Author Archives: karbly

Come Now, You Hungry
Karin Peter, president of seventy

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” -John 6:35

Growing up we ate sliced, white, sandwich bread bought from the grocery store. It made decent cinnamon toast in the morning and sandwiches in our lunch boxes. It was not great, but it was not horrible, and we didn’t give it much thought.

But occasionally my mother would bake bread. She would set the large bowl of kneaded dough on top the clothes dryer in the laundry room so the heat and humidity would help the yeast. As the bread baked, the mouthwatering aroma would permeate the whole house. And if we were fortunate enough to be home when the bread came out of the oven, she would let us rub the butter wrapper over the tops of the loaves. Then she would take out the serrated knife and give each of us a thick slice of the freshly baked goodness.

That bread-kneaded, baked, and sliced in my mother’s kitchen-was nothing like the store-bought, everyday bread we usually ate. The bread my mother baked filled our senses and satisfied our appetites. It looked, smelled, and tasted glorious. For a busy, working mother of three, it was a generous gift of time, energy, and love.

I think about that bread when I hear Jesus speak of himself as the bread of life. Not the everyday bread that has little taste or texture. But bread born of effort, sacrifice, and love. Bread that has heft and weight to it. The bread we yearn for.

Like the aroma of baking bread, Jesus fills our senses and captures our full attention as we seek to respond to this amazing, generous gift.

As we discover ways to embody the message and ministry of Jesus in our communities, let us respond with our whole selves. May we live out the fragrant, satisfying, life-sustaining qualities of the Jesus we proclaim and follow, Jesus the bread of life.

Prayer Phrase

“Discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Spiritual Practice

Discernment

The heart of discernment is listening for God. God speaks and reveals in many ways-through nature, the voice of a friend, or a deeper knowing in our own souls. How can you create space today to listen for God in your life? What do you hear when you take time to slow down and listen?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Free to Follow God’s Call
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Spiritual Formation Ministries

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and release to the prisoners…
    to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion-
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. -Isaiah 61:1-3a

Spiritual freedom is an active, alert, attentive posture of openness to the Spirit in every condition and circumstance. It is the anchoring practice that returns us over and over to our intention of openness to God’s vision. In Doctrine and Covenants 163:9, we are reminded to “break free of the shackles of conventional culture that mainly promote self-serving interests.” Through the practice of spiritual freedom, we intentionally make space within to respond freely and faithfully, even when that response disrupts the status quo or challenges our own preferences and agendas.

Enter a few moments of silence. Attention to breath can be a helpful way to enter silence more deeply.

Remember our intention in this discernment journey-to be open to God’s vision in and for our community through this discernment process. We pray together for a “group heart large enough and free to follow God’s call as it becomes clear.”  –Elizabeth Liebert, The Soul of Discernment: A Spiritual Practice for Communities and Institutions, p.52.

One minute of silence

Notice what obstructs or inhibits your openness to God or one another. Gently, and without judgement, name any areas within yourself of strong resistance, attachment, or agenda that you might hold and ask God to help you release these. If letting go doesn’t feel possible, commit to remaining conscious of them throughout the process.

Two minutes of silence

Imagine what freedom for openness to God might look and feel like in you and the group here and now. Let any images, words, phrases, or feelings surface that aid your sense of openness and freedom.

Two minutes of silence

Give thanks for any insights that have come and to remember your desire to be open to God and one another throughout this time of meeting and discerning.

Reflections and Conversations:

1. What feels most free and unfree in you as you imagine post-pandemic church life? What feels most open or closed in you?
2. Name assumptions together that are you invited to examine. What did we assume about church that has changed throughout the pandemic? What do we still assume as we come back together? Are these assumptions accurate or limiting?
3. What does it look like to be free for faithfulness to God’s call as a community at this point in our life together?

Prayer Phrase

“Discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Spiritual Practice

Discernment

The heart of discernment is listening for God. God speaks and reveals in many ways-through nature, the voice of a friend, or a deeper knowing in our own souls. How can you create space today to listen for God in your life? What do you hear when you take time to slow down and listen?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Frame the Question in Prayer
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Spiritual Formation Ministries

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right[a] spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
    and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing spirit. -Psalm 51:10-13

We now turn our attention to what is at the heart of the matter. It is important to articulate a question that accurately describes what you are seeking through the discernment process. Describe the issue you are bringing to discernment. Where do you most desire clarity or direction? Notice what assumptions may be revealed in the question you are asking. Bring this question into prayer, gently holding it with God. Notice how it feels as you prepare to enter a time of discernment. Spend time with your question and see if anything else emerges. The practice of deepening the question (below) helps us prayerfully unearth the deeper dimensions of what we are really bringing before God in discernment.

As you frame a question you may consider if it…

• is thought provoking.
• invites creative thinking.
• stimulates reflective conversation.
• generates positive energy and forward movement.
• connects with deep meaning and purpose.
• helps surface underlying assumptions.
• focuses attention on what matters most. -Ron Harmon, “Framing the Essential Questions: A Tool for Discerning and Planning Mission”

You may consider a question such as, “God, how are you inviting us to come back together?” or “What have we discovered in the pandemic about what matters most in our life together?”

The Practice of Deepening the Question: Engage the practice of deepening the question to get the heart of the matter. This practice invites us to keep peeling back the layers to look underneath what we are asking. What assumptions does your question make? Is the question open enough for group discernment? Does the question lead in a certain direction? Does the question adequately reflect depth of openness to God’s vision and invitation?

1. What is the question we bring before God in discernment? What is the heart of the matter?
2. What is underneath this question?
3. What is underneath this question

As a discerning group, share your deepened questions with one another. What is being revealed about what is really at the heart of the matter that you are seeking to explore with God in discernment?

Prayer Phrase

“Discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Spiritual Practice

Discernment

The heart of discernment is listening for God. God speaks and reveals in many ways-through nature, the voice of a friend, or a deeper knowing in our own souls. How can you create space today to listen for God in your life? What do you hear when you take time to slow down and listen?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Tips for Creating Space for Deep Listening in Community
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Spiritual Formation Ministries

Listen to the Voice that echoes across the eons of time and yet speaks anew in this moment. Listen to the Voice, for it cannot be stilled, and it calls you once again to the great and marvelous work of building the peaceable kingdom. -Doctrine and Covenants 162:1b

• Between times of gathering with the community, commit to your own rhythm of spiritual practice that awakens you to God’s presence and invitation. Be open to words, images, and experiences throughout your day and in times of personal prayer that might spark an insight, open a possibility, or bring clarity to your question of discernment.
• Begin each time of gathering with prayerful awareness of the presence of God here and now through communal spiritual practice. Return to the original intention of becoming available to God through the practice of spiritual freedom and of seeking God’s will as the heart of the purpose of spiritual community. Invite the group to share how they have noticed God’s presence and activity throughout the week or in previous gatherings.
• Incorporate intentional spaciousness into your regular agenda as a group or team. These can be simple moments of shared silence that become like anchors drawing your awareness to God’s presence even amid the ordinary business you must tend to. They do not have to be long or complicated. Instead of getting carried away by conversation and planning, take periodic brief pauses, perhaps between agenda items, to invite the community to breathe in silence for 30 seconds to a minute and be open to what the Spirit is doing in the community. You may ask: Where have you sensed God’s movement or invitation in this conversation? Where is the Spirit leading amid this conversation? You do not need to provide time for verbal response, but you can if the schedule allows. You can invite people to respond in a word or phrase to check in on the spiritual condition of the community before moving to the next topic. If something significant arises, you may decide to stay with it and dig deeper before moving forward.
• In moments of tension or disagreement, invite the community to slow down and pay attention to the presence of the Spirit. God is present in all conditions including in moments of disagreement, frustration, or weariness. Take a few moments to be present to God either in the silence or with meditative music playing. Invite the community to reflect: What is the source of passion or resistance around this topic? Do I feel opened to God’s movement right now, or closed off? What is the Spirit’s invitation in this situation?
• When pausing to listen in silence, invite people to offer a few reflections on what they “heard” in the silence as they listened for the Spirit’s movement and invitation. Don’t be afraid to be taken off course! Sometimes an insight is sparked, or another way emerges just from a few moments of shared silence. Those few moments may transform the original discussion into something more life-giving.
• Consider designating a Spiritual Companion or Holy Listener who offers these sacred pauses throughout your time of meeting and provides a prayerful presence.

Prayer Phrase

“Discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Spiritual Practice

Discernment

The heart of discernment is listening for God. God speaks and reveals in many ways-through nature, the voice of a friend, or a deeper knowing in our own souls. How can you create space today to listen for God in your life? What do you hear when you take time to slow down and listen?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

A Pandemic Examen for the Church
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Spiritual Formation Ministries

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. -Ephesians 4:14-16

Holy One, we pray to review our time living through this global pandemic in the light of your love and grace. May we see ourselves and each other through your vision and recognize that you have been present in all things and conditions.

• We review our memories from the beginning of the pandemic until now. Who were we at the beginning of 2020? What priorities or concerns were present then that have shifted now? Prayerfully enter silence and let memories surface of pre-pandemic life, the beginning of the pandemic, and all that has occurred until now. Whether significant or seemingly mundane, simply notice whatever memories come to mind without discrimination.
• Though this was a painful time for our global community, we pray to become aware of where God’s light was shining through the darkness. For what have we been most grateful? When has the spirit of goodness brought healing or peace? When did we feel God’s love and presence? What did we discover about what matters most? Let memories surface and give thanks.
• We offer our confession and lament for all that was revealed in this time about suffering, injustice, and our addictions to patterns and priorities that have not been life-giving. Gently and without judgement, we pray to become aware of the ways we have been out of alignment with God’s deeper vision and call for our lives and communities. What has been revealed in this pandemic about what needs to transform in us as we come back together? When do our own agendas and attachments to “what has always been” get in the way of what God is inviting now?
• We offer our future to God. We have been formed and changed in our time being physically apart. We pray that God will dream new dreams within us as we come back together. We commit to enacting what we have learned and discovered and pray for the courage to live into God’s unfolding future with faith and trust. Amen.

Prayer Phrase

“Discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Spiritual Practice

Discernment

The heart of discernment is listening for God. God speaks and reveals in many ways-through nature, the voice of a friend, or a deeper knowing in our own souls. How can you create space today to listen for God in your life? What do you hear when you take time to slow down and listen?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Create Space to Listen
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Spiritual Formation Ministries

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. -1 Corinthians 12:12-14

Creating space to settle in and open our hearts is an important beginning. It’s also helpful to remember that we have been through a significant, painful, and transformational time as a global community. We hope you feel freedom to help your community breathe, rest, reflect as a faithful response before feeling the urgency of diving back into pre-pandemic levels of activity. Slowing down to pay attention to God’s call in the midst of this situation may determine a new pace, rhythm, and priorities that reflect what has changed in us along the way. You are invited to create space through this pandemic-related lectio divina that can be practiced individually or in community.

Lectio Divina (Sacred Reading): “The Joyful Exiles”

…their life shall become like a watered garden,
    and they shall never languish again…
I will turn their mourning into joy,
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow…
There is hope for your future,
says the Lord:
    your children shall come back to their own country…
Set up road markers for yourself,
    make yourself signposts;
consider well the highway,
    the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
    return to these your cities. -Jeremiah 31:12, 14, 17, 21

Read the scripture slowly and prayerfully. As you read the first time, notice if there is a word, phrase, or image that captures your attention. In silent prayer, hold this word, phase, or image before God.

Read the scripture a second time and notice what is evoked in you. Are there feelings, memories, or sensations that are revealed in this reading? Record any movements or memories that surface for you.

Read the scripture a third time in the context of your discernment question. What is God’s invitation for you and/or your community through this text?

Read the text a fourth time and rest in the silence. Consider setting a timer for 5 minutes to simply be in God’s presence, creating space to listen for God. At the end of the 5 minutes, record any insights, movements, or awareness that came from your time of listening. It is ok if your time of listening doesn’t yield anything specific. Simply making yourself available to listen for God more regularly is an important part of discernment. Paying attention to how you felt in the silence can be a helpful way of identifying where discernment is leading.

If you are in community as you engage this text, spend time processing your experience together and sharing any insights that are beginning to emerge in response to your discernment question. Be cautious not to assume that you’ve answered the question. This is just one way to begin gathering perspectives and experiences.

Questions for Group Reflection:

• What was your experience of this time of prayer?
• What do you sense is God’s invitation to you or to the community through this time of prayer?

