Morning of Worship Through Song

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday: John 5:1-15
Tuesday: John 8:1-11
Wednesday: Psalm 25
Thursday: Ephesians 2
Friday: Romans 6:1-14
Saturday: Romans 3:21-31
Sunday: Romans 14:5-12

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, from whom every good prayer comes, and who pours out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and supplication: Deliver us, when we draw near to thee, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections, we may worship thee in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Here we have come back to the compassion that must be formed in one's heart, a compassion that comes out of a deep experience of solidarity, in which one recognizes that the evil, sin and violence which one sees in the world and in the other, are deeply rooted in one's own heart. Only when you want to confess this and want to rely on the merciful God who can bring good out of evil are you in a position to receive forgiveness and also to give it to other men and women who threaten you with violence. Precisely because Merton had discovered this nonviolent compassion in his solitude could he in a real sense be a monk, that is to say, one who unmasks through his criticism the illusions of a violent society and who wants to change the world in spirit and truth.
From: Thomas Merton: Comtemplative Critic by Henri J. M. Nouwen