Monday – May 2, 2022

SCRIPTURE Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 7 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… …a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak”. WORDS OF HOPE As I sit down to write, the coffee cup in front of me reads, “My brain has too many tabs open.” I suspect that this is true for many of us. Thus, many things in our lives that perhaps deserve our attention often get overlooked. How often do you think about your voice…not your voice as in what you have to say or are you being heard, but the physiology of your body that allows you to speak? Today is World Voice Day. Begun in Brazil in 1999, its observance quickly became worldwide as otolaryngologists, speech and language pathologists, and vocal instructors came together to talk about the importance of our voice and how we can care for it. I am one of those who, in the past, has not thought much about the “care and feeding” of my voice except when it fails me when I need it to sing. Perhaps we all could benefit from thinking more about caring for our voices and how and when we use our voices. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… …a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak” The best thing that we can do to care for our voices, both its physicality and its use as a tool, is truly to know its depth and breadth. What does my voice sound like? Can I hear and feel when my voice is not healthy? Can I hear and feel when the words coming from my mouth are not my own? Sometimes the best thing we can do for our voice is to be quiet. I’d like to share a poem I wrote: Be Quiet Days arise When words feel inadequate. Cherish them. Be quiet. Draw, paint, go for a walk. Sew, meditate, plant a flower. Nap, listen, make music. In speechlessness, potency comes to words. “There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.” Our voices need rest so that when we are called to speak, they are strong enough physically to project the message and our words are strong enough to speak out for justice and truth, to answer the call to do the work of Christ here and now. PRAYER God, remind me often that my voice is a gift. It is my responsibility to care for it and use it wisely. Help me to know my voice and to discern when it needs to be quiet and when it should speak loudly and clearly. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Kris Baker Order of St. Francis and St. Clare.

SCRIPTURE  I John 3:10-11 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. WORDS OF HOPE “I no longer listen to what people say” wrote Winston Churchill, “I just watch what they do. Behavior never lies.” “Don’t listen to what people say” writes Doris Gottlieb, “Watch where their feet are going.” “Don’t listen to what they say…watch what they do!” says Rachel Maddow regularly on her TV show. We are in an era of instant and constant communications, where social media makes room for everyone’s thoughts and dozens of forms of media create space for persons of all types to opine. Unless one precipitously and intentionally uses the OFF button on their phones, computers, televisions, streaming services, podcasts, and satellite radios, we are inundated with the thoughts and ideas of thousands of voices. Ironically, you’re listening to or reading another one of those voices right now. Long before mass communication, when ideas and thoughts were readily shared by masses of people, the apostle John knew something that would serve us well now. You can tell the difference between those who mean you well and those who mean you harm. You can discern who is a “child of God” and who is a “child of the devil” by a simple means. Watch what they do. If what they do reflects love, they are a child of God. John goes on to say in verse 16 - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. This is our calling as the children of God. This is our urgent mission as the family known as Cathedral of Hope. Our calling is to reflect love. Our mission is to lay down or lives for others. It’s to love the unlovable, perhaps even those who would do us harm or to deny us as loving children of God. Our purpose is to do speak the words AND to do the actions. An unbelieving world, overwhelmed with messages of hate and fear, is watching us feed the hungry, lift up those excluded, educate children, and sing for joy. They’re watching us lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. And they know that we are Christians by our love. PRAYER Loving God, I pray that I would be a worthy ambassador for Christ, reflecting His love and truth to all I meet. May I rest in Your love, walk in the truth of Your Word, and finish the work You have for me on the earth before You call me home. In Jesus' name, AMEN. DEVOTION AUTHOR Thomas Riggs

SCRIPTURE John 21.4-5 Early the next morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize who he was. Jesus shouted, “Friends, have you caught anything?” WORDS OF HOPE During the Season we call Eastertide, that 40-day period following Resurrection Sunday, Jesus’ disciples could never predict when they might expect to encounter the Risen Christ. They were acutely aware that God was walking among them, but sometimes failed to recognize him, this miracle man who had been born once in a stable and “born again” out of a tomb to his true identity. Jesus no longer had the need to caution his followers to refrain from revealing some of his mysteries to the general public who had not been ready to understand his true nature. Today, we can relate the story of Superman to Jesus’ practice of emphasizing his human nature over his divine nature. After all, Clark Kent is a disguise; KAL-EL's / Superman's alter ego hides himself from the rest of the world aside from a handful of a few of his closest friends, but his super-human abilities are not diminished in the process. How many of us can relate to disguising ourselves to friends and loved ones, even temporarily, as we grow into the comfort of becoming our true selves? Perhaps you are among those who must not speak your truth, in order to not endanger the ones you love, or perhaps in fear of losing your job or other kind of status. Who can blame you? Our world is unstable at times. Persecution exists, and some people seem to make it their business to out others or, sadly, use it as leverage. We live in a divided society on so many levels that we question our safety constantly. We'd like to think we're relatively safe. At this stage of my life, I can't imagine the uncertainty of revealing myself at the cost of losing my life or family. Although it doesn't define all of me, my religion, sexual orientation, friendships, relationships, political views, hobbies, and so on, are a big part of what I'd like to feel as safe enough to share. But we all know the truth. Our nation has been empowered by unpredictable new prejudices and bigotry Over the last several years. I'm sure new ones are around the corner. So much of the news furthers the empowerment of these views with sensational reporting. It's not that we need to ignore the news, but rather the emotional charge that comes with over-concern. One of those ways in which I manage my doubts and fears comes to me when I compare my life to that of the original followers of Christ, who could lose their lives through the accepted acts of government violence of the day. The comparison doesn't remove the modern threats or diminish the need for justice for those who are persecuted. But we must find ways to react appropriately while living a close-to-normal productive life. In this Season, in your resurrected life, do you manage your day with news of violence against humanity? What are the coping skills in which you have come to manage your world so that you can bring hope to others? What is your true identity? PRAYER God, help us find ways to buffer hatred and violence by practicing authentic justice, perhaps by peaceful, non-violent protest, or simply by learning to love our neighbor. May we discover ways to educate our neighbors and forgive the fear in them that manifests itself in hate. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Charlie C. Rose Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

