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The Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.


O Lord, 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 one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in forgiving that one is forgiven, it is in dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

Moving Forward Meditations

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Moving Forward - 18 February 2025

    TUESDAY, February 18, Martin Luther


    Psalm 100:1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.


    When I was young, my grandmother made me memorize two psalms: Psalm 23 and Psalm 100. She didn’t tell me why, and I wasn’t stupid enough to ask, but over the years, I’ve been really grateful that she did. Because now, Psalm 100 is in my bones and reminds me that the fuel for difficult love—meaning love of enemies who promote or relish systemic injustice—and perseverance in the tedious fight for justice and equality can’t be served long term by sorrow or righteous anger. Bitterness or despair are likely to be the result.


    But joy, that resilient and happy buoyancy stemming from current pleasures and remembered blessings, is better able to fuel the fire of that kind of love. Writers like Ross Gay, Adrienne Maree Brown, and Cole Arthur Riley say the same. It’s not that I don’t sometimes feel resentment and rage or impatience and grief, but the songs of my ancestors, the gladness of my elders even in the face of all they have seen, and the joy of our descendants make the words of this psalm real for me, especially that first verse.


    MOVING FORWARD: What brings you joy?



    (Source: Forward Day by Day Movement)

     
     
     

    Moving Forward - 17 February 2025

      MONDAY, February 17, Janani Luwum


      Mark 11:11b And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.


      What an anticlimactic verse! The crowd goes wild for Jesus entering the city, riding a donkey; they excitedly spread their cloaks and branches on the ground. Some are in front of him, and some are behind him, all shouting with joy about the coming kingdom. And then, after he enters Jerusalem, there’s nothing about crowds or shouting or donkeys. It’s just Jesus and his disciples, going into the temple, looking around at everything, and simply leaving. It’s as prosaic as kids going to the mall. But it also fits.


      This non-event ending to the loud and proud beginning foreshadows the unexpectedness of events to come. That impromptu parade announcing the Messianic hope isn’t going to end in triumph but rather the sham of a kangaroo court, the agony of torture, and the shame of capital punishment. But what’s amazing is that in all those instances of seeming defeat,


      Divine Love pulls out a win. And for me, that means every time evil or illness or terror appears to gain ground here and now, God can still do the unexpected. Love will find a way to win.


      MOVING FORWARD: What unexpected thing is God doing in your life?



      (Source: Forward Day by Day Movement)

       
       
       

      Moving Forward - 16 February 2025

        SUNDAY, February 16, 6 Epiphany


        Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.


        I especially love this verse of the Beatitudes or “blessings” pronounced by Jesus because it is so subversive. In many of our cultural contexts—work life, friend circles, sometimes even church—mourning is seen as something that makes others uncomfortable, something to quickly get over. It’s almost as if there’s a time limit for a healthy mourning, and those who finish the fastest win. But, win what?


        Jesus not only blesses those who mourn with permission to have it take the time it takes but also reminds us that mourning is what comes in the absence of something, someone that we hoped would be with us. Mourning is an act of love, and to love and be loved is a blessing.

        Blessed are those who mourn, for those we have lost in our family and friend circles and our congregations, and for those who suffer in the world. Thanks be to God for love and compassion that is not stopped by pain. Keeping our capacity to love is indeed a blessing.


        MOVING FORWARD: Forward Movement is a non-profit that donates thousands of books and pamphlets to nursing homes, prisons, and hospitals. You can support this work with your gift. 



        (Source: Forward Day by Day Movement)

         
         
         
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