The Thomas Merton Prayer ~

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am

following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road

though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and

in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me

to face my perils alone.

America First ~

And the world, as I have known it for the past 70 years, continues to be torn apart and destroyed . . .

America Crumbling ~

Two major American sports teams have announced that they will stop playing Kate Smith's rendition of the Irving Berlin patriotic classic God Bless America because of racist views she supposedly had.

Easter 2019 ~

And Daniel Barenboim would rather not perform Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion with the Berlin Philhormoniker because of the antisemitic passages in it.

Protestant Theologian ~

After being tortured Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by hanging on 9 April 1945 at a Nazi concentration camp.

Prayer ~

Prayer -- is simply letting thoughts float heavenward.

The Power of Words ~

Consider what this one word can do: Socialism

Final Exam for the Graduates ~

I had taught them for years and they were obviously frightened. Written and oral exams tomorrow. I told them to relax now and forget the books. They had learned a lot of German in four years. . . Go downtown this evening and go for a quiet walk. No drinking, no horsing around. Turn in early for a good night's sleep. Come in tomorrow alert and looking sharp: boys in jacket, shirt and tie, the girls wearing their neat dresses. Have happy thoughts and be confident. If you let it, everything will meld and fall into place, but you must be calm and receptive.

Burial ~

The childen stood at the gravesite and heard them lower the coffin,  but they refused to lean over and look in. Then they broke into tears.

Hate ~

" . . . this ability he has to sense our darkest instincts and call to them, coax them out of hiding, when we'd prefer not to see them at all."
Nancy Gibbs    Time

Going to Midnight Mass?

And then this at Christmas time:
More than 500 priests accused of sexual abuse . . . public list of Chicago-area priests with credible allegation of abuse to grow . . .
Chicago Tribune

Lost Here ~

In the search for God one is always alone. And we hardly know who we are looking for, or where to look.

Laudation ~

Hail, Stalwart Souls who stand up against the Powers That Be to stop it from eating into the fabric of our lives.

Waking Me with Splendor ~

You reflect Your beauty to me through Your creatures.

From Whence Cometh Our Strength? ~

What disturbs the monk is the fact that it is the Church People who lend such massive support.

Memories ~

All the mistakes you made in your lifetime come back, with clarity, to haunt you.

The Greater USA ~

. . . And The Show goes on . . . 

Daylight Savings Time Debate ~

We can turn back the clocks, but we can't stop the months from coming on . . . October, November . . .