Skerry Lark

If Jesus reveals true humanity, then faith must be large enough to hold the full range of human experience: anguish and hope, anger and trust, tears and praise. To follow him is to grow into that kind of humanity, spacious and honest, carried by the Spirit.

On Veterans Day, thank you to all who served, and to the families who stand behind them. Your commitment and sacrifice are appreciated today and every day.

#MorningPrayer
Lord,
you call us to be salt;
not to be hoarded
for our own benefit,
but spread abroad
to be the savour of life
in love, peace and justice.
You call us to be light;
not to be hidden,
but to illuminate the world
with the light of your kingdom,
drawing hearts to you.

... but I look only upwards and my fear passes. As happens in dreams, a voice says: “Notice this, this is it!” And I look more and more into the infinite above me and feel that I am becoming calm.

...

“See that you remember.”

~ Leo Tolstoy, 'A Confession'

🎨 Nino Chakvetadze

#MorningPrayer
Bless us, Lord, with a spirit
that serves not our ego and image,
but the way of your love.
Inspire us to mourn
the injustice and inequity
of the world;
to harness our abilities
to the work of your kingdom.
Enable and encourage us
to be makers and builders
of peace.

The earth belongs to God, and all creation is in God’s care:

land and waters,
plants 
and animals,
sky and soil

all declare the hospitality of God.

The fact that our brain likes order & wants to tell us coherent stories often works against us when we've endured sh*t for which there IS no coherent explanation.

Don't let your brain make up a story in which you're the villain just for the sake of having a story. (It will try.)

#RemembranceSunday
A.E. Housman

#MorningPrayer
#RemembranceSunday
Lord, as we remember today
all those who gave their lives
in the service of others,
grant us courage
to honour their memory,
by giving our lives
in our building of
peace and harmony,
in striving for justice for all,
in shining your light of hope.

• Mary Oliver •

#MorningPrayer
You see in us, Lord,
not only what we are,
but also our potential;
you see who we are
created to be,
and you call us
to step into the story
you are writing with us,
into the opportunities
and challenges
you set before us,
into the love
and the life
you offer
to us.

Close-up photograph of a pale yellow and shell-pink rose in bloom, accompanied by a partially opened bud and a closed bud on the same stem. The petals are softly layered and luminous against a blurred green garden background.

“It’s ok to feel delicate sometimes. Real beauty is in the fragility of your petals. A rose that never wilts isn’t a rose at all.” - Crystal Woods. #FlowerWisdom #FlowersOnFriday #FlowerFridayFamily

Thei wante us talkinge alone on our phones to a demon thei created, and not goinge places and being wyth each othir yn art and joy and communitye. Thei want cinemas to shut downe, and Broadway to go darke. Thei want wryteres to stop makinge a living. Thei want to sell us hell and have us pay for it.

#MorningPrayer
Lord, strengthen us
and defend us
from the temptations
that seek to divert us
from your way;
temptations of
self-service and self-image,
expressed through
possessions, pride, and power;
inspire us rather
to love and serve
you and our neighbour
with all that we are.

The world may be quite turbulent at the moment, but we can all take at least some solace in the fact that bookstores exist.

majoring yn English ys punk rocke

"Ich askid ChatGPT." Well *Ich* askid the stones, and the forest, and the starres, and the mountaynes, and what thei seyde was learninge, and dreames, and growinge thinges, and makinge art, and a worlde wher we talke to each othir and care about each othir.

Stop saying 40 is the new 30.

Let’s make it the new 50. The new 60. The new 75. Let’s all eat dinner at 4pm and turn off our hearing aids when we are tired of dealing with people and spend all day looking at birds.

There are obviously more urgent concerns than the White House. But I found Adam Gopnik’s recent comments about architecture embodying values striking specifically as a Catholic, and I wrote about the White House as a sacred building, and the East Wing demolition a desecration.

Photo of a wet Rosebush. One pink rosebud sharp in the foreground, another out of the depth of field behind. The leaves glossy green

Joy in the dark times is particularly welcome, these rosebuds in November particularly beautiful. #TinyJoys

#MorningPrayer
Guide us and steer us, Lord,
as we seek to prepare your way
in the hearts of our
communities and nations,
encouraging one another
in your way.
Give us hearts
of penitence and faith,
and a passion
for justice and peace,
that we may reveal
your kingdom
and your love.

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
~ Charles Dickens

Do good recklessly.

Be kind. Be fierce. Be soft.

The world will try to mash you into something else—something sharper.Sharpness has its place,but as a tool,not a foundation.

Forgive—others & yourself.

Love often means asking direct questions.It always means listening.

Be better than yesterday.

Darlings, a reminder for when everything feels bad:

--Reach out.
--Move toward joy.
--Drink water.
--Take your meds.
--Allow yourself to feel your feelings.
--A 3 minute dance party in the kitchen helps.
--If you have a pet, hug them. (Unless it's, like, a fish.)
--When in doubt, make art.

Today, I was reminded (tangentially) that life can change in the ordinary instant.

Hug your people. Love them well. Fuck how it might look. Or what anyone might say. Don't bother to play it cool. Don't try to get it perfect. Perfection is bullshit.

Love. That's the whole damn point and the answer.

A hanging Christmas ornament featuring Puffins in a snowy scene wearing santa hats

A new little something different for Christmas in my shop.. 😁
A Christmas Puffins hanging ornament for your tree! 😀🥰
Lightweight aluminium, 3" by 3".
You can buy it here;
www.carlbovis.com/product-page... 😊🐦❤️

Tech wythout heart ys harmful.

For a bettir future we need poetrye, creativitye, historical studye, love of languages, dreames, dialogues, new storyes, & intellectual curiositye.

We must fund & expand higher educacioun yn HEART:

H umanityes
E thiques
A rtes
R hetorique & the crafte of
T eaching

#MorningPrayer
Save us, Lord,
from the pride
and passion for power
that pervades our world;
from the tantrums of those
who trump their own ego,
and the temptation
to do that ourselves.
Help us always
to show your love
to those in need,
for you were a refugee
in the land of Egypt.

"The days are getting shorter and colder, but I ask you to remember: even as the Winter comes in, there is Hope and there is Light."
~ Seamus Heaney

#MorningPrayer
You surround us, Lord,
with signs of your kingdom;
signs of hope, and peace,
signs of justice, and mercy,
signs of your call and challenge
to pursue the way of your love.
Help us to follow
in the way that you lead,
not to be diverted
by the calls of hate and fear.