May Twenty-Second

“One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have - when I am lying on my deathbed - is that I did not kiss you enough.”

- - Hafiz of Persia

May Twenty-First

A meditation on caring:
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Hear yourself telling that someone a secret.
What would the secret be?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Whisper to them a message - one message - to take to someone in the hereafter.
What would the message be and to whom would you send it?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
What would you tell them to make their journey easier?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Are you eager to leave the room or will you wait until the very end?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Do you envy them or fear them?
Now picture yourself saying goodbye. Picture yourself wiping their face with a clean, wet, white cloth - getting them ready for their journey. They will soon be free.
Go to the window. Picture yourself opening it. Imagine the dying person contains all your fears and worries. Imagine the person letting go of life and all of your troubles that were kept inside this shell fly out the window and as soon as they are gone you slam the window shut and never see them again.
You feel calm inside and your mind is quiet.
You are ready for anything now - work or sleep, it doesn't matter. Your mind is quiet.
Your mind is quiet.

May Twentieth

Mi Sheberakh: May the One Who Blessed
JEWISH PRAYER FOR HEALING

May the One who blessed our ancestors --
Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah --
bless and heal the one who is ill:

__________ son/daughter of __________ .

May the Holy Blessed One
overflow with compassion upon him/her,
to restore him/her,
to heal him/her,
to strengthen him/her,
to enliven him/her.
The One will send him/her, speedily,
a complete healing --
healing of the soul and healing of the body --
along with all the ill,
among the people of Israel and all humankind,
soon,
speedily,
without delay,
and let us all say: Amen!

May Nineteenth

ALMIGHTY God, Father of mercies, be pleased to work in me what Thou hast commanded should be in me. Give me, O Lord, the grace of an earnest sorrow, -- turn my sin into repentance, and let my repentance proceed to pardon; and teach me so diligently to watch over all my actions that I may never transgress Thy holy laws willingly, but that it may be the work of my life to obey Thee, the joy of my soul to please Thee, and the perfection of my desires to live with Thee in the kingdom of Thy grace and glory - Amen.

-- JEREMY TAYLOR (1613-1667)

May Eighteenth

PSALM 12

HOW long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

May Seventeenth

MAY I be a protector to those without protection,
A leader for those who journey,
And a bot, a bridge, a passage
For those desiring the further shore.

May the pain of every living creature
Be completely cleared away.
May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Until everyone is healed.

Just like space
And the great elements such as earth,
May I always support the life
Of all the countless creatures.

And until they pass away from pain
May I also be the source of life
For all the realms of varied beings
That reach unto the ends of space.

-- BUDDHIST POET SHANTIDEVA

May Sixteenth

We pray Thee to compassionate our weakness, O Lord, to guard us in peril, to direct us in doubt, and to save us from falling into sin. From the evil that is around and within us, graciously deliver us. Make the path of duty plain before us, and keep us in it even unto the end - Amen.

-- KING'S CHAPEL LITURGY (1831)

May Fifteenth

O GOD, who art Peace everlasting, whose chosen reward is the gift of peace, and who hast taught us that the peacemakers are Thy children, pour Thy peace into our souls, that everything discordant may utterly vanish, and all that makes for peace be sweet to us forever - Amen.

-- MOZARABIC, BEFORE A.D. 700

May Fourteenth

PSALM 1
BLESSED is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinner, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
but his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

May Thirteenth

O FATHER, light up the small duties of this day's life: may they shine with the beauty of Thy countenance. May we believe that glory may dwell in the commonest task. For the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord we ask it - Amen.

May Twelfth

THEN the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"

-- Job. 38 - The Old Testament

May Eleventh

WE ask not, O Father, for health or life. We make an offering to Thee of all our days. Thou hast counted them. We would know nothing more. All we ask is to die rather than live unfaithful to Thee; and, if it be Thy will that we depart, let us die in patience and love. Almighty God, who holdest in Thy hand the keys of the grave to open and close it at Thy will, give us not life, if we shall love it too well. Living or dying we would be Thine - Amen.

-- FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE PENELON (1651-1715)

May Tenth

SET a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

-- PSALM 141:3
Lips by Man Ray

May Ninth

I OFFER up unto Thee my prayers and intercessions, for those especially who have in any matter hurt, grieved, or found fault with me, or who have done me any damage or displeasure.
For all those also whom, at any time, I may have vexed, troubled, burdened, and scandalized, by words or deeds, knowingly or in ignorance; that Thou wouldst grant us all equally pardon for our sins, and for our offences against each other.
Take away from our hearts, O Lord, all suspiciousness, indignation, wrath, and contention, and whatsoever may hurt charity, and lessen brotherly love.
Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on those that crave Thy mercy, give grace unto them that stand in need thereof, and make us such as that we may be worthy to enjoy Thy grace, and go forward to life eternal - Amen.

-- THOMAS A KEMPIS

May Eighth

PROVIDENCE grant you the peace you deserve, the luck you make and the friends you've earned.

-- by the blog author

May Seventh

HYMN TO NIGHT

SO VAST, our Goddess Night, she rises,
star-eyes gazing everywhere;
all her finery of dress displayed.
Space high and low she fills, Eternal Night,
her beauty driving out the dark.
Close on the heels of sister Day
she treads. Let darkness run . . .
As you draw near, we turn for home
like birds that wing to nest.
Life everywhere retreats: man, beast
and bird. Even the soaring hawk
returns to seek out rest.
Night, shield us from the wolf and thief.
Throughout your hours let there be calm.
Pitch dark has brought a shroud for me.
Dawn, drive it, like my debts, away.
Child of Day, to you, as to a calf,
my hymn is offered. Receive it now
as paean to a conqueror.

-- from The Big Veda

May Sixth

Song of Songs - Hebrew (c. 600 B.C.)

THE sound of my lover
coming from the hills
quickly like a deer
upon the mountains

Now at my windows,
walking by the walls,
here at the lattices
he calls --

come with me,
my love,
come away

For the long wet months are past,
the rains have fed the earth
and left it bright with blossoms

Birds wing in the low sky,
dove and songbird singing
in the open air above

Earth nourishing tree and vine,
green fig and tender trape,
green and tender fragrance

Come with me,
my love,
come away

May Fifth

GRANT us , O Lord, to pass this day in gladness and peace, without stumbling and without stain; that, reaching the eventide victorious over all temptation, we may praise Thee, the eternal God, who art blessed, and dost govern all things, world with end - Amen.

-- MOZARABIC, BEFORE A.D. 700

May Fourth

HEAR me, O Lord; for Thy loving-kindness is good: turn unto the according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies.

-- PSALM LXIX:16

May Third

MY WOMAN says that she would rather wear the wedding veil for me
than anyone: even if Jupiter himself came storming after her;
that's what she says, but when a woman talks to a hungry,
ravenous lover, her words should be written upon the wind
and engraved in rapid waters. -- Catullus, 84? - 54? B.C.

May Second

AND he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one world of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:
That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.
Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. -- Solomon's blessing and sacrifice from I. Kings. 9

May First

Bless what there is ... Forever and ever - Amen.

April Thirtieth

FATHER,
The path ahead is dark,
And we know not where Thou wouldst have us to go.
Give us, oh, give us, Thy gracious guidance
And a tranquil trust in Thy love,
That we may walk forward through the gloom,
Unfaltering, fearless, and confident,
Having within us that divine light
Which maketh clear as day the darkest midnight,
Guiding the traveller who shall trust in Thee
Safe through impenetrable forests and over trackless mountains -- Amen.

-- JOHN S. HOYLAND

April Twenty-Ninth

You ... I don't know you,
But I feel as if we could be friends
If you took that big chip
Off your shoulder.

And now you smile and I realize
That I've seen you before.
I've seen you ... glimpsed in the mirror
Or in a window reflecting back at me.
Has anyone ever told you you're handsome?
No?
I'm surprised.

-- by the blog author

April Twenty-Eighth

O LORD, who lovest the stranger, defend and nourish, we entreat Thee, all sojourners in strange lands and poor helpless persons, that they may glorify Thee out of grateful hearts; and to such men as are tyrannical and oppressive give searchings of spirit and amendment of ways, that Thou mayest show mercy on them also - amen.

-- CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

April Twenty-Seventh

TWICE TIMES THEN IS NOW
by Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusi (994-1064)

YOU ASK how old am I
bleached by the sun
my teeth all gone.
How old am I?

I have no guide
no calendar inside
except a smile
and little kiss
she gave me
by surprise
upon my brow.

And now,
that little while
is all my life
and all reality,
how long or brief
it seems to be.

-- translated by OMAR S. POUND
and happy birthday to me today - blog author

April Twenty-Sixth

IN SPRING THE QUINCE

IN THE Spring the quince and the
Pomegranate bloom in the
Sacred Park of the Maidens,
And the vine tendril curls in
The shade of the downy vine leaf.
But for me Love never sleeps.
He scorches me like a blaze
Of lightning and he shakes me
To the roots like a storm out of
Thrace, and he overwhelms my heart
With black frenzy and seasickness.

-- BY IBYCUS (c. 560 B.C.), translated by KENNETH REXROTH

April Twenty-Fifth

SONNET

WHEN I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love! - then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.

-- JOHN KEATS (1795-1821) 25 or 26 years of age at death

April Twenty-Fourth

IN PRAISE OF KRISHNA

Beautiful his peacock crown,
so stunningly his turban tied;
his forehead graced by dust
raised by herds of cows;
Upon his breast
a forest garland undulates.
The maiden gazed
upon that fount of nectar,
and became dumb.
Closing her eyes,
mirthfully she called out
(while her fellow maiden said:)
"Open your eyes."
"Why open my eyes
when Krishna's form
dwells within?"

-- RUSKHAN (C. 1505) - Translated by Allen Shapiro and Stephen Schaffer

April Twenty-Third

Bless what there is
Give us this day
Make us good
Help us appreciate
Let us be thankful
Let us be wise.

-- by the blog author

April Twenty-Second

THE CREATING POWER said to them: "The first world I made was bad; the creatures on it were bad. So I burned it up. The second world I made was bad too, so I drowned it. This is the third world I have made. Look: I have created a rainbow for you as a sign that there will be no more Great Flood. Whenever you see a rainbow, you will know that it has stopped raining."
The Creating Power continued: "Now, if you have learned how to behave like human beings and how to live in peace with each other and with the other living things -- the two-legged, the four-legged, the many-legged, the fliers, the no-legs, the green plants of this universe -- then all will be well. But if you make this world bad and ugly, then I will destroy this world too. It's up to you."
The Creating Power gave the people the pipe. "Live by it," he said. He named this land the Turtle Continent because it was there that the turtle came up with the mud out of which the third world was made.
"Someday there might be a fourth world," the Creating Power thought. Then he rested.

-- Told by Leonard Crow Dog at Grass Mountain, Rosebud Indian Reservation, 1974. Recorded by Richard Erdoes. This excerpt is from "American Indian Myths and Legends," selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz

April Twenty-First

CLEANSE me, O God, by the bright fountain of Thy mercy, and water me with the dew of Thine abundant grace, that, being purified from my sins, I may grow up in good works, truly serving Thee in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life - amen.

-- PRIVATE DEVOTIONS, 1560

April Twentieth

THE other day I walked a labyrinth, concentrating on the path ahead with a goal in mind -- a goal and a prayer. At the end of the walk a visual anomaly -- caused by walking ahead and staring only at the path -- occurred. It felt as though, and looked as though, things were still moving ahead. The earth was swimming past. One walk on this path and the whole world moved forward a little more forcefully. I like to think I did too.
-- the blog author

April Nineteenth

BLESS me, bless thee
Bless the birdies in the trees
Love us all without reserve
Give us peace, which we deserve.

April Eighteenth

MY god loves people. My god says life is good.
My god laughs. My god smiles at life's surprises and frowns when no one else enjoys them quite as much.
My god hopes. My god dreams. My god can't tell the difference between color or sex.
My god does know goodness and wishes it for everyone.

- by the blog author

Let Justice Flow Like Streams

LET justice flow like streams
Of sparkling water, pure,
Enabling growth, refreshing life,
Abundant, cleansing sure.

Let righteousness roll on
As others' cares we heed,
An everflowing stream of faith
Translated into deed.

So may God's plumbline, straight,
Define our measure true,
And justice, right and peace pervade
This world our whole life through.

-- Jane Parker Huber, 1984.

April Sixteenth

LOVING Providence, the Foundation of our hope and our Refuge in trouble,
Channel hope,
Grant us good will to use and not abuse.
Deliver us from the snares of death,
Keep us alive through this dying life
That out of death
We may sing praises:
Purity and Innocence,
Thy great goodness -
Restore us from death to the land of the living
In the end - amen.

April Fifteenth

April 15: National Day Of Prayer 2010 Canceled By Obama? – The National Day of Prayer was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge in Wisconsin, late Thursday afternoon. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote the following: “In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual’s decision whether and when to pray.”
The National Day of Prayer has been celebrated since 1952, when Harry S. Truman started it with help from the congress.
Obama spokesman Matt Lehrich did react to Crabb’s ruling stating: “As he did last year, President Obama intends to recognize a National Day of Prayer.”

April Fourteenth

OF all sins, perhaps the greatest is to ignore injustice. Forgive me if I have stepped back and kept quiet when I should have marched forward and shouted.
Let me make an effort to speak for those with no voice, make a fist for those with no strength, and be brave for those with no courage.

-- by the blog author

April Thirteenth

FORGIVE ME.

-- by the blog author

April Twelfth

O LORD, mercifully incline Thine ears to hear our prayers, and, of Thy loving kindness, enlighten the depths of our hearts, that no evil desires may rule them - amen.

-- TREASURY OF DEVOTION

April Eleventh

LISTEN,
Today we gather to mark the passing of
The wise, strong, old guardian of our triber.
Without him we feel shaken - unsure.
We wonder what the future brings.

Listen.
An oak, a lion, a warrior
Has fallen.
The one who stood at the portals of our city,
Watching ... guarding,
Has passed.
While he was here he gave us strength,
Wisdom and love.
He provided the peace and security we needed
To trust, grow and raise our families.
When the night was dark or the path
Uncertain, we turned our eyes to him
For reassurance.

Listen.
Today we gather to mark the passing
Of the wise, strong, old guardian of our tribe.
He left us while his eyes were still clear,
His heart still strong,
His memories still good.
He left us while food and drink still tasted goo to his tongue
And his mind was alert and eager for new experiences.
We know he has gone on to another city
To stand with the guardians of the past.
And when we arrive at the portals of that place,
Whose vistas we cannot imagine,
There will be a familiar face
To greet us.
That far-off city --
The end of all our journeys --
Will not frighten us,
For he will be there and his presence
Will comfort us.

Listen.
The wise, strong, old guardian of our tribe
Has passed.
But as long as there are people who tell stories,
And as long as there are scribes who keep records,
His name will be remembered and honored.
His thousand good deeds
Will be recalled and recounted,
And his legacy of strength and kindness and love
Will enrich us forever.

Listen.
The body of the wise, strong, old guardian of our tribe has passed;
Yet his spirit and his life are still here,
Residing in all of us.

-- Jeanne Fenimore Levy

April Tenth

"We didn't believe in burying people in the earth. No, the body of our dead were put on scaffolds or in trees, where the birds, the wind, and the rain could take care of them. The soul went on to the spirit land through the sky, and on the trail sat Owl-Woman, Hihan-Kaha, who would not let them pass unless they had the right signs on their foreheads, or chins, or wrists. When a child died, sometimes the father could not stand parting from it. Then he took some hair from the body and put it into a bundle which he placed in a special tipi. There he kept the child's soul. Soul keeping was hard. It might go on for a year, and during this time the father could not touch his wife, his gun, his weapons; he could not go out and hunt. At the end, the soul was released with a great giveaway feast.

-- from "American Indian Myths and Legends" edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz
Photo by Wallace G. Levison, Life magazine archives, 1906
Staten Island, NY, 1906

April Ninth

O LORD, Thy hands have formed us, and Thou hast sent us into this world, that we may walk in the way that leads to heaven and Thyself, and may find a lasting rest in Thee who art the Source and Centre of our souls. Look in pity on us poor pilgrims in the narrow way; let us not go astray, but reach at last our true home where our Father dwells. Guide and govern us from day to day, and bestow on us food and strength for body and soul, that we may journey on in peace. Forgive us for having hitherto so often wavered or looked back, and let us henceforward march straight on in the way of Thy laws, and may our last step be a safe and peaceful passage to the arms of Thy love, and the blessed fellowship of the sants in light. Hear us, O Lord, and glorify Thy name in us that we may glorify Thee for ever and ever - amen.

-- GERHARD TERSTEEGEN (1697-1769)
Photo of English sculptor Barbara Hepworth, St. Ives, UK, 1964, photo by Paul Schutzer, Life magazine archives

April Eighth

O LORD my God, for life and reason, nurture, preservation, guidance, education; for Thy gifts of grace and nature, for Thy calling, recalling, manifold recalling me again and again; for Thy forbearance, long-suffering, and long long-suffering toward me, even until now; for all from whom I have received any good or help; for the use of Thy present good things; for Thy promise, and my hope, of good things to come; for all these things, and for all other, which I know, which I know not, manifest or secret, remembered or forgotten by me, I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I give Thee thanks; and I will praise, and bless, and give Thee thanks, all the days of my life. What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits to me? Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor and power - amen.

