A Special Offer

      For my fifteenth (or maybe sixteenth) birthday, I had one request.  I wanted “random crap.”  Full disclosure.  Those were my words.  I don’t remember everything I got, but I believe my family was more than obliging.  My sister got me an Elmo digital clock keychain and threw in some brightly colored scraps of paper.  I was fully satisfied.  

  Years later, as a semi-grown up person, I still thoroughly enjoy well-compiled randomness.  I think that’s just how my mind works.  Maybe that’s why I became an English major.  “Yes students,” my mental professor (argyle and all) says, “A research paper is, in essence, a random pile of facts strewn together in such a way that you convince your audience that you have proven something altogether new and cohesive.”  After receiving the compliment of my academic career - a note on my 12-page final essay in a very challenging literary theory class - “This is the best undergraduate research paper I have read in a very long time”, I realized my love for stringing together random crap was a true calling. 

  And I’m certainly not the only one.  Recently, I’ve found a new curiosity in “Subscription Boxes.”  I’m sure you’ve seen them.  Here’s how it works.  You find a genre of box that meets your interest.  It is much like subscribing to Vogue if you like fashion or Sports Illustrated if you’re the office manager at a health clinic (oh, I do make myself laugh).  If you have an interest, there’s a box for you.  Then, after choosing a subscription length (usually 1 month to 1 year) and forking over your credit card, you get a nice, neat, box of random crap mailed to you for the aforementioned length of time.  I’m not trying to be facetious.  The company you subscribe to literally puts together a bunch of stuff meeting your interest (hiking, knitting, cat herding etc) into a box each month and mails it to you.

I’m being partly sarcastic and partly ONE HUNDRED PERCENT serious when I say how cool is that?  The sarcastic bit is really asking, “why on earth would you want to pay money for a stranger to mail you a bunch of stuff you don’t even know if you’ll like?  What if it’s all junk? Just a bunch of crap?” The one hundred percent serious part of me has so many reasons (okay, at least two).  First, we like to identify ourselves with stuff.  “I am a runner” turns into having running clothes, running shoes, running stuff in general.  Being a writer, a painter or a dog lover all equate to other accessories.  All arguments of capitalism aside (that’s for a later blog, I’m sure), this psychology makes a lot of sense.  When we see ourselves a certain way, we try to help others see us that way, too.

Second, we like to imagine that there is someone out there who gets us.  I think this was my true wish that year for my birthday.  I wanted to make it seem like I was carefree, like it didn’t matter to me if my family got me a bunch of random crap.  But what I really wanted was to see how much they could get it right, how well they knew me down to the trivial, inconsequential stuff.  With the boxes, we like to imagine that someone is out there and they know who we are and what we care about and can just send it to us in a box.  

Here’s the really cool thing.  God does all of the best parts of this and does it with no strings attached.  Before I go too far, I’m not saying “Life is like a box of random crap.” Just go with me for a minute.  Imagine that every single day, not just a month or a year, God presents you with everything in life: all the things you love, all the things that make you a better person (even when it’s hard), all the joy, all the sorrow and all the random stuff that goes on in our daily existence.  We subscribe to life and God gives us so much of what we need and knows, to our deepest self, who we are and where we belong.  We don’t have to surround ourselves with stuff to be Christians.  We don’t have to spend money.  Jesus offered himself on the cross, paying the ultimate price for our sins, long before we even had a chance.   God’s offer is open to us every day and in every experience and is free of cost.  But just as having the right shoes doesn’t make you a runner if you don’t use them, God’s grace and love (even though freely given) can only be truly realized when we accept them.  We are called to believe we are God’s people and then, as Christians, show that love back to our world.  

So you’re invited to take part in this special offer.  Why wait? 

Are We There Yet? Getting Closer to God

I saw a sign the other day that made me laugh.  It said something to the effect of “The one thing that binds us together as humans, regardless of our age, race, religion or social status is that, deep down, we all believe we are above average drivers.”  Now, if Jimmy John’s can forgive me for this terrible paraphrase, I can forgive them for this crass generalization.  

You don’t know me, Jimmy John’s.

I am a terrible driver.   Certainly, I would not say that I am “above average.”  Maybe I should say I’m a decent driver with terrible confidence.

Living in New Jersey for four years had its advantages - I never had to drive.  Either the resources I needed were close enough to get to on foot or, if not, there was public transit that could take me where I needed to go.  My university even had a public bus system spanning 3 towns.  Let’s just say, I got spoiled.  Then, moving to Wisconsin, I had a wake-up call.  The grocery store closest to me is a little too far for comfortably toting bags.  If I want fancier groceries or more variety, the next closest store is definitely too far.  If I’m looking to have some fun, I can take the Metra to Chicago, but it doesn’t come as frequently to my town (Kenosha) as it does to other towns south of the border.  You get the picture.

Eventually, the choice was laid clear before me.  I could either live the rest of my life within a 3-mile radius (a prospect which gets gloomy even to a self-proclaimed home-body), or I could get back behind the wheel.  It took a long time - more than a year of living here - to get up the courage to drive.   But soon enough, driving three or four blocks turned into applying for and driving to a job in the next town.  Then, as I started making new friends, I drove to towns 45 minutes away.  My swearing off of highway driving didn’t last much past a couple of serendipitous (i.e. unintentional) re-routes from my GPS.  This past summer, I was able to leave a job that wasn’t working out (one that was in a close driving distance) for a job as a camp counselor at Lutherdale Bible Camp in Elkhorn - an awesome opportunity that led me to where I am now: your chaplain at University of Wisconsin Whitewater.            
It seems so odd to me now, looking back, to think that I would have let so many opportunities pass by because I thought myself incapable of doing something.  Sure, I am still cautious when I drive, I always have to wear my glasses and sometimes I slow way down to make sure I’m not about to run over those stupid construction cones.  But, in general, I’m past the point of letting fear stop me from doing what I want.  

In our faith lives, we need to break down barriers between us and God.  For me, God is in experiencing the world, being around new people, doing new things and taking adventures.  How much would I have missed out on if I had let my fear of driving turn into an obstinate refusal to do so?  It had, for so long, been just that; I would get in arguments with my husband about my ability to drive saying things like “you know I don’t see well” and “do you want me to die just so we can have some groceries?”. That last argument would sometimes get so out of perspective that I would go as far as to blame him, saying, “Why can’t you just go to the grocery store? Can’t you make time to help around the house?”  So, in so many ways, my fear of driving was separating me from the love of God.  Not only was I missing out on a lot of rich experiences, but I was ready to sacrifice my relationships to save my pride.  

I won’t go as far as to say I’m “above average” in driving, nor will I say that I am close to perfect in fixing all the things that separate me from God’s love (and it certainly isn’t for God’s lack of showing love, either).  But I am improving and I want to share the good news that we all can know God a little better.  

This week, I invite you to pray (one sure-fire way to strengthen our relationship with God) about those things which keep you from experiencing all of the gifts of the life you’ve been given.  What are you afraid of doing? What have you put off? What - if you can dig a little deeper - have you blamed others for  that is really a reflection of a way you blame yourself?  I pray that you will know God a little better each day as you find new ways to know yourself and all you are capable of.  

You're Invited

     Each month during the 2014-2015 school year, the Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry will celebrate, strive for and embody a word or phrase of the Christian faith. September's word is Invite. This is a great word, especially as UWW's newest students arrive to campus, eager to do and become something new. It is a privilege to invite students, new and old, to join us in Faith, Fellowship and Food (ah, yes, the first Spaghetti Meal is September 14th) and to welcome them into the Christian community on campus.

     Inviting others to partake in something we know to be special is an exciting thing. But with this privilege comes a responsibility to open our arms just a little bit wider. Thinking in every day examples, when you invite a guest to your home, is your work done? Do you expect to gain a friend without offering your home address, opening the front door and offering a refreshment? Probably not. When we invite others to Christ's table, we joyfully grow our community for that moment, but to truly show Christ's love, we also need to be genuinely hospitable.

     Whereas invitation can leave room for difference - the inviter and the invitee, the host and the guest - hospitality can erase difference by setting a standard of servanthood. I think about this important relationship (and important difference) this week as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, along with leaders in other denominations, called for a nation-wide, interfaith response to racism. This call comes after members of an African Methodist Episcopal Church were shot and killed in June 2015 by a white racist during a Bible study (read the full letter from The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori here). Clergy from many faith communities took the call and talked with their congregations about racism in our culture today, a brave beginning step to what has been and will be a long conversation.

     The Presiding Bishop's invitation for people of faith to be open with one another about our experiences with racism allows us to invite one another into conversation. Invitation is contagious. When hospitality follows the invitation, when servanthood and a shared respect for one another are fostered, invitations grow into a lasting, positive community in Christ. It stops mattering who is host or guest, rich or poor, majority or minority and only matters how we can serve one another in Godly love.

     At LECM, we invite you to share all your stories and experiences with us. As Jesus invited us to his table and shared with us everlasting life, may we be inspired to live in fellowship with one another and invite each other into conversation every day.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

I always listen to the host of the News and Classical station on WPR as he or she announces the next piece of classical music.  I like to learn about the music I’m listening to, and, even more fun, I like to pretend as if, by already knowing the shared musical trivia, I am a classical music genius.  So, I perked up one afternoon as Lori Skelton’s voice came over the waves.  I was all ears about the upcoming sonata.  That is, until I realized it was a flute sonata.

