Second Spring

"Autumn is a second spring

when every leaf is a flower."

-  Albert Camus

tail chasing

"Only our own search for happiness prevents us from seeing it.

It is like a vivid rainbow which you pursue without ever catching it,

or a dog chasing it's own tail.

Although peace and happiness do not exist as an actual thing or place,

they are always available, and accompany you every instant."

- Gendun Rinpoche

 

for more Eliot adventures click here

world council prayer

Prayer of the World Council of Churches
Vancouver Assembly, 1983

"Eternal God whose image lies in the hearts of all people,
We live among peoples whose ways are different from ours,
whose faiths are foreign to us, whose tongues are unintelligible to us.
Help us to remember
that you love all people with your great love,
that all religion is an attempt to respond to you,
that the yearnings of other hearts are much like our own and are known to you.
Help us to recognize you in
the words of truth,
the things of beauty,
the actions of love about us.
We pray through Christ,
who is a stranger to no one land more than another,
and to every land no less than another."

thanks to Josh at "The Daily Office West."

 

Dandelion Light

"Killing Jesus was like trying

to destroy a dandelion seed-head by blowing on it.

It was like shattering a sun

into a million fragments of light."

-Walter Wink

from Engaging the Powers, p. 143

 

and we are all those dandelion seeds and fragments of light!

Isn't that a delightful thought?

May we continue to plant seeds of love.

May we remember to shine as God's light.

 

 

Hildegard's Feast

Hildegard, whose feast day we celebrate today,

was born in 1098 in the German town of Bingen.

Hildegard was a mystic, a theologian, composer, preacher, Benedictine abbess, prophet,

writer of scientific journals, ecologist, inventor, & psychologist...just to name a few.

Several days ago I attended my first Hildegard of Bingen tea party.

We listened to several of her musical compositions while discussing her visions

which were known as "illuminations" & it became very clear that

Hildegard has much to offer the church of today. 

Here is a quote:

"God's soul is the wind rustling plants and leaves,

the dew dancing on the grass,

the rainy breezes making everything to grow.

Just like this, the kindness of a person flows,

touching those dragging burdens of longing.

We should be a breeze helping the homeless,

dew comforting those who are depressed,

the cool, misty air refreshing the exhausted,

and with God's teaching we have got to feed the hungry.

This is how we share God's soul."

 

- Hildegard of Bingen, Hymn -

from A Little Daily Wisdom by Carmen Butcher, p.195

 

mandala by Hildegard - Wheel of Life

prayer for the soul

"The soul that You have given me, O God, is a pure one!

You have created and formed it, breathed it into me,

and within me You sustain it.

So long as I have breath, therefore, I will give thanks to You,

O Lord my God and God of all ages, Master of all creation,

Lord of every human spirit.

Blessed is the Lord, in whose hands are the souls of all the living

and the spirits of all flesh."

 

 Gates of Prayer, The New Union Prayerbook, p.53

 

photo from here

 

behold & inhabit

 

"The ultimate goal of prayer is to learn to behold yourself

with the same gentleness, pride, expectation, and compassion

with which the divine presence beholds you at every moment.

If we can inhabit that reflex of divine presence,

then compassion will flow naturally from us."

-John O'Donohue

 

photo is from here.

cat courage...

"It takes courage to do what you want.

Other people have a lot of plans for you."

-Joseph Campbell

do no harm

"Here is a guideline to practicing truthfulness.

Bear in mind that the truth is always beneficial,

but that a statement of fact may be either beneficial or harmful.

If there is a chance that a statement will do harm,

it must not be considered a truth in the highest sense.

If you cannot speak sincerely without the risk of inflicting harm,

the best alternative is to remain silent."

-Donald Waters

calligraphy from here

bending towards reconciliation

Today's Gospel is from Matthew 18: 15-20  in which we learn how to resolve conflict. (Go alone to see what you can do & if that doesn't work? Bring witnesses & if that doesn't work? Tell the church & if that doesn't work? Treat them like a Gentile or tax collector, i.e. love them!)

 "Forgiving Lord, I do not want my enemies forgiven. 

 I want you to kill them (as sometimes prays the psalmist!).

Actually, I would prefer to pray that you punish them

rather than kill them, since I would like to watch them suffer. 

Also, I fear losing my enemies,

since my hates are more precious to me than my loves. 

If I lost my hates, my enemies,

how would I know who I am? 

Yet you have bent us toward reconciliation,

that we may be able to pass one another Christ's peace. 

It is a terrible thing to ask of us. 

I'm sure I cannot do it, but you are a wily God able to accomplish miracles. 

May we be struck alive with the miracle of your grace,

even to being reconciled with ourselves.  Amen."

from Prayers Plainly Spoken, by Stanley Hauerwas, p. 95

Scripture source: Matthew 18:15-20

Cartoon source:  AgnusDay.org

Ouch!

 

"If you are pierced by a thorn,

you can remove it forever with a needle,

but to get rid of an internal attitude,

you must see clearly

the mistaken beliefs

on which it is based."

 

- The Dalai Lama

 

poor little fella:(