Lenten Day Eight: John McQuiston

February 21, 2024 “There must be time within which we neither speak nor listen, but simply are.”  John McQuiston, author of Always We Begin Again. On this eight day of Lent, this quotation reminds me of a blog I read just yesterday entitled Lenten Overload, by my friend Nancy Agneberg (https://livingonlifeslabyrinth.com/2024/02/20/lenten-overload/).  For those of usContinue reading "Lenten Day Eight: John McQuiston"

Lent Day Seven: Lakshmana

February 20, 2024 “We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, ‘Why me?’ unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way.” Lakshmana On this seventh day of Lent, I’m not quite sure how this quotation came my way.  As best I can discover, Lakshmana is a character inContinue reading "Lent Day Seven: Lakshmana"

Lent Day Six:  Alexsei A. Navalny

February 19, 2024 Photo credit:  Andrew Lubimov/Associated Press “If your beliefs are worth something, you must be willing to stand up for them.  And if necessary, make some sacrifices.” Alexsei A. Navalny Disclaimer:  This quotation is not one that I included on the notecards that I made for my daughter at Christmas, nor is itContinue reading "Lent Day Six:  Alexsei A. Navalny"

First Lenten Sabbath: Wendell Berry

February 18, 2024 During the Lenten Season, before Easter Sunday, "regular" Sundays, like today, are not included in the 40-day count of preparation because they are considered "mini resurrections." So, instead of sharing a meditation on one of the many quotations I have procured this past year, I will share a poem that matches theContinue reading "First Lenten Sabbath: Wendell Berry"

Lent Day 3: The Buddha

February 16, 2024 “Those who are awake live in a state of constant amazement.”  The Buddha On this third day of Lent, the quotation that I sit with comes from Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as The Buddha ('the Awakened'), who was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher living in South Asia during the 6th or 5th centuryContinue reading "Lent Day 3: The Buddha"

Lent Day Two: Anonymous

February 15, 2024 “Let a need to love replace my need to understand.”  From The Cloud of Unknowing On this second day of Lent, the quotation that I sit with comes from the book Where Only Love Can Go:  A Journey of the Soul into The Cloud of Unknowing (quite a title!).  The introduction explains,Continue reading "Lent Day Two: Anonymous"

Lent Day One: Anthony De Mello

February 14, 2024 “Both what you run away from—and yearn for—is in you.”  Anthony De Mello, Society of Jesus I begin these Lenten day blogs with a quotation from Fr. Anthony de Mello that seemed to peg me. I sometimes wonder if we really are as complex as we imagine we are, or if, instead, weContinue reading "Lent Day One: Anthony De Mello"

Sifting Ashes ~ A Lenten Poem

Feb. 13, 2024 Sifting Ashes What would you doif you were invitedto enter your heartin this seasonof self-honesty?If you were encouragedto leave reason and judgmentbehind and insteadask grace to be yourcompanion?Would you say yes?Would you accept the flashlightoffered when you crossedthe threshold, the decoder ringneeded to deciphereach message that begsrevelation?Could you look?Once inside, would youContinue reading "Sifting Ashes ~ A Lenten Poem"

From Pelagius to David Bowie

Feb 12, 2024 Note: Second attempt to email this post. “Write down with your own hand on paper what God has written with his hand on the human heart.”  Pelagius For Christmas this past year, I gave my daughter a stack of notecards, each one inscribed with a quotation that had drifted across my path fromContinue reading "From Pelagius to David Bowie"