Underhill: communion

Monday, March 2, 2026
    Feast of Chad, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary, 672
Meditation:
    The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
    —1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Two movements merge in the real act of communion. First, the creature’s profound sense of need, of incompleteness: its steadfast desire... Next, a humble and loving acceptance of God’s answer to that prayer of desire, however startling, disappointing, and unappetizing it may be.
    ... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The Mystery of Sacrifice, New York: Longmans, Green, 1938, p. 64 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 10:16-17; John 6:53-58; Acts 2:46-47; Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:3,27; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11; 1 John 1:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Purge me of scorn for any part of the Body. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: the Lord's day

Sunday, March 1, 2026
    Feast of David, Bishop of Menevia, Patron of Wales, c.601
Meditation:
    One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
    —Romans 14:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Where every day is not the Lord’s, the Sunday is his least of all. There may be a sickening unreality even where there is no conscious hypocrisy.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), Donal Grant, London: George Routledge and Sons, 1883, p. 73 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 14:5; Matt. 12:1-13; Luke 11:39-41; 1 Cor. 10:23,31; Tit. 1:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I give all days to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: what we shall be asked

Saturday, February 28, 2026
Meditation:
    And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
    —Revelation 16:7 (KJV)
Quotation:
    At the Day of Judgment, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.iii.5, p.35 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 16:7; Matt. 7:24; 12:50; Luke 6:46-48; 11:28; 12:47-48; John 13:17; Rom. 2:13; Col. 3:17; Jas. 1:22; 4:17; 1 John 2:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You rebuke my idleness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Herbert: Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life

Friday, February 27, 2026
    Feast of George Herbert, Priest, Poet, 1633
Meditation:
    Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
    —John 14:6 (NIV)
Quotation:
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joyes in love.
    ... George Herbert (1593-1633), The Poetical Works of George Herbert, New York: D. Appleton, 1857, p. 199 (see the book)
    See also John 14:6; 10:10; 1 Cor. 2:9-10; 15:54-57; Eph. 3:20-21; 1 Tim. 1:14
Quiet time reflection:
    Come into my heart, Lord Jesus!

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Tournier: listening to God

Thursday, February 26, 2026
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “He who has ears, let him hear.”
    —Matthew 13:9 (ESV)
Quotation:
    There are many people like us, who speak to God in prayer, but hardly ever listen to Him, or else listen to Him only vaguely.
    ... Paul Tournier (1898-1986), The Meaning of Persons, New York: Harper, 1957, p. 168 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 13:9; Ex. 15:26; Deut. 6:4-5; Ps. 85:8; Hab. 2:1; Heb. 12:25; Rev. 2:7,11,17,29
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, speak! I am listening. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Neill: the dwelling of virtue

Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
    —Matthew 6:22-23 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The will directs the tongue or the hand to act, and the evil word is spoken or the evil deed done. Every time we sin, it is the whole of us that sins, and not just a part. The body is only the instrument of the mind and the will. All that God made, including the body with all its desires and instincts, is good in itself. But it has to be kept under control and used in the right way.
    ... Stephen Neill (1900-1984), The Christian Character, London: Lutterworth Press, 1955, p. 83-84 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 6:22-23; Pr. 17:27; 21:23; 1 Cor. 9:25; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:4; Tit. 1:8; Jas. 1:26; 3:13; 2 Pet. 1:5-6;
Quiet time reflection:
    Teach me, Lord, to abide in Your statutes. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: the school of prayer

Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Meditation:
    Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
    —Luke 11:1 (ESV)
Quotation:
    They, therefore, who are hasty in their devotions and think a little will do, are strangers both to the nature of devotion and the nature of man; they do not know that they are to learn to pray, and that prayer is to be learnt as they learn other things, by frequency, constancy, and perseverance.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), Christian Perfection [1726], London: W. Baynes, 1807, p. 283 (see the book)
    See also Luke 11:1; Ps. 10:17-18; 19:14; Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:5-10; 18:2-7; John 14:13-14; Rom. 8:26-27; Jas. 4:2-3; Jude 1:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach me to pray. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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