Season Of Lent Quotes

The season of Lent is a participation in God’s life, not an entrance fee to heaven. Our security comes from resting in God’s free gift.

God is not merely at your fingertips but within your grasp. Live each day like a child digging through a treasure chest, rifling for the next discovery. Open your arms and your eyes to the God who stands in plain sight and works miracles in your midst. Look for him in your workdays and weekends, in your meeting-filled Mondays and your lazy Saturdays. Search for him in the snowy sunsets and Sabbaths, seasons of Lent and sitting at your table. Pray for—and expect—wonder. For when you search for God, you will discover him.

These special holidays give rise to various liturgical calendars that suggest we should mark our days not only with the cycles of the moon and seasons, but also with occasions to tell our children the stories of our faith community's past so that this past will have a future, and so that our ancient way and its practices will be rediscovered and renewed every year.

Then too, and this was as romantic as the others, Briartree was the only thing she had ever really owned. Everything else had more or less been lent her; so it seemed. But this was hers, earned by blood, the only good she ever got from being kin to her mother.

Lent is a much-needed mentor in an age obsessed with visible, measurable, manageable, and tweetable increase, for it invites us to walk with Jesus and His disciples through darker seasons that we would rather avoid: grief, conflict, misunderstanding, betrayal, restriction, rejection, and pain. Then Easter leads us in celebration of salvation as the stunningly satisfying fruit of Jesus’ sacred decrease.

The season of Lent is the time for us to take a journey; an inward journey. The season of Lent is as the prophet Joel writes, “a time for us to rend our hearts and not our clothing.” It is a time for self-examination; a time to get to know ourselves a little better. Often times for Lent people will give up a favorite food, or some other form of self-sacrifice. These things are all well and good IF they come from the heart, IF they are a true attempt to re-connect with the Spirit inside us. Otherwise, we are simply “rending” our clothes.

misunderstandings test us. can we say I'm sorry or do we have to stand and fall with our perceptions. help me Lord to stand for what I believe, yet to know that I may not possess all truth. Aquinas after pages of describing You had the blessed humility to end his words 'but not that.

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots. The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship. Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn’t know which was worse — people telling him he’d be brilliant or people telling him they’d be running around underneath him holding a mattress. It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn’t know how he’d have gotten through all his homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.

Easter was late in April that year; my first three tours of trenches occupied me during the last thirty days of Lent. This essential season in the Church calendar was not, as far as I remember, remarked upon by anyone in my company, although the name of Christ was often on our lips, and Mansfield (when a canister made a mess of the trench not many yards away from him) was even heard to refer to our Saviour as ‘murry old Jesus!’ These innocuous blasphemings of the holy name were a peculiar feature of the War, in which the principles of Christianity were either obliterated or falsified for the convenience of all who were engaged in it. Up in the trenches every man bore his own burden; the Sabbath was not made for man; and if a man laid down his life for his friends it was no part of his military duties. To kill an enemy was an effective action; to bring in one of our own wounded was praiseworthy, but unrelated to our war-aims. The Brigade chaplain did not exhort us to love our enemies. He was content to lead off with the hymn ‘How sweet the name of Jesus sounds’!

Holidays: Imagine if the great holidays and seasons of the Christian year were redesigned to emphasize love. Advent would be the season of preparing our hearts to receive God’s love. Epiphany would train us to keep our eyes open for expressions of compassion in our daily lives. Lent would be an honest self-examination of our maturity in love and a renewal of our commitment to grow in it. Instead of giving up chocolate or coffee for Lent, we would stop criticizing or gossiping about or interrupting others. Maundy Thursday would refocus us on the great and new commandment; Good Friday would present the suffering of crucifixion as the suffering of love; Holy Saturday would allow us to lament and grieve the lack of love in our lives and world; and Easter would celebrate the revolutionary power of death-defying love. Pentecost could be an “altar call” to be filled with the Spirit of love, and “ordinary time” could be “extraordinary time” if it involved challenges to celebrate and express love in new ways—to new people, to ourselves, to the earth, and to God—including time to tell stories about our experiences of doing so.

Dear Mr. Beard, On the radio last spring, President Roosevelt said that each and every one of us here on the home front has a battle to fight; We must keep our spirits up. I am doing my best, but in my opinion Liver Gems are a lost cause, because they would take the spirit right out of anyone. So when Mother says it is wrong for us to eat better than our brave men overseas, I tell her that I don't see how eating disgusting stuff helps them in the least. But, Mr. Beard, it is very hard to cook good food when you're only a beginner! When Mother decided it was her patriotic duty to work at the airplane factory, she should have warned me about the recipes. You just can't trust them! Prudence Penny's are so revolting. I want to throw them right into the garbage. Mrs. Davis from next door lent me one of her wartime recipe pamphlets, and I read about liver salmi, which sounded so romantic. But by the time I had cooked the liver for twenty minutes in hot water, cut it into little cubes, rolled them in flour, and sautéed them in fat, I'd made flour footprints all over the kitchen floor. The consommé and cream both hissed like angry cats when I added them. Then I was supposed to add stoned olives and taste for seasoning. I spit it right into the sink.

After my return to Paris, one thing seemed obvious: To see Manhattan again, to feel as good about New York as Liza Minnelli sounded singing about it at Giants Stadium in 1986 (Google it), I had to start treating it as if it were a foreign city; to bring a reporter's eye and habits, care, and attention to daily life. But as that was the sort of vague self-directive easily ignored, I gave myself a specific assignment: Once a week, during routine errands, I would try something new or go someplace I hadn't been in a long while. It could be as quick as a walk past the supposedly haunted brownstone at 14 West 10th Street, where former resident Mark Twain is said to be among the ghosts. It could a stroll on the High Line, the elevated park with birch trees and long grasses growing where freight trains used to roll. Or it could be a snowy evening visit to the New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts flagship on Fifth Avenue, where Pamuk wrote the first sentence of The Museum of Innocence. There I wandered past white marble walls and candelabras, under chandeliers and ornate ceiling murals, through the room with more than ten thousand maps of my city, eventually taking a seat at a communal wood table to read a translation of Petrarch's Life of Solitude, to rare to be lent out. Tourist Tuesdays I called these outings, to no one but myself.

Every once in a while at a restaurant, the dish you order looks so good, you don't even know where to begin tackling it. Such are HOME/MADE's scrambles. There are four simple options- my favorite is the smoked salmon, goat cheese, and dill- along with the occasional special or seasonal flavor, and they're served with soft, savory home fries and slabs of grilled walnut bread. Let's break it down: The scramble: Monica, who doesn't even like eggs, created these sublime scrambles with a specific and studied technique. "We whisk the hell out of them," she says, ticking off her methodology on her fingers. "We use cream, not milk. And we keep turning them and turning them until they're fluffy and in one piece, not broken into bits of egg." The toast: While the rave-worthiness of toast usually boils down to the quality of the bread, HOME/MADE takes it a step further. "The flame char is my happiness," the chef explains of her preference for grilling bread instead of toasting it, as 99 percent of restaurants do. That it's walnut bread from Balthazar, one of the city's best French bakeries, doesn't hurt. The home fries, or roasted potatoes as Monica insists on calling them, abiding by chefs' definitions of home fries (small fried chunks of potatoes) versus hash browns (shredded potatoes fried greasy on the griddle) versus roasted potatoes (roasted in the oven instead of fried on the stove top): "My potatoes I've been making for a hundred years," she says with a smile (really, it's been about twenty). The recipe came when she was roasting potatoes early on in her career and thought they were too bland. She didn't want to just keep adding salt so instead she reached for the mustard, which her mom always used on fries. "It just was everything," she says of the tangy, vinegary flavor the French condiment lent to her spuds. Along with the new potatoes, mustard, and herbs de Provence, she uses whole jacket garlic cloves in the roasting pan. It's a simple recipe that's also "a Zen exercise," as the potatoes have to be continuously turned every fifteen minutes to get them hard and crispy on the outside and soft and billowy on the inside.

