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Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
The Fruits of Gratitude
Gratitude to gratitude always gives birth.
– attributed to Sophocles
Wednesday of Hope – One Day at a Time
Today is only a small manageable segment of time in which our difficulties need not overwhelm us. This lifts from our hearts and minds the heavy weight of both past and future.
– Anonymous, One Day at a Time in Al-Anon
Gratefulness Is a Bridge
I wonder if gratefulness is the bridge from sorrow to joy, spanning the chasm of our anxious striving. Freed from the burden of unbridled desires, we can enjoy what we have, celebrate what we’ve attained, and appreciate the familiar. For if we can’t be happy now, we’ll likely not be happy when.
– Philip Gulley, Porch Talk
Wednesday of Hope – For What Do We Hope?
The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what to hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope.
– Barbara Kingsolver
The Mystery of Gratitude
Ironically, gratitude’s most powerful mysteries are often revealed when we are struggling in the midst of personal turmoil.
– Sarah Ban Breathnach
Wednesday of Hope – Never Give Up
There are moments when I feel like giving up or giving in, but I soon rally again and do my duty as I see it: to keep the spark of life inside me ablaze.
– Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life
Don’t Take the Easy Way
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
– Maya Angelou
Wednesday of Hope – Wisdom from Helen Keller
No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.
– Helen Keller
Sunshine and Smiles
What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
– Joseph Addison
Wednesday of Hope – Room for Great Hope
There is always room for great hope. For at every level of despair there is the possibility of giving up. In the midst of every dimension of delusion there are sparkles of sanity…. In the early years of life, giving up usually takes the form of faith. A leaping forward into a belief that one is loved, accepted, forgiven and redeemed just as one is, with nothing special needing to be done. In later years, giving up more often comes from despair. From the wisdom of realizing that no amount of continuing effort, no amount of fixing, will enable one to ‘get it all together.’ Despair then is forever a doorway to life.
– Gerald May
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