By Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Director of Formation Ministries

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.

Wordless sighs
and wordless wonder
of the ways grief and lament,
love and hope,
all live so close in the soul.

Sometimes it feels
like all I can give is this
last drop as an offering.

And yet—isn’t it a wonder
how in the wordless depths,
when the dry emptiness
is all that’s left,
I hear the
sound of rushing waters
deeper still—
a fountain,
a spring of living water
gushing up to eternal life?

That source of a love that
holds us fast in this,
and every condition,
that, in the very moment
of loss and surrender,
replenishes anew, unceasing.

Prayer Phrase

“Happy are those who observe justice” (Psalm 106:3).

Healing and Reconciliation

Gather a small mound of stones. Meditate on the stones as symbols of differences and destructive acts that continue to separate and wound the human family. Name and anoint each “stone wound” with a drop of water or scented oil. Offer them to God in a prayer for healing and reconciliation.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.