Reflection A child needs the affirmation of their father. But many times that affirmation is not there. The father may be absent or it may be that their father never told them how proud he was of them. He was quick to criticize, but slow to affirm. When that child grows older, they will continue to search for the blessing of their father. They may become a work-a-holic, believing that through accomplishment they can finally find the fulfillment they are looking for. But they continue to live with a void. In another scenario, it might happen that feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt would be so pervasive that they never pursue God’s calling on their life and settle for less. Maybe you can relate. You desire love, respect, acceptance, or approval. But you don’t feel worthy. You believe you are not accomplished enough. You believe you are not beautiful enough. You believe you are not able enough. You believe you are not __________ (You fill in the blank). But these are lies that come straight out of the pit of hell. You are worthy enough because Jesus died for you. He accomplished everything that needed to be accomplished. He makes you beautiful. His Holy Spirit gives you the ability to accomplish all things (see Philippians 4:13). Before Jesus began his ministry, he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. And when Jesus was baptized, the voice of the Heavenly Father spoke from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 5:17 ESV The ministry of Jesus had yet to begin. He had not yet healed anyone. He had not yet preached any sermons of note. He had not accomplished anything worthy to be recorded in the Scriptures. But still the Father expresses his approval. Why? It was because of the relationship of the Father to the Son. The Father’s love and approval of the Son was not based on accomplishment. He loved the Son for no other reason than the fact that he was his son. You are so important to your Heavenly Father that he sent Jesus for you. The Heavenly Father made you and created you. He gave you your life and your being. He loved you so much that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for you. It is not about anything you have accomplished. You need to know that you are the most beautiful, the most precious, and the most prized part of his creation. Your Heavenly Father is proud of you. More than you realize! You are worthy because you are his precious child, redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

22. Giving up Distraction Week #4 Saturday Scripture Verses •Hebrews 12:1–2 •Mark 1:35 •John 1:14–18 Questions to Consider •What distracts you from being present with other people around you? •What distracts you from living out God’s agenda for your life? •What helps you to focus and be the most productive? •How does Jesus help us focus on what is most important in any given moment? Plan of Action •At your next lunch, have everyone set their phone facing down at the middle of the table. The first person who picks up their phone pays for the meal. •Challenge yourself that the first thing you watch, read, or listen to in the morning when you wake up is God’s Word (not email or Facebook). •Do a digital detox. Turn off everything with a screen for 24 hours. Tomorrow would be a great day to do it, since there is no “40 Things Devotion” on Sunday. Reflection We live in an ever connected world. With smart phones at the tip of our fingers, we can instantly communicate with people on the other side of the world. It is an amazing time to live in. I love the possibilities and the opportunities. With the rise of social media, we not only connect with our current circle of friends and family, but we are also able to connect with circles from the past. We can build new communities in the virtual world to find like-minded people we cannot find in our physical world. Services like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram all have tremendous power. They have a way of connecting us with others to shine the light of Jesus. While all of these wonderful things open up incredible possibilities, there are also many dangers that lurk. One of the biggest dangers is distraction. They keep us from living in the moment and they keep us from enjoying the people sitting right across the room from us. We’ve all seen that picture where the family is texting one another from across the table. They are not looking at each other. They are looking at the tablet or the phone in front of them. They are distracted in the moment. Today we are giving up distraction and we are going to live in the moment. Distraction doesn’t just come from modern technology. We are distracted by our work. We are distracted by hobbies. We are distracted by entertainment. We are distracted by busyness. The opposite of distraction is focus. It is setting our hearts and our minds on Jesus. It’s not just putting him first. It’s about him being a part of everything. It is about making our choices to be God’s choices. It is about letting him determine how we use our time and focus our attention. He is the one setting our agenda. I saw a statistic that 80% of smartphone users will check their phone within the first 15 minutes of waking up. Many of those are checking their phones before they even get out of bed. What are they checking? Social media? Email? The news of the day? Think about that for a moment. My personal challenge is the first thing I open up every day is God’s word. I might open up the Bible on my phone, but I want to make sure the first thing I am looking at is God’s agenda. When I open up my email, my mind is quickly set to the tasks those emails generate rather than the tasks God would put before me. Who do I want to set my agenda? For me personally, I know that if God is going to set the agenda, I need to hear from him before I hear from anyone else. There is a myth called multitasking. We talk about doing it, but it is something impossible to do. We are very good at switching back and forth from different tasks very quickly, but we are never truly doing two things at once. So the challenge is to be present where God has planted you. In any given moment, know what is the one most important thing. Be present in that one thing. Be present here and now.

It is not quite – despite long-standing conventional readings of this – that God has required Jesus to take our punishment. This is not what Paul is arguing at this point. It is more that God, through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, has brought into the world what he himself most deeply is – selfless love; and thus has made possible a relation with himself that was not possible before. He has shown that he will see in us what we can be transformed into, seeing the future he himself desires to bring about in his act of new creation – and shown that he will bring this about by breathing into us the energy of Jesus’ Spirit, making us belong in and to him in Christ.

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Eternal God, you come to us not only in our hopes, but also in our suffering: Grant us the courage to seek you in joy and to bear the sorrows of others, strengthened by our Savior Jesus Christ who entered not into glory before he was faithful unto death on the cross; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

the maundy's mandates call us again to remember by doing to recall by caring bread, wine, feet, souls the simplest things for telling the most elegant of stories.

God, the heavens declare your glory as each day you renew the face of the earth with the light of your presence: Grant that as the darkness of this life seeks to envelop us, that in your light we may see Light, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, the heavens declare your glory as each day you renew the face of the earth with the light of your presence: Grant that as the darkness of this life seeks to envelop us, that in your light we may see Light, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Hallelu-jah. Hallelu-jah. Hallelu-JAH.

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

on a night like tonight people passed over from a land filled with suffering to a place of new heart. on a night like tonight the wild avenging angel struck down the arrogance of a people of blood on a night like tonight death gave its last gasp of trying to hold the One who'd been killed. on a night like tonight we all were brought over to a place of new promise for a life of fresh starts.

O gracious God whose Son Jesus Christ had nowhere to lay his head, stay with us in the journey of this life as we seek your face in those we meet and grant us so to follow where you have led the way that we may find our rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

for souls that have off wandered for those who've never heard for hearts that know but nothing of what the faith has learned; for peoples that have prospered in only wealth of gold but let the values soften and turned their tone to scorn; give mercy and forgiveness but more Lord help us turn to save us from a darkening a world sore lost and burned.

O God, you so loved the world that you gave your only-begotten Son to reconcile earth with heaven: Grant that we, loving you above all things, may love our friends in you, and our enemies for your sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Most of us will fail to meet our personal expectations for a "Holy Lent." But that's okay. A human Lent is a holy Lent. We don't need to save ourselves. We can let go of that. That is God's job, not ours. We just need to put one foot in front of the other, take life one step, one minute, one day at a time and do the best we can, trusting that God will provide for our needs. We are simply human. God doesn't want us to be anything more than that—or anything less. God loves us exactly as we are.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ashes speak to me of what matters and what does not. Remind me of the heart of my heart and that I and the ones I love are more than what will dribble into the ground. May I be thankful that I await not just the ashes but the Phoenix.

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3

Mary knows what it means to cry out to God in despair. She groans as her son dies on the tree. She holds his lifeless body in her arms after he has been beaten and tortured. Her pilgrimage is one of a mother's love, her hopes and dreams poured out for her child.

After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them. Exodus 2:23-25

Even Jesus knows what it means to cry out. He groans with the weight of the world's sins, which we seem eager to pile on him day after day. His pilgrimage is one of incarnation, of movement through his life—and of gathering a community who will face rejection for following him and suffer for proclaiming his good news. Yet the pilgrim road Jesus walks—and that we walk as his disciples—always leads to resurrection.

We beseech Thee O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts, that as we have known the Incarnation of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his +Cross and passion we may be brought to the glory of his Resurrection; through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

O God, you willed to redeem us from all iniquity by your Son: Deliver us when we are tempted to regard sin without abhorrence, and let the virtue of his passion come between us and our mortal enemy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Denying truth hinders our ability to be in right relationship with the world and with our loved ones in a variety of ways. While confronting the root and digesting the fruit of our pain and grief is a bitter experience, when we refuse to deny the truth, we may find that we are, in fact, embraced and held fast by a God who offers the unchangeable truth of love.

The motif of life as pilgrimage is firmly rooted in the lives of the saints and can easily be seen in the life of Jesus and his movement through the Judean countryside and his ultimate destination—Jerusalem. Jesus bids all his followers to take this journey with him; he sets his face toward Jerusalem and extends his life to us with the gentle words: Come and see.

increase in me Lord the gift of humility not the false hearted t'weren't nothin' t'weren't nothin' nor the soul-harming denial of value to dare but the truth-telling knowledge of both gifts and limit that I may offer the one for the good and the doing and honor the other for salvation from despair.

