Readings week of April 20th.
- Linda Lueng
- Apr 20
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 27
Readings from last week's Daily Contemplative Pauses
*All previous readings & reflections can be found here*
Monday, April 20th
Chant: Born of above, born of below – a vessel of the Kingdom — Henry Schoenfield
Tuesday, April 21st
Chant: Born of above, born of below – a vessel of the Kingdom — Henry Schoenfield
Wednesday, April 22th
Reading: “Each one of us, and every action we make, has a quality of aliveness to it, a fragrance or vibrancy uniquely its own. If the outer form of who we are in this life is conveyed by our physical bodies, the inner form — our real beauty and authenticity- is conveyed in the quality of our aliveness. This is where the secret of our being lies. Quality is the innermost, energetic essence of our own life, shining through the outer skin of our being like the subtle, glistening colors of the live snake in the bush.
“Jesus taught that "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you" (Luke 17:21) - not later but lighter. To realize the Kingdom of Heaven here and now (which is what enlightenment means in virtually all the spiritual traditions) is really a matter of developing a kind of X-ray vision that can look right through the physical appearance of things and respond directly to their innermost aliveness and quality.” — Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, p.48-49
Chant: Awaken o my heart, Awaken o my heart, so I can move into the larger mind, for the kingdom is at hand — Tony Martin
Thursday, April 23rd
Reading: “In the Wisdom tradition, seeing purified of its anxious, agitated ego-self is called objective seeing. It means seeing with the eye of the heart. This is very different from the interpretation we would normally give to the concept of "objective seeing" in our culture, which describes something closer to the scientific method: a detached observer not interacting with what is being observed. But in the language of Wisdom, objective seeing means almost exactly the opposite. We participate so deeply, so intimately, that at last "we" disappear into the seeing and only the seeing itself remains. Beyond "the fantasies of our own mind and the brutalities of our own will," as Thomas Merton once expressed it, is where truth begins to be.” — Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, p.88
Chant: Do not give your heart, do not give your heart, to that which does not satisfy your heart — Susan Latimer
Friday, April 24th with LeMel
Reading: From Wayne Muller in “Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives.”
“Sabbath rest invites us to step back, ‘and see that it is good’ . . . Since I was a child I have felt this fundamental goodness in the world . . . When I was young I had no way to speak of this goodness. Later, as a therapist, I was taught no official diagnostic name for this place. Only poetry and music, art and dance seemed to know of this vast and luminous country. Only in spiritual texts would I find such phrases as Thomas Merton’s ‘hidden wholeness’ or Tibetan Buddhism’s ‘persistent luminosity.’ Through my seminary training and meditation practice I would learn that the spiritual traditions of the world dearly love this inner resilience, and call it by many names: inner light, still, small voice, Buddha Nature, Kingdom of God, Holy Spirit.”
Chant:
Still, small voice
Whisper to me
Of Goodness
Of Goodness
All around and in me
Saturday, April 25th
Chant: Be right here, in the Heart of God — Henry Schoenfield
Sunday, April 26th
Reading: “As our fidelity to meditation continues to deepen, we experience within ourselves how God’s compassionate love uses us for its own purpose by inspiring, even impelling us to do what we can to ease the burden and calm the distress of those around us. Meditation embodies compassion that forms the essential bond between seeking God in meditation and all forms of social justice. The more we are transformed in compassion, the more we are impelled to act with compassion toward others.” — James Finley
Chant: O Mercy, I entrust myself to you, that I may be transformed
— Suzanne Toolan RSM & Catherine Regan
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