OPreach
Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
Wednesday of Hope – Look to This Day
Look to this day
for it is life
the very life of life.In its brief course lie all
the realities and truths of existence
the joy of growth
the splendor of action
the glory of power.For yesterday is but a memory
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well lived
makes every yesterday a memory
of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.Look well, therefore, to this day….
~ ancient Sanskrit poem ~
God in All Things
Either we acknowledge that God is in all things, or we have lost the basis for seeing God in anything.
– Richard Rohr
Wednesday of Hope – Restoring Hope
We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.
– Pope Francis
Spirituality Means Waking Up
Spirituality means waking up. Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence. You know, all mystics—Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion—are unanimous on one thing: that all is well, all is well. Though everything is a mess, all is well. Strange paradox, to be sure. But, tragically, most people never get to see that all is well because they are asleep.
– Anthony de Mello
Wednesday of Hope – Building Hope
Song of the Builders
On a summer morning
I sat down
on a hillside
to think about God –a worthy pastime.
Near me, I saw
a single cricket;
it was moving the grains of the hillsidethis way and that way.
How great was its energy,
how humble its effort.
Let us hopeit will always be like this,
each of us going on
in our inexplicable ways
building the universe.~ Mary Oliver ~
(Why I Wake Early)
A River Runs through It
Running water is a puny thing compared to solid rock. Without geologic time, neither sedimentary rocks nor canyons could exist. Deep time gives water dominion over rock…
– L. Powell
Wednesday of Hope – What Is Defeat?
What is defeat?…Nothing but the first step to something better.
– Wendell Berry
When I hiked Mount Whitney with my friends Abby and Carolyn, we did not make it all the way to the tippity-top. We made it to Trail Crest at 13, 600 feet, and according to some of the guidebooks, you can claim the mountain at this point because you made it up the 97 switchbacks (starting about 11,000 feet), and is arguably the most spectacular vantage point of the entire Mt Whitney Trail. Nonetheless, one can feel a bit disappointed in not making it all the way, rather than rejoicing in the accomplishment of this tremendous hike.
So let’s not be defeated by what we cannot do, but let us do what we can and not give up. Be steadfast.
Mt. Whitney still inspires me. It is a beautiful mountain.
Observe the Wonders around you
Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.
– Jalaluddin Rumi
Wednesday of Hope – What Is Hope Pinned on?
When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens like one of those fluted Japanese blossoms, flimsy and spastic, bright and warm. This almost always seems to happen in community.
– Anne Lamott, “The Impossible Will Take a Little While,” Plan B
The Universe Is Waiting for Us
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
– Eden Phillpotts
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