What Good Shall I Do This Day?

WEEKLY REFLECTION | Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 29, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This week’s Epistle reading is from the Book of James.  What strikes me so deeply is the phrase: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves”.  

With all the perils our day, particularly the unimaginable humanitarian catastrophes in Afghanistan and Haiti, and the ongoing peril of Covid, I feel completely at a loss as to how to “be a doer of the word, and not merely a hearer.”

At the conclusion of this letter, I will offer two opportunities that have helped me do, at least, something.  And having said that – I am uplifted by the words of truth which is some of the most sage plumblines for our day-to-day faith and utter dependence upon God to be OUR SOURCE.  

Here are a few:

Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”
– Pedro Arrupe, S.J. (Society of Jesuits)

“All shall be well, all shall be well…for there is a Force of Love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.”
– Julian of Norwich

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
– Martin Luther King

“You are precious in my eyes. I honor you and love you.”
– Isaiah 43:4

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
– Lao Tzu

“In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony.”
– Eva Burrows

“Charity, a word that comprises love and justice, may well be the most sublime of all Christian virtues.”
– Diana Butler Bass

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
– Galatians 5:22-23a

“You are a glorious crown of beauty in the hand of God, a royal diadem held lovingly, for our God rejoices in you.”
– Isaiah 62:3-4

“Love is the essence of human experience and emotion. It is at the root of all and everything we, as humans, do. Without love what do we live for?”
– Author Unknown

“Even if the mountains should leave their place and the hills be shaken, My love will never leave you.”
– Isaiah 54:10

“Do not be afraid; I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”
– Isaiah 43:1

“Work is love made visible.”
– Kahlil Gibran

“In your faithful love you lead me whom you have saved; by your strength you guide me to your dwelling place.”
– Exodus 15:13

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
– Corinthians 13:13

“I love you, O LORD, my strength.”
– Psalm 18:1

“There is only one desire: to find the promised land and the freedom of a pure love that is without concern for anything else but love.”
– Thomas Merton

“Love and do what you will.”
– Saint Augustine

“It is love alone that gives worth to all things.”
– St. Teresa of Avila

“It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.”
– Mother Teresa

“Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.”
– Sister Corita

“The honorary duty of a human being is to love.”
– Maya Angelou

“Each one has a mission to fulfill, a mission of love.”
– Mother Teresa

“Love locked in our hearts is like a letter written and not sent.”
– Jane Lindstrom

“Without love and compassion for others, our own apparent love for Christ is fiction.”
– Thomas Merton

“The place to be happy is here. The time to be happy is now. The way to be happy is to make others so.”
– Robert C. Ingersoll

“To love another person is to touch the face of God.”
– From the musical Les Miserables

“It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.”
– Richard Brounstein

“In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes, but on how well we have loved.”
– St. John of the Cross

“I may have all the faith needed to move mountains, but if I have no love, I am nothing.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:2

“Perfect loves casts out fear.”
– 1 John 4:18

“Who does not love does not know God; for God is love.”
– 1 John 4:8

“Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another, to show love and to do good.”
– Hebrews 10:24

“To the world you may be just one person, but to just one person, you may be the world.”
– Author Unknown

“Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
– St. Therese of Lisieux, French Carmelite (1873-1897)

“Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of Containing God’s gift of himself.”
– Mother Theresa (1910-1997)

“Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.”
– St. John Vianney

“Therefore, when you decide to undertake this work of prayer and feel by grace that you are called by God, light up your heart to God with a meek stirring of Love.”
The Anonymous Author of The Cloud of Unknowing

May your week be a blessing to you and to others.  Keep the faith!   

My friends, may we continue to be one in the Spirit. And let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.   Amen.

Blessings,

Jane+


PUT YOUR FAITH INTO ACTION

Episcopal Relief & Development

Episcopal Relief & Development works with our partners worldwide to alleviate hunger, create economic opportunities, respond to disasters, promote health and strengthen communities.

To make an online donation: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/

We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Federal Tax ID: 73-1635264


Episcopal Relief & Development (Headquarters)
1.855.312.4325
815 Second Avenue

New York, NY 10017

To send a contribution by mail:

Episcopal Relief & Development
P.O. Box 7058
Merrifield, VA 22116-7058


The Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem

In our Diocese of Bethlehem:

The REFUGEE MINISTRIES of the Episcopal CHURCH OF THE MEDIATOR, ALLENTOWN

Mission Statement: “To welcome refugees who are living in the Lehigh Valley; extending hospitality and friendship as we build community together.” 

Goals

  • Facilitate connections for mutual relationships
    • Support the social adjustment and well-being of refugees & asylum-seekers
    • Advocate on behalf of newly arrived and/or socially disadvantaged international populations, providing resources for community integration and self-sufficiency

Donations may be directed to Church of the Mediator, 1620 W. Turner, Allentown 18102 (indicate “refugees”)


View our Virtual Service on YouTube