The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long and emotionally draining day, Lord
Yet in the midst of it there was profound sharing and love
As we walk with our fathers through this challenging time
Give us grace to see the light in the midst of the Valley of the Shadows
Give us compassion to walk with them despite the challenges
Give us strength to support, love, and encourage
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Verse of the day
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” – Luke 16:10
Voice of the day
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. – Arthur Ashe
Prayer of the day
Empower me
to be a bold participant,
rather than a timid saint in waiting,
in the difficult ordinariness of now. – Ted Loder
“As people heard about the wisdom of those entering the desert, many people followed these ammas and abbas, seeking them out, asking them for wisdom and guidance for a meaningful life.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD,Breath Prayer: An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred will be published by Broadleaf Books on October 12th
What question are you bringing to the ammas and abbas in your spiritual search for a meaningful life?
I shared the quote below from Thomas Merton on July 26, 2021. Once again or spoke to my heart today.
God, Who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present. — No Man Is an Island (p. 250)
This has been a difficult week for Denise, her brother, and me as we walk this journey with our Dads. To be honest, I have felt the “absence” of God a lot this week. Yet my friend, brother, and mentor, Fr. Louis (Thomas Merton’s chosen name when he joined the monastery, The Abbey of our Lady of Gethsemani) has spoken to me often in the midst of darkness and struggle.
I am thankful for the community of faith, who continues to walk with us through the Valley of the Shadows. So many are praying with us and for us. So many are on this journey with us.
Not only is God present when She may feel absent to me; She is fully present in my dear family of faith ❤️
For this communion of Saints I am forever grateful! You are present to us, O God, in the Communion of Saints❣️🌹
…Merton’s point is that war is rarely — if ever — the right answer to the world’s problems. If we didn’t see that in Vietnam when Saigon fell after more than 10 years of American involvement and the loss of 55,000 U.S. soldiers and countless Vietnamese lives, perhaps we can see it now in Afghanistan where two decades of war has caused the deaths of an estimated 100,000 Afghan citizens, American and coalition troops, and militant fighters.
— Read on judithvalente.medium.com/what-thomas-merton-can-help-us-understand-about-the-afghan-crisis-9b3ffd10c67e
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long Lord’s day
Walking with my Dad through a difficult day
Denise walking with her Dad through an even more difficult day
We are both thankful that we can be with them as they traverse the Valley of the Shadows
We miss each other so much, but we are where we need to be
Right now that is in Minnesota and Alabama
As the end of a long day comes
As we look to a challenging week ahead
Lord, in your mercy, hear this humble prayer I offer for both of us and our Dads
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“Now let us sing Alleluia, not in the enjoyment of heavenly rest, but to sweeten our toil. Sing as travelers sing along the road; but keep on walking. Solace your toil by singing—do not yield to idleness. Sing but keep on walking. What do I mean by walking? I mean, press on from good to better. The apostle says there are some who go from bad to worse. But if you press on, you keep on walking. Go forward then in virtue, and in true faith in right conduct. Sing up—and keep on walking.”—St. Augustin, Sermon 256
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long day for so many, Lord
A very dear friend had to say her last goodbye to her mother
We will continue to carry the family in our hearts as they walk through the Valley of the Shadows
Our Dad’s continue their journey towards healing
Denise and I continue our long days of support and encouragement from Minnesota and Alabama
As HRH Queen Pixie looks on approvingly
And as my eyelids grow heavy I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“When it is genuine, when it is born of the need to speak, no one can stop the human voice. When denied a mouth, it speaks with the hands or the eyes, or the pores, or anything at all. Because every single one of us has something to say to the others, something that deserves to be celebrated.”—Eduardo Galeano
“Perhaps the greatest gift of monastic practice and its careful guidance to the heart of stillness is to immerse us in a way of being and perceiving the world that moves us past finding value solely in our doing.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Breath Prayer: An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred will be published by Broadleaf Books on October 12th
When do you make time and space to discover the immense riches in your very being, resting your efforts to achieve something, to produce?