Ugh I thought Who knows anything about the flute?  Well (as I had already mentally interjected) quite a lot of people know about flute, including my very own piano teacher who would likely kick my butt if she knew I was looking down on that instrument.  Fine I thought Anyone can like flute, but I’m not required to.

By the time I’d finished this internal dialogue about whether I was a terrible person for not liking the flute, the music had started.  After several minutes of trying to get a foothold in some kind of musical analysis of the piece, I realized something that really amazed me.  The flute coming through my radio was the smoothest sounding thing I’d heard in a long time.  This especially amazed me because I’ve heard new flautists play, and it can be anything but soothing.  If there is one thing I know about flutes (and, yes, there may only be one), it’s that breathing breaks can disrupt even a well-practiced piece.  

As I continued listening, I thought about all the times people, including myself, disregard the value of something because of a lack of understanding.  That is, a person can recognize what something is or the purpose it serves (a flute sonata for people who enjoy the sounds of a flute sonata) without understanding the work that went into creating it.  So much beauty and worth is missed when things are taken at surface value.  A hand-made gift, a passing report card or a well-planned going-away party could easily be taken for granted by someone who buys the best gifts, gets straight A’s without an effort or who has never practiced hospitality.

Practice is one major difference between living a truly rich life and a life of instant - and fleeting - gratification.  Let’s revisit the analogy of music.  Yes, it is quite possible to enjoy music simply by clicking a mouse and downloading the latest album from your favorite artist.  Music can evoke powerful emotions and enliven us in ways nothing else can.  But wouldn’t it be nice if we understood just a little bit more?  Once we know what kind of sounds we enjoy, what kinds of tempos make our blood flow and even how to create new music, ourselves, our experience is richer, deeper and more meaningful.  

Of course, the ability to make music takes a lot of practice - most people don’t wake up being Mozart (except, maybe, Mozart).  But once we dedicate ourselves to practicing something we love, not only do we learn a skill we enjoy and can share with others, but we learn something bigger.  In practicing something, we learn to appreciate all the things in life that take more than the flip of a switch.  I could appreciate that flute sonata, not because I understand how to play flute, but because I understand that the level of practice and dedication I use in my own life - in knitting, in playing piano and in having faith - is the same for the person playing music for me.

Faith is one of the most difficult practices to have, but also one of the best and most rewarding.  It is challenging because faith is not something of which we perform drills, test or touch with our hands.  It is not a skill or a talent or a gift reserved for a select few.  But having faith enhances our lives and strengthens us, despite and because of all life’s challenges, to do the work of God in our world.  May we find a way to practice our faith in a way that will help our world and open our eyes to understanding one another.

New Beginnings

As another school year begins, students pack up their home lives, purchase books and supplies and say goodbye, for now, to summer.  Teachers finalize rosters and syllabi and set up for the first weeks of class.  It is a busy time and it is easy to get caught up in making sure everything is in perfect order.  We do so much to make ourselves feel ready.  Where can we find God in such a busy time?  

God is in newness.  The Bible is full of stories and images of newness.  Not least of these is the new life we find in Christ through Baptism. In the Lutheran and Episcopal traditions, Baptism is a Sacrament - an outward sign of an inward grace (to paraphrase a common definition).  The literal waters of baptism physically wash the baptized person, reflecting the way God’s grace, although invisible, washes away our sin and makes us new.

I think about the newness of Baptism and the newness of a school year because of our efforts, as humans, to reconcile the tangible and the invisible.  We see beauty in external markers of how we feel inside.  For school, new books, school supplies and dorm essentials present us with physical ways to start afresh.  This tendency and desire to balance internal and external is true in our faith lives, too.

Baptism is the perfect example.   We think of Baptism and all of the stuff that comes along with it - a baptismal font, a tux or white dress, a cake, a church, a minister.  These things range from seemingly essential to obviously trivial, but are any of them absolutely necessary for baptism?  The answer is no.  These items are meant to serve as guideposts for the act of baptism, but when the tangible requirements are not available or possible, God’s grace happens anyway.  

It is when we get caught up in the tangible requirements, no matter how essential (the textbooks, the ministers), that we lose sight of the gift of newness we have been given.  Yes, please buy your textbook for Chemistry 101 and show up to church a little earlier than the sermon on the day of your baptism, but don’t struggle with the tangible things so much that the real gift of the experience is forgotten.

