Verse of the day All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. – Acts 2:4
Voice of the day
[The] way that racism so deeply shapes American society, it really is impossible to imagine building a genuine multiracial movement without taking up the specific grievances of Black people, which cannot just simply be reduced to questions of class. – Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Prayer of the day
Holy God, you spoke the world into being. Pour your Spirit to the ends of the earth, that your children may return from exile as citizens of your commonwealth, and our divisions may be healed by your word of love and righteousness.
– From Revised Common Lectionary Prayers
“When I think of Jesus I think of someone who was constantly passionate; I think of all his experiences as part of His Passion: the stories He told, the miracles He performed, the sermons He delivered, the suffering He endured, the death He experienced. His whole life was a Passion—the energy, the love, the attention He gave to so many people, friends and enemies alike.”—Dorothy Day
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It was a good day of ministry and reflection
It was also a day to contemplate your calling, Lord
At times ministry is incredibly challenging
Yet you promise to be with us
You invite us to simply Be Still
In the words of Thomas Merton:
Let there be a place somewhere in which you can breathe naturally, quietly, and not have to take your breath in continuous short gasps. A place where your mind can be idle, and forget its concerns, descend into silence, and worship the Father in secret. There can be no contemplation where there is no secret. (Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours, p. 137… originally from New Seeds of Contemplation, pp. 82-83)
I thank you Lord for that secret place to simply Be Still and know that you are God
Be Still and know
Be Still
Be
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…
“Violence draws life from the endless stories that push its power. But things can work the other way too. Stories of the nonviolent option can unexpectedly seep into our right brain, disturb the certitude of the violence operating system, and open breathing space.”—Ken Butigan
| Verse of the day Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. – Joel 2:28-29 |
| Voice of the day If democracy means freedom why aren’t our people free? If democracy means justice why don’t we have justice? If democracy means equality then why don’t we have equality? – Malcolm X (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) |
| Prayer of the day May God bless everything that you do. May you grow intellectually so that you can understand the problems of the world and where you fit into that world picture. May all the fear that has ever been in your heart be taken out. – Adapted from Malcolm X |
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
When your body and spirit are tired and drained
When you aren’t quite sure what to pray
Spirit intercedes on our behalf
She calls us to simply Be Still
Even in the darkness the light does shine
This prayer of Thomas Merton speaks volumes and speaks to my heart
O God, teach me to be satisfied with my own helplessness in the spiritual life. Teach me to be content with Your grace that comes to me in darkness and that works things I cannot see. Teach me to be happy that I can depend on You. To depend on You should be enough for an eternity of joy. To depend on You by itself ought to be infinitely greater than any joy which my own intellectual appetite could desire. — Dialogues with Silence
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…
“I think that nonviolence resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and human dignity. It has a way of disarming the opponent. It exposes his moral defenses. It weakens his morale and at the same time it works on his conscience.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.
| Verse of the day The hand of YHWH was upon me, and it carried me away by the Spirit of YHWH and set me down in a valley — a valley full of bones. – Ezekiel 37:1 (The Inclusive Bible) |
| Voice of the day Hope and faith are inseparable dance partners in a womanist ethic of care. – Emilie M. Townes, Breaking the Fine Rain of Death |
| Prayer of the day Creator Spirit and Giver of life, make the dry, bleached bones of our lives live and breathe and grow again as you did of old. – From Revised Common Lectionary Prayers |
Thomas Merton shared this piece in No Man Is an Island (p. 18) and it truly resonates with me as this Monday comes to a close.
If we continue to love [God] as our end, but place our hope in something else together with [God], our love and our hopes are not what they should be, for no [man or woman] can serve two masters.
How many times is this choice placed in front of us? Hope and Love… they aren’t conditional, they are a Divine gift. At the end of the day, my hope is in God who’s love is unconditional.
Merely by desiring to love Him, we are beginning to do that which we desire. Freedom is perfect when no other love can impede our desire to love God. — Thomas Merton (No Man Is an Island, p. 18)
It began a few Sundays ago with 1 John 4:21 — The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
The next week it was 1 John 5:2 — By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
This Eastertide has been a season of blessings… a season of challenges… a season for reflection… but most of all, a season to be reminded of God’s love for us and our call to love our neighbor as ourselves… every neighbor.
Learning to love is a process and a journey… it is not a destination. For that I am incredibly thankful as I continue to love and serve the Lord.
