9th. May. 2020. Daily Devotion.

In a week in which the Secretary General of the United Nations has had to call people world-wide to show love and tolerance and to refrain from hatred and blame, and in which we remember the end of a terrible war 75 years ago, Peter Millar’s

A Candle in the Window, Words to encourage us in tough times

are particularly apt.

We begin with Ephesians 4:29-32 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

A new contagion – KINDNESS 20:

Inspirational words to be read slowly, from Fiona Lynch in Australia –

Let this be us. Take a moment, sit, and softly close your eyes. Breathe life into a world where the old, the frail have no need to queue, where children are cocooned in a village of elders who listen, soothe, and leave the light on. Ransack the shelves of your heart to unfurl what it is that binds us. Look over your shoulder and wait for the slowest of your neighbours to catch up. May those not yet born hear stories of how we slayed separation, rolled in a ditch with distrust, and became one. May this be the time strangers meet through the light in their eyes, above masks, beyond difference. One small action, every day, a remedy seven billion strong. A new contagion – KINDNESS 20. Let this be us. – written by Fiona on 21st March 2020.

The exquisite balance of life:

You have been through many dyings and know in your heart- beat and bones the precarious, exquisite balance of life. Joanna Macy

The sky is red:

But Jesus answered, “When the sun is setting, you say, ‘we are going to have fine weather because the sky is red’. And early in the morning you say.’ It is going to rain because the sky is red and dark’. You can predict the weather by looking at the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs concerning these times.” — from the gospel of Matthew 16:2-3

In times of transformation:

Several years ago, Joan Chittister, the well-known American peace activist and writer, wrote words which in today’s world have perhaps even more relevance than when Joan wrote them….” We are in the midst of a fast-moving transformation across the globe. In times of major transformation such as this, two things occur: a sense of breakdown, but also a sense of possibility, of breakthrough”.

And from the Iona Community:

The World belongs to God, the Earth and all its People.

Dadirri – the deep listening within the heart:

Father Eugene Stockton is an Australian friend. Eugene is both a Catholic priest and a distinguished archaeologist who has spent a lifetime walking with indigenous communities all over Australia and learning from them. One of his books is called The Aboriginal Gift and in it he writes of the depths of indigenous spirituality and of how that ancient wisdom can bring new meaning to the western search for inner spiritual understanding. One of the people he is indebted to is Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr who speaks of what is perhaps the greatest gift Aboriginals can give to fellow Australians, and to us all. This quality is called ‘Dadirri.’

It is inner deep listening and quiet still awareness. Dadirri recognizes the deep spring that is inside us. We can call on it and it calls to us. It is something akin to what is known as contemplation. Miriam-Rose says that when she experiences Dadirri she is made whole again. She tells of how she can sit on a riverbank or walk through the trees – just listening, in that same way in which her community have listened since the earliest days. She knows that her people could not live good useful lives unless they listen. This way of listening has been handed down through indigenous learning for 40,000 years.

The perfectly innocent speech:

What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest,
at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible,
perfectly innocent speech,
the most comforting speech in the world,
the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges,
and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows!
Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it.
It will take as long as it wants, this rain,
As long as it talks, I am going to listen. Thomas Merton

The bread is pure and fresh, the water is cool and clear,
Lord of all life be with us; Lord of all life be near. An African grace.

A Prayer for Kindness in All Things

Dear Lord, I praise you as the essence of all things loving; You are complete in Yourself; You are unconditional in Love. In my heart I desire to be more like You, and I invite you to be with me as I move about through my day. When I begin to compare myself to others, let me remember that we are all made in your likeness, and that each of our bodies is a temple of Your Holy Spirit. When I am tempted to make judgments about the actions, behaviours, even the looks of others as a way of making myself feel better, come to my aid and bring about in me a spirit of contentment, a spirit of gratitude. Help me to treat each person I encounter as I would like to be treated and fill me with loving kindness so that my thoughts, words, and deeds flow from Your spirit of unconditional Love. Let me remember You always; let me be ever aware of Your presence in each moment of my life, as I would surely cease to live, to move, to have my being if thought of me falls from Your mind’s embrace for the span of even one breath; for it is Your breath that gives me life. I ask all these things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen.

Short Prayer of Kindness.

Dear God, If I cannot be brilliant, let me be kind. If I cannot change the world, let me inspire just one other to do so. If I cannot give away riches, let me be loving.