Ready or not, the school year is approaching, and with it comes a new opportunity to learn and to find God in every experience.  May you remember your baptism, or another way God has given you new opportunity, and give thanks for the grace which is given unconditionally. 

God's Work

Bad news seems to be all around us. We hear grim predictions about the economy and the environment, learn about hostilities and divisions within communities, listen as our friends tell us their troubles. Everywhere we turn, the news seems to be negative. Even the prayer list at church can get us down. But our faith in Christ speaks of good news – good news for the poor and oppressed, healing for the sick and broken, freedom for captives, redemption from sin, and hope for us all. How do we discover and experience this good news that Christ has come to proclaim? And once we have found it, how will it make a difference for us and for all the world?

     Psalm 22:25-31

I offer praise in the great congregation because of you; I will fulfill my promises in the presence of those who honor God. Let all those who are suffering eat and be full! Let all who seek the Lord praise him! I pray your hearts live forever! Every part of the earth will remember and come back to the Lord; every family among all the nations will worship you. Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord, he rules all nations. Indeed, all the earth’s powerful will worship him; all who are descending to the dust will kneel before him; my being also lives for him. Future descendants will serve him; generations to come will be told about my Lord. They will proclaim God’s righteousness to those not yet born, telling them what God has done.

God, I see you at work in the world and experience your love in my life, and I am grateful. When things are going well, remind me that you are the giver of every good gift, and when challenges come, teach me to trust in you. Amen.  By D365, Elizabeth Jones Edwards

Easter III - Psst, hey, you! by D356

Pssst... hey, you. Did you know that there’s a wild and wonderful God traveling alongside you, all around you, within you right now? The Bible tells us that our God is like a shepherd who never leaves the flock for one moment. God is always with us. We are never alone, never abandoned. And no matter what we do – no matter what choices we make or what happens to us – this God is always reaching out to us in love. So pause. Rest for a moment. Abide in the Holy. And let God’s grace transform your living and loving.    - D365.org

When I was a little girl I had a map of the world on the wall right next to my bed. As I went to sleep my parents would leave the door ajar, so some light came in from the hallway… enough to illuminate the map. I wondered: how can God be everywhere? This is a big world. I felt lonely sometimes. Scared of the dark. You might know the feeling. When I felt alone, I would pray. Lots of questions: “Are you up there, God? Are you out there somewhere? Can you stay here with me so I’m not alone?” As I’ve grown older, I’ve had all kinds of questions about God. There are some things that seem incomprehensible to me. But I have always had a sense that God is, somehow, everywhere all at once. God is with us in the times that we walk through the pleasant valleys. God is with us when we’re lost in the dark and terrified. No matter what happens, God dwells with us and will not leave us.    By Caela Simmons Wood

April 13th - Unplug

Choosing to unplug, even for a few minutes, can be scary. What if we miss the latest tweet, post, or pic? We don’t want to be left behind in the fast-paced world of our always plugged-in friends. As much as we like being connected to an entire world at our fingertips, it’s important to step away sometimes. Because the spiritual life is about connecting to something deeper within.

                                                                   - D365.org

Take a few minutes today to unplug yourself from the screens, the emails, the work. Take a deep breath and listen to the wind, the birds, the rain falling on the ground. Breath in, and breath out. Listen and just be.

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.                                                                 - Book of Common Prayer page 100

April 06, 2015

For you, TEACHERS and STUDENTS!

Holy Week / Last Week of March 2015

I ASKED GOD

Unknown

I asked God to take away my pain. God said, No.
It is not for me to take it away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No. Her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No.
Patience is a by-product of tribulations, it isn’t granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No.
I give you blessings, Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No.
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, No.
I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me.
God said… now you understand!

LIFE IS SHORT, AND WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH 
TIME TO GLADDEN THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO
MAKE THE JOURNEY WITH US.SO, BE SWIFT
TO LOVE, AND MAKE HASTE TO BE KIND. AMEN.

                                                          Prayer by Dr. Edmund Jones

Be an instrument of Peace

Think about this:

         

       “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”   

                                                              ― Mahatma Gandhi

How are you loving those around you?

How are you being an instrument of peace in this world?

Peace Calendar by Deepa Chopra

Sunday: Being for Peace

Monday: Thinking for Peace

Tuesday: Feeling for Peace

Wednesday: Speaking for Peace

Thursday: Acting for Peace

Friday: Creating for Peace

Saturday: Sharing for Peace

Life is short, and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who make the journey with us. So, be swift to love, and make haste to be kind. Amen.

Prayer of Self-dedication

Almighty and Eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you, and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.                            

