1. Scripture. Read the passage twice in silence, then once aloud.
Psalm 41
He blessed are those who with wise temper can
Judge of the afflicted,
For God shall them deliver in the time
When most of their troubles climb.
The Lord will keep their lives yet safe and sound
With blessings of the ground;
And will not they unto the will expose,
Of them that be their foes.
When bed from rest becomes their seat of woe,
In God their strength shall grow,
And turn their couch, where sick they lay,
To well recovered state;
Therefore I said in most infirmity,
Have mercy, Lord, on me:
O, heal my soul, let there thy cure begin,
Where gainst thee lay my sin.
Trans. Philip Sidney
2. Reflection. Read the poem twice in silence, then once aloud.
On Waking
I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life,
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.
—by John O’Donohue
3. Reflection for your prayers today.
Can you sustain a posture of gratitude throughout the day? Can you see the common in your daily routine through new eyes? What new wonders will you find?
Art by Israel Galindo
