August 12, 2025

PREPARATIO (Preparation – Entering Silence)

A rainy morning.

The sky hangs low, and the light is soft—muted. But I breathe deeply and remember:
I trimmed the bushes yesterday.
Handled the poison ivy just in time.
Today is for stillness.

In the quiet of this gloomy day, I ask:
“Is there still something to praise?”

A message arrives from Korea.
Justice, long delayed, has finally arrived.
One small reckoning in a world full of injustice.
My heart whispers: “Thank You.”

I offer a simple prayer:

Lord, even when the skies are grey, Your mercy does not fade.
Even when the news is heavy, You are still King.
You are good. You are just. You are God. Amen.

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LECTIO (Sacred Reading – Psalm 100:1–5)

I open the Book—several versions, one voice.

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.”
“Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.”
“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his.”
“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.”

In Hebrew, in English, in different translations—
but the message is one:
Enter with joy.
God is good.
God is faithful.
We belong to Him.

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MEDITATIO (Meditation – Reflecting Deeply)

I sit with these words.
They echo louder than the rain tapping my window.

“It is He who made us. We are His.”

How often do we live as though we created ourselves?
As if we are the center of our little universe—
grasping, fearing, trying to control?

But I am not my own maker.
God is.
And what He gives, He gives with open hands.
If all is lost, He remains.
And if He remains, nothing is truly lost.

His love endures through every gray sky,
every news headline,
every failure,
every joy.

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ORATIO (Prayer – Responding to the Word)

God,
You are sheer beauty.
You are joy—pure joy.

Your faithfulness has outlived generations.
And it will outlive me.
My praise today may be quiet, but it is real.

Thank You for this day.
For justice.
For rain.
For trimmed bushes.
For breath in my lungs.
For grace that reaches even here.

I did not make myself.
You did.
So I return my voice to You,
with thanks.

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CONTEMPLATIO (Contemplation – Resting in God)

I sit in stillness.
Let the rain fall.
Let the world keep turning.

I don’t have to say anything now.
I just have to be.
To belong.

God is still true.
God will always be true.
He was God yesterday.
He is God today.
He will be God tomorrow.

“The joy of all joy.
God is true still.
God will be true.”

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INCARNATIO (Living the Word – Carrying It Forward)

Today, I carry the song of thanksgiving into a quiet world.

I may not sing loudly,
but I will live gratefully.

“Make a joyful noise…”
Even in small things—
a shared smile,
a silent prayer,
a clean yard, a word of justice,
a soul that remembers who it belongs to.