IN SPIRATION And on the 9th day, God looked around on [God’s] wide- eyed children and said they need a companion, so God made a dog. Please listen to these words of hope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDrabmm421I WORDS OF HOPE Just weeks before I had stood at the end of a raised metal table in my vet’s office holding Lily’s golden head in my hands and whispering my love through tears. Once again cancer had laid low the life of my dearest companion. My grief was still tender, but as I sat on the deck at the lake in East Texas in spring, two beautiful sleek bodies chased each other along the shoreline—bumping each other, mouthing pretend fierceness, splashing into the water and back out, rearing like ponies, their front paws in the air….Pure animal energy and play pulled me into delight in spite of myself. Coco and Charlie, as they were to be known, had been abandoned, and after a few months of foster care, I adopted them both—wildly loving again. Today is National Pet Day. Ask anyone who loves an animal companion—cat, dog, fish, bird, hamster, bearded dragon, etc.. -and they will not be at a loss to tell of the saving grace of their particular beloved one. When I touched in this morning with a few COH folks, Bill Johnson offered this tribute: “My cat, Duff, has a loud and powerful purr-box. It's what attracted me when I adopted him from a shelter. When he rests next to me, the purr vibrates into my body. It's comforting to both of us, he's doing it now.” A member from East Texas writes passionately of her dog Nick (who attends zoom meetings): “I would never have made it through losing my wife if I had not had my little dog Nicki to cling to. During the times when I was left in the home alone, he was there for me. He didn’t care that I was crying my eyes out or praying or screaming. He was there for me no matter what. He is still here for me now. He’s my best little guy.” By now most of us have read or heard of the research which acknowledges the physical and psychological benefits of bonding with an animal…--from lowered blood pressure and cholesterol, enhanced quality of life, healing from serious illness, better emotional state, sense of security and acceptance, the reduction of anxiety and depression. * By now we have become used to seeing the teams of golden retrievers travel with their handlers to minister to people traumatized by catastrophic weather events and by gun violence. It always moves me and I think: Thank God the dogs are here. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dr. Pat Saxon *Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine https://cvm.msu.edu/news/perspectives-magazine/perspectives-fall-2018/the-health-benefits-of-owning-a-companion-animal

SCRIPTURE James 1.2-4 Count it all joy, my sisters and brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. WORDS OF HOPE Prayer for the Season of Eastertide Navigating Through Uncertain Times During Eastertide, it is often helpful in remembering the significance of the Risen Christ in our lives by praying a more traditional, formal prayer. We pray according to recitations of Centering and Praise and Closing sections. Then we take time to meditate on what you have just prayed. There is value in repetition of these prayer sections. It causes the words to set more deeply in your mind and soul. Centering Prayer: “Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to God, you are my Lord”. All that I have which is good is provided by you. (Psalm 16:1-2) Reflect on your blessings even in this time of distress. Praise to the Lord: “I will bless the Lord, my God, who gives me counsel and comfort. Because you are at my right hand [in my constant presence], I shall not live in fear.” (Psalm 16:7-8) Meditation: In today’s reading from the Book of James, the operative word is “Steadfast.” It is correct to say that Jesus was steadfast, never failing in his ministry to reveal God’s welcoming love to humanity. That determination to persevere even in the face of possible death probably was a major reason for his death in Jerusalem. It is so easy to be fickle and bend off course in the face of danger or under the pressure of fear. Paul told some young Christians: “My beloved be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (I Corinthians 15:58) PRAYER May we be steadfast, even in these times of uncertainty, because we are assured that God’s Spirit is present with us. May we seek what the Spirit is asking you to do! Help us to be steadfast in that task. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR  Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare