By Lilly Lewin Drinking from Easter Cups… THE CUP OF PEACE It’s still Easter… the season of Easter. We are closing out week three and beginning week …
FreerangeFriday: Drinking in Peace and Forgiveness
Well done, Malcolm… your take on patriotism is a balm for my soul that has grown weary of the idolatrous nationalism in this nation…
On St. George’s day my thoughts turn again to Hatley St. George. Lockdown has eased a little and it can be visited again, as it continues its silent witness. And one part of that witness is to declare that we have been through this before. Our churches have stood and held and deepened the faith for us through other times of pestilence, through change and crisis as deep as this, a witness ‘in all the changes and chances of this fleeting world’ to the deeper things that abide.
If St. George, as our patron saint, inspires English patriotism, then I’d say my own patriotism is not about wrapping one political party or another in the flag. It was certainly not about ‘Brexit, that kerfuffle that seems so irrelevant now. But rather it is about loving the little particularites of my native land. Not the big nationalist rhetoric or the…
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Thomas Merton wrote the following about Contemplation and transcultural dialogue… The finally integrated man is a peacemaker, and that is why there is such a desperate need for our leaders to become such men of insight. (Contemplation in a World of Action, 226)
In a world of fractures and division, the need for leaders who are both contemplative and truly open to active listening and dialogue is critical. Aren’t we all called to be such leaders? This isn’t the exclusive realm of pastors and religious leaders. This is God’s call to all of Her creation.
This is rich food for thought, prayer, and discernment.
Now, as I consider the call to be that peacemaker, I lift this prayer to God.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long and varied day of ministry
Meetings, reflection, prayer, and struggles
Finding ways to Be Still and listen for the Spirit’s whisper
Finally finding some rest with my sweetheart and our puppy
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…
Thomas Merton’s prayer seems to be appropriate for those who serve God in these challenging times… it surely speaks to my own heart this night
Almighty and merciful God… teach us to be long suffering in anguish and insecurity. Teach us to wait and trust. Grant light, grant strength and patience to all who work for peace… **
And now I lift this humble prayer to you
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a good day of minisrry
There have been challenges too
Through it all, you have been present, Lord
For your presence I am thankful
For my sweetheart and our puppy I am thankful
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…
** from his book Passion for Peace shared in Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours (p. 133)
“Nonviolence is a common sense insight and a practice that everyone can apply; and, if we hope to get ahead of some of the violence in our lives and change conditions that lead to it―we need to practice it every day.”—Susan L. Allen
| Verse of the day So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9 |
| Voice of the day None of us should feel able to breathe fully or easily in our nation until all of us are able to breathe free from the evils of racism and police brutality. – Rev. Adam Russell Taylor |
| Prayer of the day Holy One, there is still much work to be done. The struggle for justice stretches out before us today just as it did yesterday and in days gone by. Give us strength to continue the struggle today, tomorrow, and until your kin-dom comes. – Adapted from Rev. Diane Moffet |
In Thomas Merton’s The Hidden Ground of Love: Letters, I found this gem. We do not know we are full of paradise because we are so full of our own noise that we cannot hear God singing us and all things into being. (p. 11)
As I completed my last class Zoom meeting, turned in my paper, and withdrew from the Doctoral program, I felt a sense of relief. It offered more noise than life to me. Now I can sit and embrace the silence of paradise that Merton is talking about. With that in mind, I offer this evening’s prayer.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
After a long but good day of ministry
A day which included much good fellowship
After the last presentation was made
After the final paper was turned in
I felt the gift of your peace and a sense of relief, Lord
Help me to step back and sense
Sense the calm of your presence
Help me to find more moments to Be Still
As I prepare for sleep I lift this prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
God cannot be found by weighing the present against the future or the past, but only by sinking into the heart of the present as it is.
As I contemplate Sister Moon’s journey across the sky, I can’t help but think of these words of Thomas Merton from his journal.**
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long but fruitful day
I am thankful for impromptu pastoral visits
I am thankful for time to reflect and finish the final paper for class
I am thankful for moments to simply Be Still
I am thankful for snuggle time with my sweetheart and our puppy
I am thankful for this present moment
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…
**Entering the Silence as found on page 83 of Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours
“Nonviolence is a necessary part of the mere foundation for the demanding, scared task of building the Beloved Community. Surely we would admit that our high-tech bombs and missiles are made of our fears, racism, sexism, and overwhelming greed. Are we not called to a thorough re-arranging of our lives for lasting non-cooperation with violence?”—Leonard Desroches, Allow the Water
| Verse of the day Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. – Proverbs 10:12 (NIV) |
| Voice of the day I firmly believe that hatred, like anger, works on the physical glandular system as well as on the moral fiber of our nation, and in doing so, can bring no positive good. – Margaret Walker, How I Wrote Jubilee and Other Essays on Life and Literature (1990) |
| Prayer of the day Lord, give us tender hearts that refuse to be hardened by hate. May your Spirit show us how to love others with mercy and grace. Let our words and actions reflect your most holy nature. |