-- LANCELOT ANDREWES (1555-1626)
Render to the Lord, photo by Gjon Mili, Life magazine archives

April Seventh

O GOD, the Consolation of all such as be sorrowful, and the Salvation of all them that put their trust in Thee, grant unto us, in this dying life, that peace for which we humbly pray, and hereafter to attain unto everlasting joy in Thy presence, through our Lord Jesus Christ - amen.

-- ROMAN BREVIARY

April Sixth

O LORD, make us to love Thee, and each other in Thee, and to meet before Thee to dwell in Thine everlasting love - amen.

-- E.B. PUSEY

April Fifth

THE day returns and brings us the petty round of irritating concerns and duties. Help us to play the man, help us to perform them with laughter and kind faces, let cheerfulness abound with industry. Give us to go blithely on our business all this day, bring us to our resting beds weary and content and undishonored, and grant us in the end the gift of sleep. - Amen

-- R.L. STEVENSON

April Fourth

BLESS what there is. - amen

April Third

BLESS ME Father for I have sinned. My last confession was about 42 years ago.
I have blasphemed, lied, stolen, taken the Lord's name in vain - and broken several other of Your 10 commandments.
I regret these sins for the way they have influenced others and in the way they have ignored the wise counsel you once gave the world.
But most of all because they hurt you and I beg forgiveness.
Please pardon me as I try to live the rest of my life with the best of intentions.

-- by the blog author

April Second

PUT me on your to-do list, please, oh spirit that guides us all.
The spirit that runs through each of us because we are all one person, the good and the bad, the poor and the rich, the cunning and the not-so-sharp.
Let my tongue say words that ring like crystal being struck by a silver spoon
Rather than brass rings falling on a stone floor.
Let my friends smile when they see me coming,
Not grimacing because they will have to talk to me
And listen to me whine.

-- by the blog author

April First

O LORD, if only my will may remain right and firm towards Thee, do with me whatsoever it shall please Thee. For it cannot be anything but good, whatsoever Thou shalt do with me.
If it be Thy will I should be in darkness, be Thou blessed; and if it be Thy will I should be in light, be Thou again blessed.
If Thou vouchsafe to comfort me, be Thou blessed; and, if Thou wilt have me afflicted, be Thou ever equally blessed - amen.

-- THOMAS A' KEMPIS

March Thirty-First

ON March 31st in 1855, the author Charlotte Brontë died, aged 39. She had lived in Yorkshire. In one of her books, "Jane Eyre," she wrote:
“We know that God is everywhere, but certainly we feel his presence most when his works are on the grandest scale spread before us,
and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where his worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest his infinitude, his omnipotence, his omnipresence.”

March Thirtieth

O THOU who chastenest whom Thou lovest, grant us grace, we pray Thee, to discern Thy love in whatever suffering Thou sendest us. Support us in patient thankfulness under pain, anxiety, or loss, and move us with pity and tenderness for our afflicted neighbors - amen.

-- CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

March Twenty-Ninth

O LORD our God, who hast chased the slumber from our eyes, and once more assembled us to lift up our hands unto Thee, and to praise Thy just judgments, accept our prayers and supplications, and give us faith that maketh not ashamed, confident hope and love unfeigned; bless our coming-in and going-out, our thoughts, words, and works, and let us begin this day with the praise of the unspeakable sweetness of Thy mercy. Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come - amen.

-- GREEK CHURCH from Life magazine archives, photo by George Silk, Sept. 1952

March Twenty-Eighth

O GOD, my God, I am all weakness, but Thou art my Strength; I am ever anew bowed down by any trial, but Thou canst and willest to life me up. Let me now fall, O God, my Strength; let me not be discouraged, O God, my Hope.
Draw me each day, if it be but a little nearer unto Thee; make me, each day, if it be but a little less unlike Thee; let me do or bear each day something, for love of Thee, whereby I may be fitter for Thee, to behold Thee. Let no day pass, let not tomorrow pass, without my having done something pleasing unto Thee. Thus alone would I live, that I may live more unto Thee; thus would I die, longing to love Thee more - amen.

