Com (with) + muni (body)– being with the body, that is what we do as we gather together to partake in the Eucharist. Today be with the body, the body of Christ as remembered in the bread and wine, and with the body of Christ now made manifest in the church. Be as centered on being with fellow Christians, as Christ’s body, as you are with the bread and wine of communion. Read more
It may be simple, but today do whatever you can to show love to someone in a concrete and physical way. Wash someone’s car, babysit their children, cook them dinner, mow their lawn–whatever you do do it as though you were doing it for Christ. Read more
Fast from all food and caloric drinks until 5 PM As you fast, center your attention on using the emptiness of your mealtimes as an opening for God. If we always fulfill our cravings there is no opportunity for something new to come in. Today, as you resist those cravings ask God to show you what new things might fulfill the hungers of your life. Read more
Each night, as I put my daughter to sleep there is a moment when she relaxes herself into my arms. She has given up all resistance and is ready to simply trust and be held. It is this attitude that we should seek in our prayer–a complete rest in the arms of God. Today, spend 20 minutes in silence, imagining that you are a child completely relaxed into the arms of God. Let go of all of your struggles and... Read more
The Rosary has been a critical part of Roman Catholic devotional life since Medieval times, but most outside of the Roman Catholic church haven’t taken up the Rosary as a regular practice. This is a mistake because the Rosary not only offers a profound form of prayer that engages the mind, soul and body at once, but it also provides a regular means through which to meditate on the life of Christ within the full context of his earthly and... Read more
Jonathan Myrick Daniels is a martyr of the Episcopal Church. As a seminarian he worked for civil rights in Alabama, actions that led to his arrest and eventually his murder. Like most martyrs Daniels never sought to die. He just showed up to defend the image of God in his black brothers and sisters against a racist public that would not accept it. Where do you need to show up? Where is the image of God being dishonored in your... Read more
Part of the purpose of spiritual disciplines is to make right actions automatic. When we are faced with someone who we can respond to with love or hate, we should not have to decide, we should be so formed that love is our default. Spiritual disciplines are a way of returning our lives to the “factory settings” of God’s Kingdom. Reading and meditating on scripture is a particularly power way to achieve such a reset. Today read, reread, and work... Read more
Our phones have taken a hold of us and the constant feedback of messages, emails, and social networks can be addicting. Today, turn off your phone. Put it in a drawer or even get a cell phone sleeping bag. We survived and communicated for millennia without cell phones, today you’ll be just fine. Read more
Meditating on the lives of the saints is a way to get a better vision of what it looks like to live out the way of Christ. Today, as we celebrate the Feast of Saint Clare, we have a particularly rich life upon which to meditate. Clare was a close friend and collaborator with St. Francis, and founded her own religious order with its own rule, the first such rule known to have been written by a woman. Read this... Read more
Fast from all food and caloric drinks until sundown. During your fast, use the time you would spend on meals to reflect on John 6:35, 41-51 (the Gospel reading for this Sunday in churches using the Revised Common Lectionary) What does Christ mean when he claims to be the “bread of life”? How can we feast on such bread even while we fast? Read more
Word + Flesh
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