack of competition. Their stunning diversity. Let’s imagine a world with fewer thrones, more fields.
– Rev. Kyndall Rae Rothaus, Thy Queendom Come (2021)
Prayer of the day May I be like one of your lilies, always turning toward the field.
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”—Arthur Schopenhauer
Yes, the calendar has turned over and I am getting used to writing 2022 instead of 2021. It is one day out of 365 days. While it is a significant marker in the Roman Calendar calendar, it is just another day. I keep telling myself that, especially as I review the previous year both personally and professionally. Testing positive for the Omicron variant of COVID on the morning of December 26th threw an immediate monkey wrench into our lives. From having to cancel worship on a few hours notice to postponing my father-in-law’s inurnment on the 27th; life once again turned upside down. I believe this had been the calling card for 2021 — hold my beer and watch this! Our lives had indeed been turned upside down from early January and it continued right up until New Years Eve!
This blog isn’t a personal pity party for Padre, honest! I know that so many folks are facing continuing difficulties and that their troubles are far worse than mine. What I also know is that like others, I am seeking to make sense of 2021 (2020 as well!) whilst finding my footing in 2022. One of my Christmas presents to myself (not actually but it did arrive just before Christmas!) was a copy of Thomas Merton’s book Cables to the Ace or Familiar Liturgies of Misunderstanding. In it Merton mixes poetry, irony, sarcasm, theology, culture, and musings on the state of things in 1967 into a very interesting read. While there is a lot of darkness in his prose and poetry, I did find this gem that spoke to me of hope.
My worship is a blue sky and ten thousand crickets in the deep wet hay of the field. My vow is the silence under their song. I admire the woodpecker and the dove in simple mathematics of flight. Together we study practical norms. The plowed and planted field is red as a brick in the sun and says: ‘Now my turn.’ (p. 6)
Before the thunderstorms that are predicted for this evening here in West Georgia I might just sit outside and listen to the sound of the wind chimes (which remind Denise and me of her mother and mine) and perhaps hear the singing of the birds. As we walk into this new year, perhaps we should remember what Lao Tzu once said: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Let’s take that first step together, dear reader, let’s take that first step. In the words of the blessing that I use for Evening Prayer: Dona nobis pacem, grant us peace dear Lord, grant us peace.
Words of hope and inspiration from my friend and colleague in ministry John Pavlovitz
Hello Friends,
As we prepare to change the calendar and move into another year, it’s natural to rewind and reflect upon the twelve months we’ve just walked through (or in some cases limped through).
If you’re like me, this time last year you imagined 2021 would have seen us all leaving behind the isolation, restrictions, and fears of the previous year; that we would be largely rid of this pandemic nightmare and these political firestorms, and be enjoying a return to something resembling normalcy. You likely feel the same disappointment that we’re still dealing with both the virus and with people who seem determined to perpetuate it.
Read further at https://mailchi.mp/johnpavlovitz/the-most-important-year-of-your-life?e=7bdeddb6cc
Verse of the day
[God] loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
– Psalm 33:5
Voice of the day
Justice is not something we form or fashion. It is woven by God into the very fabric of creation.
– Curtis Ramsey-Lucas
Prayer of the day May we recognize justice as God’s intent for creation.
Verse of the day
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
– Proverbs 13:12
Voice of the day
Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.
– Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark(2004)
Prayer of the day Let us extend our hope into action, rooted and outstretched like a tree.
