When I intentionally practice love, compassion, respect, forgiveness, gratitude, and peace, those Christ-like qualities grow in my heart to feed me and others—even in times of loneliness, suffering, and conflict.
[Jesus said,] “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good.” Luke 6:45a
Resentment, fear, and the desire for retribution are heavy burdens. I would like to let them go, even though the pain of mistreatment goes deep.
Today I will hear and practice what the Lord asks of me: to love, bless, and pray for the people I consider my enemies and all those who have hurt me. Then may the burdens I carry be dissolved into the light of Love and Truth.
Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:28
Richard Dadd (British, 1817 – 1886)
Mercy: David Spareth Saul’s Life
oil on canvas, 1854
Getty Center
_-_James_Tissot.jpg)
James Tissot (1836-1902)
La sermon des béatitudes
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Blessed are we who hope in the Lord even when we are lonely, discouraged, distressed, and afraid. We know there is no solution to our sorrows and burdens except in the Lord, and we put our trust in God.
Blessed are we who understand the nature of suffering. We extend comfort to others who suffer, and offer to walk with them as they move through the pain.
Blessed are we who refuse to make enemies. We know each human person is made in God’s image, and we practice looking deeply to find love and goodness in each other.
Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Psalm 40:5
JESUS MAFA. Miraculous Catch, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
retrieved February 10, 2019
God has graced me with a unique personality and specific gifts and talents. Even when I do not see clearly how I am serving the Lord, I trust that my willingness to love God and my neighbor empowers me to use my gifts and talents to carry out God’s will for me each day .
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
1 Corinthians 15:10
Blessed are we who believe God so loved the world, he sent his only son to remind us that the whole human family is beloved of God.
Blessed are we who believe God’s holy Spirit dwells in each of us, that we share a spark of the divine in our being.
Blessed are we who believe we have been empowered to be God’s eyes, hands, and hearts to love and serve our neighbors.
“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Luke 1:45
The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them
in the breaking of bread. Luke 24:35
Jesus has risen from the dead. He breaks bread and eats a bit of fish to prove he is here with us, a tangible, touchable, living presence.
It is in this present, earth-bound moment that he offers us the gift of peace. Today I will accept this moment of peace… and the next…and the next… until I internalize the gift and am able to offer it to others—to all members of our human family, who live and breathe and ache to be touched with God’s peace and compassion.
[Jesus] stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Luke 24:36
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Prophetess Anna in the Temple, 1646 or 1650
May I welcome the new year in holy stillness, with the hope and intention each day to be God’s messenger of love, peace, and kindness.
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. Colossians 3:12-13a
We have the power to give birth to love in every moment with our words, actions, attitudes, and behavior. This is God’s will for us. This is God’s vision for our world. This is God’s most precious gift: Love incarnate.
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38
Diego Velázquez (1599-1660)
Kitchen Scene with the Supper in Emmaus
oil on canvas, ca.1618
National Gallery of Ireland
Fatigue. Fear. Self-absorption. Indifference. These are conditions that prevent me from recognizing the Lord in the people I meet.
Today I will put my attention on the Lord and ask for the grace to recognize the Lord in every member of God’s human family.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Luke 24:15-16
![Piedad serie negra By RuizAnglada (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ruizanglada_-_Piedad_serie_negra_195x150_1984_A-L_-_Catalogo_1995_Palacio_de_Sastago_Zaragoza.jpg)
Piedad serie negra 195×150 1984 A-L
By RuizAnglada (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Luke 2:19
Mary Ann McSweeny 