-- E.B. PUSEY

March Twenty-Seventh

BESTOW on me, O Lord ,a genial spirit and unwearied forbearance; a mild, loving, patient heart; kindly looks, pleasant, cordial speech and manners in the intercourse of daily life; that I may give offence to none, but as much as in me lies live in charity with all men - amen.

-- JOHANN ARNDT (1555-1621)

March Twenty-Sixth

O GOD, the Shepherd of all Thy people, deliver the same from all sins which do assail them, that so they may ever be pleasing in Thy sight, and safe under Thy shelter; for Christ's sake - amen.

-- ROMAN BREVIARY

March Twenty-Fifth

ECCLESIASTES II:I

WE must cast our bread Upon the waters, as the
Ancient preacher said,

Trusting that it may
Amply be restored to us
After many a day.

That old metaphor,
Drawn from rice farming on the
River's flooded shore,

Helps us to believe
That it's no great sin to give,
Hoping to receive.

Therefore I shall throw
Broken bread, this sullen day,
Out across the snow,

Betting crust and crumb
That birds will gather, and that
One more spring will come.

-- RICHARD WILBUR

March Twenty-Fourth

O LORD, we beseech Thee to bless and prosper this Thy household; grand us sweet reasonablnes in all our dealings with one another; make us large-hearted in helping and generous in criticizing; keep us from unkind words and from unkind silences. Make us quick to understand the needs and feelings of others; and grant that living in the brightness of Thy presence we may bring Thy sunshine into cloudy places - amen.

-- L.H.M. SOULSBY
photo from Life magazine archives - taken by Bob Landry, Dec. 9, 1940; Los Angeles, Calif.

March Twenty-Third

NOW I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

-- taught to me early on by my mother, this prayer used to scare me at night right before I went to bed. What if I *should* die, an uncomfortable feeling when boogeymen and monsters under the bed were my greatest fears. I didn't know anyone who had ever died. Where would I go, where would I be? Would only my soul get to go?

March Twenty-Second

"OUR AIM must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding. We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. And that will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man. (Yes)
"I know you are asking today, 'How long will it take?' (Speak, sir) Somebody's asking, 'How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?'
"Somebody's asking, 'When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?'
"Somebody's asking, 'When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, (Speak, speak, speak) plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?' (Yes, sir) I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because 'truth crushed to earth will rise again.' (Yes, sir) "How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because 'no lie can live forever.' (Yes, sir) How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because 'you shall reap what you sow.' (Yes, sir)
"How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

-- Martin Luther King Jr., March 22, 1965

March Twenty-First

FOR ALL THIS, thank you. For life, nature, the trees, the wind, the rain and the sun, thank you.

-- the blog author

March Twentieth

BLESS us, let us bless others
With kindness, soft words, gentle thoughts
And more kindness.
Accept our neighbors
Accept our differences
Accept our commonality.

-- by the blog author

March Nineteenth

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in midair stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

-- Robert Frost
Image taken by photographer Gordon Parks, May 5, 1959

March Eighteenth

At The End
...I sat with Rupert. At 4 o’clock he became weaker, and at 4.46 he died, with the sun shining all round his cabin, and the cool sea-breeze blowing through the door and the shaded windows. No one could have wished for a quieter or a calmer end than in that lovely bay, shielded by the mountains and fragrant with sage and thyme.

-- by Rupert Brooke's friend William Denis Browne

March Sixteenth

May the frost never afflict your spuds.
May the leaves of your cabbage always be free from worms.
May the crows never pick your haystack.
If you inherit a donkey, may she be in foal.

-- an Irish blessing

March Seventeenth

MAY the blessing of the rain be on you—
the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit
so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
May the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many a shining pool
where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.

May the good earth be soft under you
when you rest upon it,
and may it rest easy over you when,
at the last, you lay out under it,
And may it rest so lightly over you
that your soul may be out
from under it quickly,
and up, and off,
And be on its way to God.

March Fifteenth

THESE I have loved: White plates and cups, clean-gleaming, ringed with blue lines; . . . wet roofs, beneath the lamplight; the strong crust of friendly bread; . . . the rough male kiss of blankets; grainy wood; live hair that is shining and free; blue-massing clouds; the keen unpassioned beauty of a great machine; the benison of hot water; furs to touch; the good smell of old clothes . . .

-- RUPERT BROOKE

March Fourteenth

THE SEAT of the soul is where the inner world and the outer world meet. Where they overlap, it is in every point of the overlap.
There is but one temple in the universe and that is the body of man.

-- NOVALIS