This is the day

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Turning to the day

and to each other

We open ourselves to the day

and each other.

This is the day that the Lord has made

and a day we'll have to make our way through.

Whether with ease or pain

with patience or joy

May we find opportunities for generosity

toward others and ourselves.

May we find moments of encounter

even in isolation.

May we find stories and memories

even in the most complicated corners.

May we start again

where we have failed again.

May we confess

and be confessed to.

Because this is a way of living

That’s worth living daily.

— Padraig O Tuama, Being Here: Prayers for Curiosity, Justice, and Love

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It is only 5:30 and I am already saturated by evil

it shouts at me from Facebook

from posts by people in high places

from acts of malice perpetrated

by the rich and powerful

and cheered by the discontent and resentful

 

my soul screams

how did we get here?

how did we become so disconnected

from God and the planet

from each other

from ourselves?

 

my mind will not rest

it is chaotic and troubled

 

I know my country has always leaned into racism

and that it been profoundly predatory

a user

 

but I am stunned to see it spoken out loud

blazed across official emails

sanctioned and legislated into being through executive orders

 

isolationism

apartheid

plunder of the planet

oppression

racism and more

 

where do these things lead?

not to greatness

 

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

It is easier for a camel (a real camel)

to get through the eye of a needle (a real need)

than for the rich to get into the kingdom of god

 

there is something painfully abnormal

in this hate and division

retribution, oppression and cruelty

 

something cancerous

 

we were made for connection

for walking together towards home

for helping each other and honoring creation

 

we were made to live a life worthy of living

that never tires of doing good

but we are being overwhelmed

by evil

 

so here I am, staring out the window

at what is still a beautiful world

at the wonder of snow

 

my heart hurting, my soul shrinking

 

what can I do?

 

I can turn to the day

and to the precious souls around me

 

I can open myself to catch the glimmers of light

that still remain

 

This is the day that the Lord has made

and a day I’ll have to make my way through

 

with you