Love, Justice, and Mercy… these are qualities that are much needed in today’s world. The first time I visited the Civil Right’s Memorial outside of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama was in 1990 when I was attending a course at the USAF Chaplain Service Institute. The monument (designed by Maya Lin who also designed the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, DC) reminds me of the dream of Dr King and the call of Jesus to be instruments of God’s blessing and reconciliation.
— Read on godspacelight.com/2019/03/21/love-justice-mercy/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Today was a day of preparation
Preparation for a funeral
Preparation for worship
Preparation for Holy Week
It was also a day of reflection
Being open to God’s presence
Even the presence in the sheer silence
Tonight was also a chance to consider
Consider how our society marginalizes
Consider how we bury the poor in a mire of bureaucracy
Consider how we demonize those who aren’t like us
Consider how we fail to see in the face of a stranger, a sister or brother
Lord, open the eyes of our hearts
Lord, soften our hearts with your grace
Lord, make us instruments of your peace
Lord, bind your children together in your love
In your mercy, hear this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem et in Terra
Grant Us Peace on Earth
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
It was a holy moment to stand before his grave in Durham…
On the 20th of March we remember with thanksgiving St. Cuthbert, the great Apostle of the North, in whose honour the Lindesfarne Gospels were made and on whose breast was found the beautiful Gospel of St. John which is our oldest complete book. Indeed, I was inspired to write a sonnet about the experience of standing in front of Cuthbert’s copy of St. John, which you can read Here.
Cuthbert, or ‘Cuddy’ as he is known affectionately in the North, was a man whose whole life was shaped and lived in and by the Gospel, by reconciliation, by good news for the poor and supremely by that free movement of the Holy spirit, flowing like water, and like the wind, blowing where it listeth. Though Cuthbert worked tirelessly for the church and for the poor he was at heart a hermit and a mystic, in intimate communion with God…
View original post 260 more words
I walk the labyrinth to you.
Catching sight of your smile,
as though across a room.I make my way but
my feet are slow,
tied to the ground.
— Read on godspacelight.com/2019/03/20/labyrinth-a-poem-for-lent/
God of our weary years and our silent tears,
We are shattered by the deaths of 49 Muslim neighbors in New Zealand,
cut down in the midst of Friday prayers.
— Read on www.presbyterianmission.org/story/a-prayer-in-the-aftermath-of-the-49-muslim-worshipers-murdered-in-christchurch/
“The fertility and flowering of spring speaks of an abundantly creative God who is at the source of the potent life force beating at the heart of the world. Created in God’s image, we are called to participate in this generous creativity ourselves. Our own flowering leads us to share our gifts in service to others.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year – A Self-Study Online Retreat
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It was good to spend time in the National Park
To see our four-legged neighbors
To simply enjoy the beauty of your creation
To recharge worn out batteries
To simply Be Still
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…
God, for centuries we have imagined that between us and you
Were distance and difference,
Silence and judgement,
And ultimately, walls.
— Read on godspacelight.com/2019/03/19/litany-for-breaking-down-walls/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A day of reflection and preparation
A time for study and a time for prayer
A time to visit a dear friend in hospital
A time to celebrate healing and recovery
A time tonight to remember a mentor
Hear his words of challenge and hope
Keep alive the dream; for as long as an individual has a dream in their heart, they cannot lose the significance of living. — Howard Thurman (Meditations of the Heart)
In your mercy, hear this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
