Openings … The Day’s Beginning

Sometimes the day starts early, and seems your enemies even earlier.

However, fear not for your day or those

Who would destroy your peace.

They cannot fight the force of love,

Or your trust in God.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Psalm 124

Openings … Poem on “A Common Word Between You and Us”

One of my dearest friends is a Muslim,

He loves God as I do,

He loves his neighbor as I do,

“Love is God” are words of bond between us …

all we have to do is practice them.

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, …
and your neighbor as yourself.”

Gospel of Luke

A word once uttered is hard to take back,

because others have already swallowed it,

whether it tastes good or not,

whether it hurts feelings,

whether it causes joy or increases love.

So today, speak after your thoughts have been purified by God.

“What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”

Gospel of Matthew