Prayer Phrase

“Discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Spiritual Practice

Discernment

The heart of discernment is listening for God. God speaks and reveals in many ways-through nature, the voice of a friend, or a deeper knowing in our own souls. How can you create space today to listen for God in your life? What do you hear when you take time to slow down and listen?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Community
John Bonney of Springfield, OR, USA

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
  for his name’s sake. -Psalm 23:1-3

Each weekday morning I go to one of our civic swimming pools. The front doors open at 5:00 a.m., but the two inner doors that give us access to the pools, lanes, and boards open at 5:30. So I stand with others between the two sets of doors and wait 10-15 minutes before entering. I have come to know and respect that small community of people. Community is any group of people, large or small, that share life together and respect the rights and privileges of each other. I love each person in that social group “between the doors,” because they are my kin. Community is characterized by the tendency to reach out and accept others. The individuals in this group stand figuratively with their front facing outward in welcome.

Community should provide the basics to every human within it. In our larger communities, every person should have the basics of education, food, clothing, health care, housing, and support for life. This should be a given. I shall not judge who is worthy of such benefits of society. As the text of a hymn states, “…All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place…” (Marty Haugen, “All Are Welcome,” \xc2\xa91994 GIA Publications, Inc., Community of Christ Sings 276).

Although we have poorly used it, this earth is able to provide for the inhabitants. Ideally, all 7.4 billion of us should be able to live well on this planet. Then what is the problem? There is always a smaller portion of the population that wants it all. Taking more than one’s share destroys the earth’s ability to provide for the needs of all: human beings, animals, trees, and flowers. All refers to every fish and the water in which it lives. All includes the oceans, lakes, rivers, and skies. All refers to the very air we breathe.

Community is when the greater good is done to fill the basic needs of every person, every animal, flora and fauna, and all basic resources. Do more than celebrate the blessings of community. Care for the world, as a global community, and take only your small share.

Prayer Phrase

“Awake, my soul!” (Psalm 57:8)

Spiritual Practice

The Prayer of the Heart

Early Christian disciples desired to take seriously the scripture mandate to pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The prayer of the heart invites us to pray “continuously” by repeating and returning to a prayer phrase planted for intentional reflection and deepening. Choose a word or phrase (from scripture, hymnody, or personal reflection) that has meaning for you. The Jesus Prayer is one form of the prayer of the heart: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:35-43). Invite this simple phrase to repeat in your heart throughout the day, awakening your soul to God’s presence.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

The Universal Christ
Bill Gunlock of Taipei, Taiwan

So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. -Ephesians 2:17-22

Somewhere on the mountainside I heard the peaceful cooing of an Asian dove and the chanting of a barbet bird. At the top of the long stairs stood the brick walls of Xing Tian Gong Temple. Below was the roar of the Greater Taipei mass transit and the highway to Xindian City.

Entering the temple, I heard women volunteers from the local community solemnly chanting scriptures as they knelt at prayer desks, preparing for their temple duties. They had dedicated their lives to the service of people needing blessing and healing.

In the temple’s main chamber numerous visitors were slowly gathering, forming multiple lines of the young, the old, and the feeble. Ladies in blue stood in front, each holding three burning incense sticks, the fragrant, sinuous smoke representing prayers to Tian Shang (God in heaven).

When motioned to approach, each worshiper stepped forward reverently. After a prayer, the lady in blue waved incense sticks three times in front, three times above the head, and again in front of the person. The third time the prayer smoke was “pushed” toward the worshiper’s heart.

After this sacramental act, each exchanged smiles and statements of thankfulness, a bow, and a “ping an,” meaning “peace be with you.” I stepped in line to receive my blessing, with faith that the universal Christ was present here.

Prayer Phrase

“Awake, my soul!” (Psalm 57:8)

Spiritual Practice

The Prayer of the Heart

Early Christian disciples desired to take seriously the scripture mandate to pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The prayer of the heart invites us to pray “continuously” by repeating and returning to a prayer phrase planted for intentional reflection and deepening. Choose a word or phrase (from scripture, hymnody, or personal reflection) that has meaning for you. The Jesus Prayer is one form of the prayer of the heart: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:35-43). Invite this simple phrase to repeat in your heart throughout the day, awakening your soul to God’s presence.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Seeking Divine Love: Life as a Spiritual Journey
Laurie Gordon of Bend, OR, USA

Hear my cry, O God;
  listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to you,
  when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
  that is higher than I;
for you are my refuge,
  a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me abide in your tent forever,
  find refuge under the shelter of your wings. -Psalm 61:1-4

Fierce rain and raging winds pummel San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. Inside the sanctuary, stillness reigns. Silence is pregnant with the possibility of revelation. I have come to walk the labyrinth patterned on the floor of this sacred place in a reenactment of my spiritual journey.

The journey begins on the periphery of an immense circle and ends in the six-petaled space at the center of the winding pattern. Between origin and destination the path unfolds in multi-layered stretches of varying lengths. Punctuated by sudden turning points, the direction of travel changes abruptly and without warning.

One by one those who would walk this journey enter the pattern to follow its long road. My turn comes. One foot slowly follows the other as I tread the winding path with quiet focus and receptive heart. As I patiently and slowly tread the path that twists and turns like the patterns of my life, I become settled and aware.

At the beginning, the path takes me frustratingly close to, but not truly into, the Center I seek. Farther along, the endless path seems to carry me farther away from my destination…and yet, I am drawing ever nearer to that which I seek. So it has been in my life. When God seems easily accessible, predictable, I am not as close as I might think. When I feel distant from Divine Presence, I am almost there.

As I walk, it becomes clear that my journey is mine and mine alone. I am sometimes lonely, craving the companionship of someone to walk beside me. Occasionally another journeyer travels at my side on a parallel path, but one of us inevitably veers away at some unshared turning point. I am left to wander alone, again, toward that distant center. Respect grows for the uniqueness of each person’s journey and the divergent paths of fellow travelers.

In this one recreation of my life’s pilgrimage, I have not remembered every tortuous and lovely thing that has ever happened to bring me to this place. But in this meditative reenactment of the spiritual journey, I have seen with peculiar clarity what is relevant for this moment in my life. Rather than perceiving my life as a series of painful or mundane fragments, I experience my journey as a luminous whole. Though made up of ordinary events, I recognize patterns of extraordinary grace.

Prayer Phrase

“Awake, my soul!” (Psalm 57:8)

Spiritual Practice

The Prayer of the Heart

Early Christian disciples desired to take seriously the scripture mandate to pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The prayer of the heart invites us to pray “continuously” by repeating and returning to a prayer phrase planted for intentional reflection and deepening. Choose a word or phrase (from scripture, hymnody, or personal reflection) that has meaning for you. The Jesus Prayer is one form of the prayer of the heart: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:35-43). Invite this simple phrase to repeat in your heart throughout the day, awakening your soul to God’s presence.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Finding Beauty in Fungus
Nina Warriner of Bath, NY, USA

More fully embody your oneness and equality in Jesus Christ. Oneness and equality in Christ are realized through the waters of baptism, confirmed by the Holy Spirit, and sustained through the sacrament of Communion. Embrace the full meaning of these sacraments and be spiritually joined in Christ as never before…. Oneness and equality in Christ do not mean uniformity. They mean Unity in Diversity and relating in Christ-like love to the circumstances of others as if they were one’s own. They also mean full opportunity for people to experience human worth and related rights, including expressing God-given giftedness in the church and society. -Doctrine and Covenants 165:3a, e

At a women’s retreat during the fall we were asked to take a contemplative walk-to be mindful of what we saw, what we heard, and what we felt. I have frequently been drawn to grand scenes of nature-the rolling hillsides, the crashing waterfall, the colorful sky. But for this walk, I decided to look deeper, seeking out smaller signs of life. I noticed white speckles scattered deep underneath a bush. I ended up getting down on my hands and knees, crawling under the bush, to see what they were. I was surprised and captivated by what I saw-tiny white mushrooms with delicately carved grooves on their caps. These tiny fungi were a beautiful sight to behold.

We are called to look beyond the surface of others, to go deep and experience one another in a real and vulnerable way. In doing so, we may experience things that at first glance seem undesirable-such as fungus. However, when we seek to build relationships founded in the love of Christ, we find the beauty in the fungus and uncover the holy within each other.

Prayer Phrase

“Awake, my soul!” (Psalm 57:8)

Spiritual Practice

The Prayer of the Heart

Early Christian disciples desired to take seriously the scripture mandate to pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The prayer of the heart invites us to pray “continuously” by repeating and returning to a prayer phrase planted for intentional reflection and deepening. Choose a word or phrase (from scripture, hymnody, or personal reflection) that has meaning for you. The Jesus Prayer is one form of the prayer of the heart: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:35-43). Invite this simple phrase to repeat in your heart throughout the day, awakening your soul to God’s presence.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.