What is that which shines though me, and strikes upon my heart without hurting it? And I shudder and kindle: shudder, in as much I am unlike it; kindle, in as much as I am like it. It is Wisdom, Wisdom's self which thus shines into me; even breaking through my cloudiness: which yet again overshadows me fainting from it, under the fog and heavy load of mine own punishment.
-St.Augustine: Confessions.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me
Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.
I can’t remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can’t remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.
This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful, He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful to me.
Keep us, Lord, so awake in the duties of our callings that we may sleep in thy peace and wake in thy glory.
-John Donne: Sermons.
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
- Isaiah 30:18
"The seeking is common—that every soul may have with his grace—and ought to have that discretion and teaching of the Holy Church. It is God's will that we have three things in our seeking:—The first is that we seek willfully and busily, without sloth, as it may be through his grace, gladly and merrily without unskilful heaviness and vain sorrow. The seconds is, that we abide him steadfastly for his love, without grudging and striving against him, to our life's end: for it shall last but a while. The third is that we trust in him mightily of full sure faith, for it is his will. We know he shall appear suddenly and blissfully to all that be his lovers."
-Juliana of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love
“If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence.”
— Bertrand Russell, Roads to Freedom
"There is nothing to fear except the persistent refusal to find out the truth, the persistent refusal to analyze the causes of happenings."
-Dorothy Thompson
“Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry, your body from abuse. Live simply; expect little; give much. Think of the other person; forget yourself. Always do as you would be done by.”
"Let love be real, in giving and receiving,
without the need to manage and to own;
a haven free from posing and pretending,
where every weakness may be safely known.
Give me your hand, along the desert pathway,
give me your love wherever we may go:
as God loves us, so let us love each other,
with no demands, just open hands and space to grow.
Let love be real, not grasping or confining,
that strange embrace that holds yet sets us free;
that helps us face the risk of truly living,
and makes us brave to be what we might be.
Give me your strength when all my words are weakness,
give me your love in spite of all you know:
as God loves us, so let us love each other,
with no demands, just open hands and space to grow.
Let love be real, with no manipulation,
no secret wish to harness or control;
let us accept each other's incompleteness,
and share the joy of learning to be whole.
Give me your hope through dreams and disappointments,
give me your trust when all my failings show:
as God loves us, so let us love each other,
with no demands, just open hands and space to grow."
-from donec requiescat in te
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world. So that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
