To keep the road open to our hearts

March 29, 2026March 25, 2026 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Christ Entering Jerusalem, Duccio via Wikimedia Commons

O God, whose dearly beloved Son
was greeted by the crowd on Olivet
with hallelujahs,
but who in the same week
was mocked as he went lonely
to the Cross,
forbid that our welcome to him should be
in words alone.

Help us, we beg you, to keep the road open
for him into our hearts;
and let him find there
not another crucifixion,
but love and loyalty in which his kingdom
may be established evermore.
Amen.

Walter Russell Bowie, 1882 – 1969, Episcopal priest from Virginia
The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers

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Matthew 21:7-11

They brought the donkey and the colt

and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,

while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked,
“Who is this?”
The crowds answered,
“This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
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Question

During Holy Week, how can you worship Jesus

and welcome him as king into your own heart?

Annoint the wounds

March 7, 2026March 1, 2026 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

The Good Samaritan, Teofilo Patini via Wikimedia Commons

Anoint the wounds
of my spirit
with the balm
of forgiveness.
Pour the oil
of your calm
upon the waters
of my heart

Take the squeal
of frustration
from the wheels of my passion
that the power
of your tenderness
may smooth
the way I love

That the tedium
of giving
in the risk of surrender
and the reaching
out naked
to a world
that must wound

may be kindled fresh daily
in a blaze of compassion
– that the grain may fall gladly
to burst in the ground
– and the harvest abound.

Father Ralph Wright, 1938- , Benedictine Monk St Louis Abbey
Sharing the Darkness

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Luke 10:33-34

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was;
and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine.
Then he put the man on his own donkey,
brought him to an inn and took care of him.

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Questions

When have you been wounded caring for another person’s needs?

Can you trust God to minister to your wounds in these times?

My Ego is like a Fortress

March 3, 2026March 1, 2026 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Photo by Margarida CSilva on Unsplash

My ego is like a fortress.
I have built its walls stone by stone
To hold out the invasion of the love of God.
But I have stayed here long enough. There is light
Over the barriers. O My God-
The darkness of my house forgive
And overtake my soul.
I relax the barriers.
I abandon all that I think I am,
All that I hope to be,
All that I believe I possess.
I let go of the past,
I withdraw my grasping hand from the future,
And in the great silence of this moment,
I alertly rest my soul.
As the sea gull lays in the wind current,
So I lay myself in the spirit of God.
My dearest human relationships,
My most precious dreams,
I surrender to His care.
All that I have called my own
I give back. All my favorite things
Which I would withhold in my storehouse
From his fearful tyranny,
I let go.
I give myself
Unto Thee, O my God.
Amen.

Howard Thurman, 1899-1981, African-American theologian civil rights leader
Say Amen! The African American Family’s Book of Prayers

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Psalm 51:17

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.

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Questions:

When you project your own ego, what do you think it looks like to other people?

To God?

I weave a silence on my lips . . .

February 28, 2026February 24, 2026 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Jesus Calming Storm by Jane Wilson Boyle via Pinterest

I weave a silence on my lips
I weave a silence into my mind
I weave a silence within my heart
I close my ears to distractions
I close my eyes to attractions
I close my heart to temptations

Calm me O Lord as you stilled the storm
Still me O Lord, keep me from harm
Let all the tumult within me cease
Enfold me Lord in your peace.

David Adam, 1936-2020, English priest, rector of Lindisfarne
The Book of a Thousand Prayers

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Psalm 62:1-2

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

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Questions

When have you experienced God’s peace most powerfully?

What was the occasion or circumstance?

God, help me with my thoughts!

February 19, 2026February 14, 2026 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

book cover of “Scattered Thoughts of a Disorganized Mind” by Andrea Koerner

God help me with my thoughts!

They stray from me, setting off on their wildest journeys.

When I am in church, they run off like naughty children,

quarreling, making trouble.

When I read the Bible, they fly to a distant city,

filled with beautiful women.

My thoughts can cross an ocean with a single leap;

they can fly from earth to heaven,

and back again, in a single second.

They come to me for a fleeting moment,

and then away they flee.

No chain, no locks can hold them back;

no threats of punishment can restrain them,

no hiss of a lash can frighten them.

They slip from my grasp like tails of eels;

they swoop hither and thither like swallows in flight.

Dear, chaste Christ, who can see into every heart and read every mind,

take hold of my thoughts.

Bring my thoughts back to me,

and clasp me to yourself.

Celtic prayer, c.450-c.700

The HarperCollins Book of Prayers

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Psalm 139:1, 23-24

You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

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Questions:

What do you need God to do in your thought life?

Can you ask God to heal your diseased imagination?

