Category Archives: 1 Thessalonians

The wisdom to thirst for God

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Martin Schongauer
(ca. 1435/50–1491)
The Fourth Wise Virgin,
from the series The Wise and Foolish Virgins
Engraving, 1470-1491
Metropolitan Museum of Art

O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
Psalm 63:2

It is wisdom to thirst for God. God is our source of life, love, and healing. When our reserves of energy, faith, hope, kindness, patience, and compassion run low, we need to take time to rest, pray, contemplate the natural world, be with people who love and accept us, and practice awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and fears. With the renewal of our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual reserves, we are able to continue to carry out God’s vision of love in our fragile world.

Today I will take fifteen minutes to rest and become aware of my body, my thoughts, and my emotions. I will ask the Holy Spirit for the grace and wisdom to be renewed in God’s power of love and goodness.

Our daily challenge

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
Sister Maurice Schnell (1830-1902)
oil on panel, between 1847 and 1902
Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana

Thus says the LORD:
“You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.”
Exodus 22:20-22

Helping, defending, serving, protecting: this is how we love God and our neighbor. Cherishing, encouraging, honoring, listening: this is how we love God and our neighbor. Embodying patience, kindness, humility, respect: this is how we love God and our neighbor. Love is our daily, hourly, moment-by-moment challenge.

Today I will receive and take to heart Jesus’s teaching to love God and my neighbor. I will ask the Holy Spirit to give me strength and guide me in all of my interactions that I may be living proof of God’s love for each and every person.

What belongs to God

James Tissot (1836-1902)
Le denier de César
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum

Jesus said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Matthew 22:21

We are God’s people, all of us, every single precious human being on earth. We are alive by the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are here to be God’s loving, healing, compassionate presence to everyone we encounter.

Today I will honor God by conforming and aligning my mind, heart, and will to God’s. I will ask the Holy Spirit to guide my words, actions, and behaviors that I may become more like God in love and goodness and do my best to carry out God’s vision of unity, love, and peace among all people.

Increase love

First Sunday of Advent
First Sunday of Advent

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. 1 Thessalonians 3:12

The life of Jesus makes known the ways of the Lord. When we decide to follow Jesus, we intentionally choose the Way of love, healing, peace, justice, compassion, and respect for all people, especially the poor and marginalized.

Today I will increase my love for my neighbor by making a donation to a food pantry.

Embody goodness

Third Sunday of Advent

Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

Kindness is good. Patience is good. Respect for all people is good. Forgiveness is good. Giving thanks is good. Compassion is good.

God’s love for us is good and calls us to turn away from the dark to embrace the light.

Today I will seek the light of Christ to help me embody goodness with my words, actions, and behaviors.

Christ light

Rembrandt (1606-1669)
La parabole des talents

For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5

Our light is the Christ, the light of goodness, the light of love, the light of compassion, the light of mercy, the light of forgiveness, the light of healing.

Today I will shine my light of goodness and love wherever I find myself.

A wider, deeper heart

Tree of Jesse Icon, 17th c.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. 1 Thessalonians 3:12

My capacity to give and receive love dips and rises and mostly seems to plateau at a level that feels most comfortable for me. What would it feel like to continually increase in love, to greet the world and everyone in it with an abundance of joy, compassion, kindness, respect, encouragement, and delight?

Today I will ask God to widen and deepen my heart to increase my capacity for love.

Daughters and sons of love and goodness

Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)
Sketch for “Jesus the Son of Man”, 1923
graphite and watercolor on paper
Metropolitan Museum of Art

As members of the human family, we are interconnected, entwined with the One who made us in love and for love.

Made in God’s image of love and goodness, we are called to take on the nature of God, called to be love and goodness in the world, called to “live in Love’s energy and to love goodness.”

Today I will practice love by looking for goodness in everyone I meet.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. 1 Thessalonians 3:12a