Daily Devotion - Monday, August 16

Listening to Our Heart

This week’s devotions focus on listening to our hearts. The prayer for today is attributed to St. Francis.

What do you sense this prayer saying in your heart/soul/spirit/ whatever word you use to describe that internal sense of value and order for your life?

Lord,
Make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
Divine Master, grant
That I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Have a better day today as you listen to your heart.

--Ben Keckler
08.16.10

Daily Devotions - Friday, January 11

Considering the Important Stuff

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
The moon and the stars you have set on their courses,
What is humankind that you should be mindful of us?”
--Psalm 8: 4, 5

Consider the works of God’s creation for 15 brief minutes a day and you too will probably wonder, “Why is God so mindful of me?” Enjoy discovering answers to this question.

Today we continue our thoughts about the significance of creation. We are part of a cosmic community. The Creator who set all time and space in motion created us in community with the rest of the cosmos. Spending time meditating on this thought can really be empowering. Here is a little story from the life of St. Francis who spent time praying with the little creatures:

When Francis was hurrying across the Lake of Rieti to the
hermitage of Greccio, out of devotion a fisherman offered
him a waterfowl. He took it gladly and opened his hands
to let it go, but it did not want to. He prayed for a long
time with his eyes turned to heaven. After more than an
hour, he came back to himself and gently told the bird again
to go away and praise God. Having received his permission
with a blessing, the bird expressed its joy in the movements
of its body, and flew away.

It may be difficult to take tales like this seriously. The problem is probably ours, however. Realizing the integrity and sacredness of creation opens new dimensions for our spiritual life and our devotional disciplines. We are a small, small part of a splendid work. Thanks to God for all of creation.

A prayer for today:
Holy God, slow me down enough so that in stillness I can discover. Amen.

Ben Keckler
01.11.08