OPreach
Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
Surrender
Surrender
The boat I travel in is called Surrender.
My two oars are instant forgiveness and gratitude
— complete gratitude for the gift of life.
I am thankful for the experience of this life, for the opportunity to dance.
I get angry, I get mad,
but as soon as I remind myself to put my oars in the water,
I forgive.– Balbir Matbur, Heron Dance Interview (Issue 11)
Wednesday of Hope – Hopeful Eyes
Hopeful Eyes
Hope looks at all things the way a mother looks at her child,
with a passion for the possible.
That way of looking is creative.
It creates the space in which perfection can unfold.
More than that, the eyes of hope look through all imperfections
to the heart of all things and find it perfect.
The eyes of hope are grateful eyes.
Before our eyes learned to look gratefully at the world,
we expected to find beauty in good looking things.
But grateful eyes expect the surprise of finding beauty in all things.– David Steindl-Rast, Gratefulness the Heart of Prayer
What We All Share
Earth is what we all have in common.
– Wendell Berry
Wednesday of Hope – It’s about What We Do
Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value.
– Desmond Tutu
Quiet Moments are Special
How many times have you noticed that it’s the little quiet moments in the midst of life that seem to give the rest extra-special meaning?
– Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers
Wednesday of Hope – Fill Yourself with Hope
The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.
– Barack Obama
This is a pre-covid19 image, and right now our best way of doing something is to NOT go out and throw frisbees with others. Instead, let us hold those in prayer who are serving us in so many essential ways.
Blessings of hope to all, Pat Farrell
We Are Connected
We are all leaves on different branches of the same tree.
– Laura Lynne Jackson
Wednesday of Hope – You are the Sky
You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.
– Pema Chodron
No Strangers
In the cherry blossom’s shade there’s no such thing as a stranger.
– Kobayashi Issa
Wednesday of Hope – Always Dream
We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming – well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.
– Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses
