Sunday, October 21

The sun shines brilliantly, though coldly into my house this morning and the furnace runs. Winter is definitely not far off. Pumpkins sit in my hallway thanks to the kindness of a neighbor who brought them from the High School fundraiser. I am blessed indeed by neighbors and friends and the sense of belonging to a community, even though much of it is virtual.

The readings for today can be found at

http://www.usccb.org/nab/102107.shtml

. I confess that I am not feeling inspired today by these readings. What would I do i f I had to preach on them? I think that I will simply be grateful that I do not.

Today is the Lord's day, nonetheless. It is a beautiful day and therefore easy to give thanks and praise. I am praying too, for the recovery of a friend who is in hospital, for safety for travelers and for prosperity for those who are poor. May peace reign in our hearts and homes this Sunday and carry forth into our work week.

Today is a good day to cook and knit and perhaps to sew, to spend a bit less time, perhaps in the pursuit of computerly things for even though I am housebound, I am determined to try to set Sunday apart and spend it somewhat differently from the other six days of the week, which do tend to merge together as one great long day punctuated by the daily necessities.

If I were to work at it a bit more, every day could be prayerful for I have the gift of solitude in a neighborhood that is essentially quiet. Probably not quite as quiet as Thomas Merton's famous hermitage, and no Abbot to report to, but certainly opportunity abounds in my life for more thought and prayer. Abound. That is interesting for I have been thinking of abundance recently in the context of a conversation with someone who had obviously tuned into the modern concepts of the abundant life--making your dream come true, making abundance come to you--in monetary terms. While I certainly think that prosperity is blessing and it is one that I need a bit more of, there are other forms of abundance. Love, faith, kindness, friendship all come to me in abundance, in spite of my solitude. For these I give thanks and for setting Sunday apart from the other days.

Let's be grateful for the Lord's day and make it a day of peace and rejoicing.