Continue reading →

Defend the cradle of my mind

December 30, 2025December 26, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

The Three Wise Men, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, via Wikimedia Commons

Come closer to me, closer still, O Power of the Holy Trinity.
Enter into my consciousness more deeply

than thoughts and emblems of the world can.
In the same way as a wise mother, when she conceives,
prepares and embellishes a cradle for her child,
so prepare and embellish my mind for that which will be begotten from You,
O Beauty and Purity.

Many evil thoughts lurk like serpents around the cradle of Your Son.
And many wicked desires emerge from my heart and seek the cradle of Your Prince,
to poison Him with their arrows.

Defend the cradle of my mind,
and teach my soul how to give birth and care for an infant.

Shroud in deep darkness

the journey of all malevolent visitors coming to see my newborn son.
And raise aloft a most radiant star

over the way of the Wise Men from the East,
men who are truly wise,

because they are coming to visit my most precious child with three gifts—
faith, hope, and love.

Come closer to me, still closer, my majestic Lord.

Nikolai Velimirovich 1881-1956 Serbian Orthodox monastic
Prayers by the Lake, source, edited
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Matthew 2:9-12

After they had heard the king, they went on their way,

and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them

until it stopped over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,

and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Then they opened their treasures

and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,

they returned to their country by another route.

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How is your mind vulnerable to harmful thought patterns?
How can reflecting on the personhood of Jesus help protect your thought life?

Continue reading →

We welcome Your Arrival

December 24, 2025December 22, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

The Birth of Christ, Albrecht Altdorfer c.1513, wikimedia commons

Night has fallen; the clear, bright stars are sparkling in the cold air;

noisy, strident voices rise to my ear from the city,

voices of the revelers of this world who celebrate with merrymaking

the poverty of their Savior.

Around me in their rooms my companions are asleep,

and I am still wakeful, thinking of the mystery of Bethlehem.

Come, come, Jesus, I await you. . . .

I am a poor shepherd;

I have only a wretched stable, a small manger, some wisps of straw.

I offer all these to you, be pleased to come into my poor hovel.

I offer you my heart;

my soul is poor and bare of virtues,

the straws of so many imperfections will prick you and make you weep

–but oh, my Lord, what can you expect?

This little is all I have. . . .

I have nothing better to offer you, Jesus,

honor my soul with your presence, adorn it with your graces.

Burn this straw and change it into a soft couch for your most holy body.

Jesus, I am here waiting for your coming.

Wicked men have driven you out, and the wind is like ice.

I am a poor man, but I will warm you as well as I can.

At least be pleased that I wish to welcome you warmly,

to love you and sacrifice myself for you.

Amen.

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli 1881–1963 also Pope John XXIII

source

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Luke 2:4-7

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth,

to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,

because he was of the house and lineage of David,

to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son

and wrapped him in swaddling cloths

and laid him in a manger,

because there was no place for them in the inn.
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What is one sacrifice you can make to welcome Jesus anew this Christmas?

Continue reading →

It is your home

December 16, 2025December 15, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Utah Arches National Park, via pickpak

Bright moon, scattered stars; so solitary is creation.
The universe which God has created is especially
silent on this night.
It waits with bated breath
for the Lord of Creation to return.
The universe belongs to God,
it is his home.

Silence reigns supreme.
The flowers of the field sway gently
in the moonlight.
This night, the vast earth awaits
the homecoming of our Creator God.
The vast earth and open fields belong to God,
they are his home.

Bethlehem lies dreaming.
In his gentle mother’s arms,
the babe sleeps peacefully this night.
The City of David awaits
the homecoming of David’s descendant.
The town of Bethlehem belongs to him,
it is his home.

My bones, my flesh, my blood, my lungs and my heart,
were all made by his hand.
This night, my heart is at peace,
awaiting my Creator’s return.
My heart belongs to him,
it is his home.

Advent prayer from China

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Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.

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How do you recognize God’s presence in creation?
How do you see God’s presence in Jesus? Within yourself?

Continue reading →

protect my heart

October 23, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

image by Annija U via Pexels

I give you my heart,

and I humbly pray that you would always keep it in your hands,

since it is so unfaithful in loving what is good.

When it is in my control,

it is prone to follow all sorts of evils.

Oh Father,

keep my heart steadfast and unalterable in your ways.

Let it not be inclined to any evil thing

nor lean toward any of my former vanities.

Keep my eyes from looking upon and my ears from listening

to any sort of wickedness.

Do not let my lips utter anything that is ungodly

or my feet move even a step in any of the paths of death,

but hold my whole spirit, soul, and body in a righteous fear of you.

Keep me comfortable in the hope of your favor,

through Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and only Savior.

Amen.

John Kettlewell, 1653-1695, English clergyman and devotional writer

Cloud of Witnesses

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1 Thessolonians 5:23-24

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

May your whole spirit, soul and body

be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Continue reading →