OPreach
Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
A Follow-up to the Prophet Micah
On Monday I posted about the day’s reading from Micah 6, and now I came across a quote from The Talmud that expands on it.
Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.
Do justly, now.
Love mercy, now.
Walk humbly, now.
You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
We can feel overwhelmed at times, so much so that we are paralyzed, not knowing where to begin. As the Talmud suggests, let us, now, begin with what is before us.
Our Faithful, Forgiving God
The Prophet Micah continues with words of comfort today, reminding us of God’s faithfulness and forgiveness.
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins.
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Shepherd your people with your staff,
The flock of your inheritance,
That dwells apart in a woodland,
In the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old;
as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.
Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
And pardons sin for the remnant of God’s inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
But delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
Treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea
All our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
And grace to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our ancestors
From days of old.
An Important Word from the Prophet Micah
Today’s reading from the Prophet Micah is one of my favorites. If we could but follow his simple admonition we would be able to see much more clearly that we are now living in the Reign of God . . . knowing that it is truly, as Jesus said, at hand.
And what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
-Micah 6:8
God Desires that We Be Free from Fear
Sunday’s first reading is from chapter 23 of the Prophet Jeremiah. We are again reminded that God desires for us to be safe and free from fear. We can be free from fear and anxiety when we rest in God’s love and desire for us.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.
How Will You Choose to Live?
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
– Albert Einstein
How will you choose to live?
Wise Words from Annie Dillard
The creation is not a study, a roughed-in sketch; it is supremely, meticulously created, created abundantly, extravagantly, and in fine….Even on the perfectly ordinary and clearly visible level, creation carries on with an intricacy unfathomable and apparently uncalled for.
– Annie Dillard
Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek
Wise Words from Helen Keller
So much has been given to me; I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.
– Helen Keller
Would that we could all put this into practice.
Wise Words from Aristotle
It is no wonder that Aristotle was a source of inspiration to Saint Thomas Aquinas. This is a truth that transcends all time and all faiths.
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
– Aristotle
Sometimes Photography is Preaching . . . revisited
Tuesday’s Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 48, and today’s photo is from the Counterpoint Images of Sister Adele Rowland, OP, who definitely believed that her photography was a means of preaching. It especially displayed the beauty and glory of God’s creation. Sister Adele created her photo montages well before PhotoShop was created or dreamed. She worked with slides and negatives in a darkroom.
Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth.
Does the Future Look Dark to You, then . . .
- We survey the events in the world . . . the horror, the violence, the greed, the devastation that is happening to our planet . . . and we would like to throw up our hands.
- We believe that we are, in our time, uniquely rushing off a precipice. And we are so overwhelmed, we don’t know what to do.
- We forget that others in earlier times and different places also experienced this.
Hildegard of Bingen lived in the 11th century, born close to the time of another millennium when people thought the world would end. It was a time of great change and turmoil. Hildegard, Benedictine nun, abbess, and mystic, wrote:
Even in a world that’s being shipwrecked, remain brave and strong.
Her words ring as clear and true today as they did nearly one thousand years ago.
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