                                      (Book of Common Prayer pg. 832)

First Week of March 2015

"14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."  - Matthew 5:13-16

HOW ARE YOU SHARING YOUR LIGHT 

WITH THE WORLD?

Lord, make me an instrument of Your 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. O, 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; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

                                                                                                               
                                                                                   - St. Francis Prayer

Fourth Week of Feb.

I WAS DYING

ANONYMOUS

First I was dying to finish high school and start college.

And then I was dying to finish college and start work.

And then I was dying to marry and have children.

And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough

    for school so I could return to work.

And then I was dying to retire.

And now, I am dying... and suddenly I realize I forgot to live.

Today is a gift given to you! Today is a gift that you will not have tomorrow. How are you using this gift to transform your life and the life of others?

"34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." John 13:34

Not to be Provoked to Evil

Entangled States 

by Nick Knisely and Friends

I’m waking to the news that there’s been a mass execution of Coptic Christians in Libya this morning by masked men who claim affiliation with the Islamic State movement. The victims died with the words “Jesus is Lord” on their lips. Violent actions like these, shared widely in an intentional media campaign, are carefully calculated to provoke a response in the rest of world, to bring about a world wide religious war.

And here in America, in some isolated incidents, it might be having the desired effect. The details are still sketchy as to the motivation of the shooter, but last week three of the shining lights of the American muslim community were murdered in Chapel Hill North Carolina by a professed anti-theist. (Not an atheist in the strict sense of the word — someone who doesn’t believe in God, but a person who actively rejects those who do believe. It’s a relatively new phenomenon in the US apparently.)

In West Warwick Rhode Island yesterday, disturbing vandalism against a local Islamic school has brought the conflict to our community.

A day after holding a vigil for three Muslim students killed in North Carolina, the Islamic School of Rhode Island was vandalized.

Some time Saturday night racial slurs were spray-painted over the entrance of the school that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, school officials said.

Orange paint covered the school’s doors with the words, “Now this is a hate crime” and “pigs,” among other expletives referencing the prophet Muhammad.

The irony is, such actions, if they are meant to be some sort of retaliation, are exactly what the violent actions in Syria, Iraq and now Libya are meant to provoke.

Jesus taught us that the great commandment was to love God above all else. And then he told us we could do that in a practical way by willing to love our neighbor as ourselves. Any thing else leads us away from God and into the realm of violence and death.

It will take a great deal of spiritual discipline to not be drawn into the whirlwind of violence which is the dream of those who have done such killings.

Will you join me in praying that God will grant us the courage and the will to resist? Pray that we focus on doing what we can to make our community stronger, to live into what America was founded to be, a place where freedom of religion was intended to put an end to religious violence of all forms.

It seems appropriate, on this President’s Day in 2015 to make the following prayer:

“O Judge of all the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 839)     Amen.

http://entangledstates.org/2015/02/16/to-not-be-provoked-to-evil/

Peace

"I want to live in a peaceful world. Yet I may ask myself, What difference can I make? Mother Teresa once said, “We can do no great things—only small things with great love.” Each peaceful prayer and caring thought contributes to world peace. As I hold thoughts of kindness and compassion, they ripple out to bless the world." - Daily Word

To feel the tranquil presence of Spirit, I pray and meditate every day. I let this energy of peace grow in me. I bring it to my daily interactions and to every situation of my life. When I envision and practice peace, I make a positive difference in the world. Serene in the presence of God, I help others experience peace.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.—John 14:27

The Most Important Voyage

"What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous." Thomas Merton

   HOW ARE YOU EMBRACING ONE ANOTHER TO   

   BRING UNITY TO THIS SEPARATED WORLD?   

Creator of the universe, who made us different from one another in myriad ways we can see and in more ways we shall never know, yet made us all in your image; fill our hearts with your love and our minds with your wisdom, that we may truly become brothers and sisters of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.   -   Anglican Cycle of Prayer 07, 08.

First Week of Feb. 2015

EQUALITY

"Male and female God created them, and God blessed them and named them ‘Humankind’ when they were created." Gen. 5:2

Bless us all with understanding,

help us to see, that all humans are born equal,

different in talents, circumstances, intellect and beauty,

but equal in humanity, the right to live, the right to be,

the right to live in safety and protect our children,

the right to watch our children grow, strong and free,

the right to prosper, the right to dream and achieve

May we always remember, All humans are born equal.

                                            By - Abby Willowroot

A Blessing for this new Semester

May God bless us with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that we may live deep within our hearts. 

May God bless us with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace. 

May God bless us with tears to shed
for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,
so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. 

And may God bless us with enough foolishness
to believe that we can make a difference in this world,
so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. 

                                                  - A Franciscan Benediction