Juliana: prayer and trust

Friday, May 8, 2026
    Feast of Juliana of Norwich, Mystic, Teacher, c.1417
    Commemoration of Dallas Willard, Teacher, Spiritual Writer, 2013
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
    —Luke 11:11-13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This is our Lord’s will, that our prayer and our trust be both alike large. For if we do not trust as much as we pray, we fail in full worship to our Lord in our prayer; and also we hinder and hurt ourselves. The reason is that we do not know truly that our Lord is the ground from which our prayer springeth; nor do we know that it is given us by his grace and his love. If we knew this, it would make us trust to have of our Lord’s gifts all that we desire. For I am sure that no man asketh mercy and grace with sincerity, without mercy and grace being given to him first.
    ... Juliana of Norwich (1342?-1417), Revelations of Divine Love, Grace Harriet Warrack, ed., Methuen, 1901, ch. XLII (see the book)
    See also Luke 11:11-13; Ps. 4:5; 73:26; 142:5; Pr. 3:5; Lam. 3:24; Matt. 7:7-11; John 4:10; 7:37-39; 14:13; 16:23-24; Jas. 1:5; 1 John 5:14-15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, show me the way of perfect trust. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tauler: cold, modern hearts

Thursday, May 7, 2026
Meditation:
    But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
    —1 Peter 4:13-14 (ESV)
Quotation:
    It is no longer the fashion to suffer for the sake of God, and to bear the Cross for Him; for the diligence and real earnestness, that perchance were found in man, have been extinguished and have grown cold; and now no one is willing any longer to suffer distress for the sake of God.
    ... Johannes Tauler (ca. 1300-1361), The Inner Way, Sermon XXII (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 4:13-14; Rom. 8:17; Phil. 3:10-11; Col. 1:24; 1 Pet. 5:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, place Your holy fire in my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Milford: ultimate hope

Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Meditation:
    For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
    —1 Peter 4:17-19 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Christians must learn again what Christians have always known—how to live without immediate hopes in the world.
    ... T. R. Milford (1895-1987), quoted in Christian Missions and the Judgment of God, David M. Paton, London: SCM Press, 1953, p. 57 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 4:17-19; Jer. 49:12; Matt. 3:9-10; Luke 12:47-48; 1 Tim. 6:17; 1 John 2:15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, my hope is in You alone. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: what to look for in Scripture

Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Meditation:
    I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
    —2 Timothy 4:1-4 (ESV)
Quotation:
    It is Truth which we must look for in Holy Writ, not cunning of words. All Scripture ought to be read in the spirit in which it was written. We must rather seek for what is profitable in Scripture, than for what ministereth to subtlety in discourse.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.v.1, p. 37 (see the book)
    See also 2 Tim. 4:1-4; Ps. 19:8; 119:105; Pr. 6:23; John 8:45; 1 Cor. 2:4; Col. 1:28-29; 1 Thess. 5:20; 2 Pet. 1:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I never win an argument at the risk of wounding a soul. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Patmore: all that God can give

Monday, May 4, 2026
    Feast of English Saints & Martyrs of the Reformation
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
    —John 15:13 (KJV)
Quotation:
    To love another as oneself is only the halfway house to Heaven, though it seems as far as it was prudent to bid man go. The “greater love than this” of which our Lord speaks, though He does not command it, is to give oneself for one’s friends. And when one does this, or is ready to do this, prayer even for “us” seems too selfish—and it is unnecessary, for we then possess all that God Himself can give us. The easy renunciation of self for the Beloved becomes the very breath of life.
    ... Coventry Patmore (1823-1896), Memoirs and Correspondence of Coventry Patmore, v. II, London: George Bell & Sons, 1900, p. 88 (see the book)
    See also John 15:13; Lev. 19:18; John 10:11-15; Rom. 5:6-8; Eph. 5:1-2; 1 John 4:7-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant that I might know the reality of sacrifice for the Body. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brunner: utopianism vs. hope

Sunday, May 3, 2026
Meditation:
    But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you...
    —1 Peter 3:14-15 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Utopias of historical progress cannot seduce those who believe in Christ. Utopias are the straws to which those cling who have no real hope; utopias are as unattractive as they are incredible, for those who know what real hope is. Utopias are not a consequence of true hope but a poor substitute for it and therefore a hindrance and not a help. The hope that is in Jesus Christ is different from all utopias of universal progress. It is based on the revelation of the crucified one. It is, therefore, not an uncertain speculation about the future but a certainty based upon what God has already revealed. One cannot believe in Jesus Christ without knowing for certain that God’s victory over all powers of destruction, including death, is the end towards which the time process moves as its own end.
    ... Emil Brunner (1889-1966), The Scandal of Christianity, London: SCM Press, 1951, reprint, John Knox Press, 1965, p. 111 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 3:14-15; Col. 1:27; Tit. 1:1-2; Heb. 3:6; 6:18-19; 1 Pet. 1:3-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I partake in Your victory. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Underhill: partaking of Christ's nature

Saturday, May 2, 2026
    Feast of St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher, 373
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.”
    —Matthew 10:26-27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Christian’s life is lived in the open, not in a pious cubby-hole. As Christ gives Himself to feed us, so we have to incarnate something of His all-loving, all-sacrificing soul. If we do not, then we have not really received Him. That is the plain truth. It has been said that there are many ways and degrees of receiving the Blessed Sacrament. It really depends on how wide we open our hearts. A spiritually selfish communion is not a communion at all.
    ... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The Light of Christ, New York: Longmans, Green, 1949, p. 89 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 10:26-27; Matt. 5:37; Acts 5:20; 2 Cor. 3:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I live to know and follow Your example. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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