Lord my heart rests in you at day's end quiet comes to my room and I bow my head in silent appreciation for all that filled my day love, friends, warmth, possibilities and terrors alike. may I not forget those for whom this day was more difficult and trying, lonely and hurtful we are all in your hands.

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

deceits are all around us closer than we know or suspect. harder to be let down by those we thought trustworthy, faithful part of the community part of your name. where the angels are there demons will be also may we be innocent as doves and wise as serpents as you advised us when you first came.

To press on in our journey of faith, especially during Lent, we must open our eyes, hearts, and lives to God's presence right now, in this present moment. Each Sunday, when we eat the bread and drink the cup, we claim our space in a multidimensional world—not a flat one. In those holy and consecrated moments, we are with Jesus at the Last Supper, surrounded by the great cloud of witnesses and in the present company of our worship community.

May we find God mighty to save by viewing and understanding the everyday parts of our lives as sacramental doorways to the holy. May we truly believe that "your presence is what truly feeds us each day." Let us pray this with all our hearts: May it be so.

my family gathers around like those at the table in Jerusalem when you took the bread and said that you would be with us. we share a cup now though not always in remembrance yet your presence is what truly feeds us each day. may it be so.

Holy God, the pain of the journey can be daunting. Thank you for the light that comes. Thank you for the gift of sustaining hope that each new day, with its questions, challenges, pain, and sorrows, belongs to you—just as I belong to you. Thank you for the possibility of this joy and for all the glimpses of it. Amen.

Let us see that we cannot see it all—around all the edges and corners of creation and the mind of God. We must allow ourselves to be reminded daily of the wonder of the universe—of God exposing Godself to us through our lives and the world and the vast expanse of the whole of creation, without believing we will ever, or should ever, have all the answers.

Grant, O Lord, that as your Son Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive your forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Let your Spirit, O Lord, come into the midst of us to wash us with the pure water of repentance, and prepare us to be always a living sacrifice to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Lesser Feasts and Fasts

As Christians in the Western tradition, our spiritual lives often become merely intellectual exercises. This unfortunately means our lives of faith can occur wholly within our thoughts and intentions, never being made manifest in our living flesh and blood.

Jesus on the Throne of his glory, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus received into your hearts in Communion, Jesus with you mystically as you pray, and Jesus enthroned in the hearts and bodies of his brothers and sisters up and down this country. And it is folly—it is madness—to suppose that you can worship Jesus in the Sacraments and Jesus on the Throne of glory, when you are sweating him in the souls and bodies of his children. It cannot be done.

There then, as I conceive it, is your present duty; and I beg you, brethren, as you love the Lord Jesus...Go out and look for Jesus in the ragged, in the naked, in the oppressed and sweated, in those who have lost hope, in those who are struggling to make good. Look for Jesus. And when you see him, gird yourselves with his towel and try to wash their feet.

O Lord, strong and mighty, Lord of hosts and King of glory: Cleanse our hearts from sin, keep our hands pure, and turn our minds from what is passing away; so that at the last we may stand in your holy place and receive your blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sooner or later, every one of us will find our way into the wilderness, discovering over and over again that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. Then, by God's grace, we turn around. We repent, we open our hearts to God. We ask God to come find us, because we do not know how to find where God is.

The men and women in the Bible who come closest to Jesus are those who have no illusions about their ability to make their lives work. They are lame, blind, bleeding, bereaved; some are even already dead. They have come to the end of their ropes and fall into the hands of the living God, praying the ultimate prayer of surrender and sacrifice, "Help.

have I spoken your name enough have I opened to speak aloud what my heart believes Jesus.

Pain and illness have clobbered my relationship with my physical self for so long. I hadn't realized how slowly pain had eroded my connection to my living flesh, my organs, my skin, and my muscles. I had spent so much of my professional energy and expertise talking about the inherent necessity of embodiment and connection and integration on the path toward healing, but I had not recognized this slow fading away of my own connection with my physical self. Something erupted on the Camino, maybe a survival reflex, and my emotional and spiritual self knew it could not make this particular journey without the agreement of my physical self.

We cannot travel fully and completely without our whole self—mind, body, and spirit. We must feel our life and wake up to the experience of each and every step we take—feel it from our heels to our hair and through every fiber of our physical being. This connection and awareness wakes us up to life and to the fullness of the journey.

Dearest God, be with us in our whole self and speak into our lives through our bodies, minds, and spirits. Remind us to wake up to your presence and remember that we are embodied in our union with you and in our full selves when we feel our connection to the divine in every cell of our being. Let us celebrate our beingness in this embodiment and remember you are breathing life each and every day into our being. Amen.

We feed each other when we truly hear each other's stories, as God nourishes us with the bread of relationship, of listening and love.

our families open us to joy, sorrow, pain and laughter like Mary and Joseph Abraham and Sarah we try to make a way following your star.

You give us tasks that push and pull us beyond our depths and yet to our deepest desires. thank you for the gifts that we do not call for yet appreciate when they have arrived.

Thank you. Amen.

Holy God, you exist in the Trinity of persons and out of love you created us to love you and to love our neighbors as ourselves: Grant that by your indwelling spirit we may be empowered to serve others as serving you, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

on the steps to the cross there were stumbles not by you but by us. mixed signals, cross purposes, bad karmas how could we miss your loving so clear. mixed signals, cross purposes, bad karmas our answers were wanting our visions unclear.

Source of life, your Son Jesus offered the Samaritan woman the living water that becomes a spring of water gushing up to eternal life: Grant us the grace to proclaim the Good News in deed as well as word so that others may find that same life-giving water, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

purity of heart, said Kierkegaard, is to will one thing but I do not, and the tear rends me with confusion. quiet my heart O Lord that I may see your path forward and let be.

God, you give us the gift of laughter to delight and refresh us. It isn't always easy to laugh when we could get mad or resentful, but in laughter, we find you lifting our hearts and renewing our spirits. Teach us to relax and find the humor in our everyday lives, and let it bring us closer to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

endings come upon us, valleys of dry bones loom how will our bones rise from deceit and lies and greed when we have gone to the dust, refusing to listen breathe your breath into us, re-sinew us while there is still time.

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

we come to red seas of our own devising the pains and chains of a lifetime crowding us up against the sands of desperation until we turn and see your hand swiping wide the waters to lead us home on dry ground give us grace to turn and take the path.

Creator God, you made the cosmos, filled it with all creation, and called it good: Grant that as you speak through your creation, we have eyes to see and ears to hear your still, small voice, through your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our human nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

we cheered you on especially when we thought it would go our way but when it didn't follow our script we turned and still do. forgive us our stupidity, cupidity, rapidity, done-deedity. we don't make it home without you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going. John 14:1-4

Almighty and ever living God, you created humans from the fertile soil, and breathed life into our bodies, enlivening our souls: Grant that as we make this earthly pilgrimage, we remain grounded in your grace and love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. Revelation 21:9-14, 22-26

Grant us, O Lord, a pilgrim's heart and a pilgrim's spirit. May we step away from the ordinary and accept your invitation to set out on a journey, retracing the footsteps of pilgrims who have gone before us. May we experience you as we enter a way of simple living, as we pray with our feet and our hearts and as we encounter surprises along the journey. May we break bread with new companions, entertain angels unexpectedly, be beneficiaries of graceful hospitality, and discover you in each valley and watershed, field and forest, river and stream, in prisons and churches, in art and in laughter, sensing your presence and love in all things. May depth, not distance, be the goal of our journey, and may we come fully alive as we walk the holy way with you. Amen.

in the last days we seem to cry about things that have not gone well in our lives as if we were supposed to be immune from the gifts you gave us of mortality and limits as if my body was not joy enough even if not forever, nor my soul meant for more.

Almighty God, you proclaim your truth in every age by many voices: Direct, in our time, we pray, those who speak where many listen, and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of this people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy God, grant this day that I will have eyes to see and ears to hear of the great cloud of witnesses that surround me as I travel this path. Help me to remember the ones who suffered beyond words and to hold their memory in my heart. May we all find healing as we remember. Amen.

Jesus Mary and Joseph Moses Muhammad and Buddha the history books lie when they leave you out as if all those lives never found life or shaped the world, in and through you. May I never forget your name.

dark night black yet calm. like the inside of a soul that has not yet seen the light but knows that it is coming. thank you, Lord for the impulse of creation.

Holy God, as my awakened heart turns toward you, I seek to learn to be patient toward what is unsolved in my heart, to live into your answers, and to make my heart able to hear them. Amen.

I find temptation to be my teacher. that I am not yet as noble as I suppose nor as strong, yet you give me another chance to get it right today.

The value of paying attention to every invitation to embrace a new frontier is verified by heaven itself. When we accept an invitation to see and live into a new frontier, our lives change—and then will change again.

An enthusiastic "yes" to the beckoning call of a new frontier requires courage. But that courageous response is the first step toward a life with the capacity to be lived in peace.

Holy God, as I stand in the security of the firm foundation that you have provided for me as your child, give me the courage to say yes to the call of the frontier, which will lead me on the pilgrim's path toward all that you have prepared for me. I seek your gift of courage. Amen.

our children's teeth are set on edge by the choices we have made that dollars and profits are all that measure, and souls not. turn us again to your ways of wisdom, recall our hearts.

Holy God, let me not hide myself from the richness of this journey by being unwilling to go on the long inner journey with you. As I travel in my physical body from place to place, let me courageously travel in my mind and spirit. May I have the same faith, confidence, and commitment for this inner journey that I have for the external journeys that I travel to by car, train, plane, or foot. Amen.

Celebrations Christmas is Italy’s biggest holiday. Stores decorate in gold, silver, red, and white. At home, many people celebrate Christmas Eve with a huge feast, often featuring fish. The Christmas season in Italy lasts until Epiphany, January 6, the date when the Three Wise Men are said to have reached Jesus’s manger. Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas, is mainly a northern European traditional figure, but one that Italians now often celebrate. Traditionally, Italian children become excited about a different gift-giving figure--Befana, whose name comes from the Italian word for Epiphany, Epifania. Befana as supposedly a woman who meant to go with the Wise Men but was too busy. She planned to see them on their way back, but they returned by a different route. Since then, each year on Epiphany, she busily searches for them, riding on a broomstick and bringing gifts. Children dress in costumes like Befana and go to neighboring houses, where they receive small gifts such as fruit and nuts. At the end of the Befana celebration, Befana figures are burned in a bonfire to get rid of the old year and start the new year fresh. Another major festival is Carnevale. It is a huge festival celebrated in the last week before Lent, a serious forty-day period that precedes Easter. Italy’s biggest Carnevale celebration is in Venice, where people dress in dazzling costumes and parade around the city. Though the costumes often feature somber masks, Carnevale is a time for giddy fun. Children run about throwing confetti. Shopkeepers pass out snacks in the city’s squares. Music fills the air. Like Italy itself, it is a feast for the senses.

She hated him. She believed the heavy ache in her heart would never go away. And then she felt sudden panic. Her portrait. Her precious painting. She had left home without it! Home? Home? All the fashionable world rode or drove or promenaded in Hyde Park late in the afternoon during the spring Season. Everyone came to see and be seen, to gossip and be gossiped about, to display and observe all the latest fashions, to flirt and be flirted with. Jane was wearing a blue dress and pelisse and a plain straw bonnet tied beneath her chin with a wide blue ribbon. She carried a straw-colored parasol, which Lady Webb had lent her. She was perched on the high seat of Lord Ferdinand Dudley’s new curricle while he wielded the ribbons, conversed amiably with her, and introduced her to a number of people who approached for the specific purpose of meeting the notorious Lady Sara Illingsworth,

To begin with, she would focus on tried-and-true dishes that she loved to make and which she knew would turn a profit. She had a petite filet mignon planned, which she would rotate with different sauces, but she would keep lobster and lump crabmeat confined to supporting roles with fresh pasta, in ravioli and in sauces, rather than serving up whole Maine lobsters at "market price." Her Chicken Cacciatore de Provence was an upscale twist on a farmhouse classic that paired her love of exotic mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh herbs with imminently affordable cuts of chicken. She wanted to serve a Spiral Stuffed Pork Loin in a savory reduction with yam patties and fresh garden peas, in season, which lent itself to a marvelous visual presentation and tasted like Thanksgiving dinner all on one plate.

On a fatal day, in the holy season of Lent, Hypatia was torn from her chariot, stripped naked, dragged to the church, and inhumanely butchered by the hands of Peter the Reader and a troop of savage and merciless fanatics; her flesh was scraped from her bones with sharp oyster-shells, and her quivering limbs were delivered to the flames.