Daily Bread August 23

Sacramental Vision
Velma Ruch, Herald Publishing House 1994, reprint 2018, p. 59)


And again, I say unto you, Sue for peace, not only the people that have smitten you, but also to all people; and lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth. -Doctrine and Covenants 102:11a, b

From Summoned to Pilgrimage: The Temple as Focus of a Pilgrim People

Though Christ himself was the most complete revelation of the Divine we have known, he, too, tried to help us understand through the use of symbols: “I am the light of the world”; “Behold the Lamb of God”; “I am the Good Shepherd”; “I am the vine, you are the branches”; “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

What Christ…was teaching is that to know God we must have sacramental vision, the ability to penetrate the literal and discover its relationship to the universal.

Unless the sacred were in some sense particularized, it would be out of reach of human experience. On the other hand, if the particular is simply a grain of sand or a wildflower, it loses its sacramental character. The thing-the grain of sand or the flower-should be studied and appreciated for itself. The revelatory should never destroy the integrity of the physical, but what the thing is in itself can be immeasurably enhanced when we see it as a small portion of the creative energy of the Divine. That is true of each of us as individuals as well as of all other parts of creation. We each are mirrors to a greater or lesser extent of the mystery that exists at the heart of being.

Prayer Phrase

Peace, be still (Mark 4:39).

Spiritual Practice

Inner Stillness

In the contemplative tradition, silent prayer is about cultivating a quality of inner stillness. You may visualize the story of Jesus calming the storm as a way of entering into this quality of prayer. Notice how churned up the waters of your soul are currently. As you breathe deeply, imagine a sacred stillness forming within you. What might it look like to engage all your relationships and daily tasks from this place of inner stillness? As you move through your day, notice when you feel stirred up and when you experience inner calm. Take note of patterns and themes. Invite all of your noticing into prayer as you continue to grow deeper in God as the source of your life and action.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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