Psalm 97
1 The Lord rules! Let the
earth rejoice!
Let all the islands
celebrate!
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround God.
His throne is built on
righteousness and justice.
3 Fire proceeds before him,
burning up his enemies
on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees it and
trembles!
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the
whole world!
6 Heaven has proclaimed God’s righteousness,
and all nations have
seen his glory.
7 All those who worship images,
those who are proud of
idols,
are put to shame.
All gods bow down to the
Lord!
8 Zion has heard and celebrates,
the towns of Judah
rejoice,
because of your acts of
justice, Lord,
9 because you, Lord, are
the Most High
over all the
earth,
because you are so
superior to all other gods.
10 Those of you who love the Lord, hate evil!
God guards the lives of
his faithful ones,
delivering them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light is planted like seed for the righteous person;
joy too for those whose
heart is right.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, righteous ones!
Give thanks to his holy
name!
Today, we
offer these voices about life, living, and faith.
Where do
you turn for wisdom and for discernment?
In
the Desert
Alessandro Pronzato
In the desert the most urgent thing is--to wait. The desert does not
take kindly to those who tackle it at breakneck speed, subjecting it to their
plans and deadlines. Instead, the desert welcomes those who shed their sandals
of speed and walk slowly in their bare feet, letting them be caressed and burnt
by the sand. If you have no ambition to conquer the desert, if you do not think
you are in charge, if you can calmly wait for things to be done, then the
desert will not consider you an intruder and will reveal its secrets to you.
Source:
Meditations on the Sand
Naturally
Reverent
Macrina Wiederkehr
We are naturally reverent beings, but much of our natural reverence
has been torn away from us because we have been born into a world that hurries.
There is no time to be reverent with the earth or with each other. We are all
hurrying into progress. And for all our hurrying we lose sight of our true
nature a little more each day.
Source:
Radical Grace, the Center for Action and Contemplation
Learning
to Do Nothing
Alan Jones
One of the best-known sayings of the desert fathers is
this: "In Scetis, a brother went to see Abba Moses and begged him for
a word. And the old man said, 'Go and sit in your cell, and your cell will
teach you everything.'"
Sitting in one's cell is like resting in one's grave. It can feel
like death. It is learning to do nothing, and indeed, to be nothing: to
be, like Abraham, one who is as good as dead. It was then, remember, that God
called him out of his deadness to make him into a great people.
The desert truly stretches, breaks unto death, and remakes the soul.
It challenges us with one basic command: "Go and sit in your cell,
and your cell will teach you everything."
Source:
Soul Making
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