Monday

Monday

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your angry.

Ephesians 4:26

Monday Prayer

Try as I might, Lord, my anger still prevails.  Try as I might, Lord, my anger causes me to sin.  Blessed Redeemer, guard my mouth from saying angry words that can damage relationships.  Guard my mind from thinking angry thoughts that can make me bitter.  Place my eyes on the cross of Christ, and show me the way to forgiveness.  Relationships, though often so full of joy and happiness, can also be a heavy cross to carry.  Let your Son, Jesus Christ, calm my frustrations and heal my relationships with his powerful forgiveness. Let the sun never go down on my anger, O Lord.  Amen.

Monday Meditation

Jesus calls us to gratitude.  He calls us to recognize that gladness and sadness are never separate, that joy and sorrow really belong together, and that mourning and dancing are part of the same movement.  That is why Jesus calls us to be grateful for every moment that we have lived and to claim our unique journey as God’s way to mold our hearts to greater conformity with God’s own.  The cross is the main symbol of our faith, and it invites us to find hope where we see pain and to reaffirm the resurrection where we see death.  The call to be grateful is a call to trust that every moment of our life can be claimed as the way of the cross that leads us to new life.  Can we be grateful for everything that has happened in our life – not just the good things but for all that has brought us today?

-          Henri Nouwen