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A prayer for the day from the ACNA prayerbook
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations, and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Grand Rising…
— DaliMach (@frenchscotjeff) March 10, 2025
I don't know what this day will bring me
I know what, me I will bring to this day.
Good Monday and new week lovely people in my phone.#NewWeek #MondayMotivation #spring #weather #sunrise #GoodVibesOnly #StormHour #jefinuist #outerhebrides #scotland pic.twitter.com/D2BtSTLiQM
From the Morning Scripture Readings
On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
After this he went down to Caper′na-um, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.
–John 2:1-12
Mystical archway. St Michael's tower on Glastonbury Tor. pic.twitter.com/ux16KEaA6V
— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) March 10, 2025
A prayer for the day from the Church of England
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Good morning. 🌅🌳🏡☀️ pic.twitter.com/CjLBsrHlam
— Sharon Welby📷 (@sharonwelby1) March 9, 2025
From the Morning Bible Readings
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”
–Mark 2:18-22
Ich wünsche euch allen einen guten Morgen und einen feinen Sonntag 😊 pic.twitter.com/uE56c7Mypb
— Renate Umundum (@RUmundum) March 9, 2025
Robert Ellis’ OCMS lecture–Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy: The Pastor and the Suffering God
War broke out in August and in September 1914 Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy wrote these words in his parish magazine:
“I cannot say too strongly that I believe every able-bodied man ought to volunteer for service anywhere. Here ought to be no shirking of that duty.”
This from the man who would, before long be writing this, “Waste”:
“Waste of Muscle, waste of Brain,
Waste of Patience, waste of Pain,
Waste of Manhood, waste of Health,
Waste of Beauty, waste of Wealth,
Waste of Blood, and waste of Tears,
Waste of Youth’s most precious years,
Waste of ways the Saints have trod,
Waste of glory, Waste of God–War!”
Delighted to be speaking on Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy at the Wantage Literary Festival on Sunday 21st @wantagelitfest pic.twitter.com/6O9REbmPks
— Linda Parker (@lindamparker56) October 18, 2018
A Prayer for the Feast Day of Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy
Glorious God, we give thanks for high and holy things as well as the common things of earth: Awaken us to recognize thy presence in each other and in all creation, so that we, like Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, may love and magnify thee as the holy, undivided Trinity; who liveth and reigneth one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
8 Mar 1929, Revd Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy MC, Woodbine Willie, died, aged 45. Struggled with asthma & wrote best-selling poetry, giving away all royalties. Army Chaplain on Western Front. Gave out Bibles & woodbine cigarettes to troops. Became pacifist & Christian socialist #WW1 pic.twitter.com/7YurPqw5qv
— Revd Nicholas Pye (@RevdPye) March 8, 2025
A prayer for the day from Frank Colquhoun
Save us, O God, from the false piety that parades itself in the eyes of men and is not genuine in thy sight; and so sanctify us by thy Spirit that both in heart and life we may serve thee acceptably, to the honour of thy holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
⛷️🚠🤩😁 pic.twitter.com/y6kUnEBD4y
— LeaRotenbach (@LeaRotenbach) March 8, 2025
From the Morning Bible Readings
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Beth-sa′ida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathan′a-el, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathan′a-el said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathan′a-el coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Nathan′a-el said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathan′a-el answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
–John 1:43-51
Morning all, interesting shaft of light as the sun was just about to come over the horizon this morning over Burscough in West Lancashire. @bbcweather @kcrewders @TimesPictures @StormHour @LancashirePics @RamblersGB @IWA_UK #sunrise #shaftofsunlight #orangedawn @BurscoughNews pic.twitter.com/Bkr5Ad3bnR
— @Colin Wareing (@ColinWareing1) March 8, 2025
(Church Times) Book review: ‘Why We Believe: Finding meaning in uncertain times’ by Alister McGrath, by Bishop John Inge
I have read many books by Alister McGrath, renowned scientist and theologian. I have appreciated all of them and, indeed, reviewed one very positively in these columns only a year ago (Books, 23 February 2024). This, though, is the best I have read (Feature, 21 February). It is quite simply brilliant, a must-read for those who want to reflect deeply on the whole question of belief. It will be particularly helpful to those who want to be able to defend their own. I remember Rowan Willams being quoted as saying something along the lines that it could be such a relief not to be made to feel foolish for embracing belief. No one who has read this book need do that.
The intention of the author is consider belief in general, not just religious belief. Demonstrating clearly that it just won’t do to pretend that we live in a “purely factual, belief-free world”, he concludes that “believing is not only intellectually defensible but existentially necessary” (his italics). He offers many fascinating references from a variety of disciplines as, with characteristic clarity and accessibility, he presents a highly sophisticated argument.
In powerful testimony, McGrath explains how, having been raised in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, he gave up on religion. His first love was the natural sciences; he became an atheist with a strong interest in Marxism. It was as an Oxford undergraduate — ironically, through reading the atheist Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy — that he began to realise that it was possible to hold beliefs without being able to prove them and, in fact, that to live life to the full it was imperative to do so. “Only shallow truths can be proven,” he writes, “not the profound existential, moral and spiritual beliefs that bestow dignity and significance upon human life.”
"It is quite simply brilliant, a must-read for those who want to reflect deeply on the whole question of belief." @BishopJohnInge reviews Why We Believe: Finding meaning in uncertain times by @alisteremcgrath https://t.co/njISQN0hnN
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 7, 2025
(New Atlas) World’s first “Synthetic Biological Intelligence” runs on living human cells
The world’s first “biological computer” that fuses human brain cells with silicon hardware to form fluid neural networks has been commercially launched, ushering in a new age of AI technology. The CL1, from Australian company Cortical Labs, offers a whole new kind of computing intelligence – one that’s more dynamic, sustainable and energy efficient than any AI that currently exists – and we will start to see its potential when it’s in users’ hands in the coming months.
Known as a Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI), Cortical’s CL1 system was officially launched in Barcelona on March 2, 2025, and is expected to be a game-changer for science and medical research. The human-cell neural networks that form on the silicon “chip” are essentially an ever-evolving organic computer, and the engineers behind it say it learns so quickly and flexibly that it completely outpaces the silicon-based AI chips used to train existing large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT.
“Today is the culmination of a vision that has powered Cortical Labs for almost six years,” said Cortical founder and CEO Dr Hon Weng Chong. “We’ve enjoyed a series of critical breakthroughs in recent years, most notably our research in the journal Neuron, through which cultures were embedded in a simulated game-world, and were provided with electrophysiological stimulation and recording to mimic the arcade game Pong. However, our long-term mission has been to democratize this technology, making it accessible to researchers without specialized hardware and software. The CL1 is the realization of that mission.”
BRAIN IN A BOX: World's first "Synthetic Biological Intelligence" runs on living human cells https://t.co/jB9Y3EItca
— NICK KWEK 💡 (@NICKKWEK) March 4, 2025
(Economist) Donald Trump’s economic delusions are already hurting America
In his speech to Congress on March 4th President Donald Trump painted a fantastical picture. The American Dream, he declared, was surging bigger and better than ever before. His tariffs would preserve jobs, make America richer still, and protect its very soul. Unfortunately, in the real world things look different. Investors, consumers and companies show the first signs of souring on the Trumpian vision. With his aggressive and erratic protectionism, Mr Trump is playing with fire.
By imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, also on March 4th, Mr Trump is setting light to one of the world’s most integrated supply chains. Although he belatedly delayed duties on cars by one month, plenty of other industries will suffer. He has also raised tariffs on China and has threatened the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Some of these duties may also be deferred; others may never materialise. Yet in economics as in foreign relations, it is becoming clear that policy is being set on the president’s whim. That will cause lasting damage at home and abroad.
When Mr Trump won the election in November, investors and bosses cheered him on. The S&P 500 rose by nearly 4% in the week after the vote in anticipation of the new president lighting a bonfire of red tape and bringing about generous tax cuts. His protectionist and anti-immigration rhetoric, investors hoped, would come to nothing. A stockmarket correction or a return of inflation would surely curb his worst instincts.
Alas, those hopes are going up in smoke….
La copertina del nuovo Economist. Gli Art Director non hanno mai avuto tanta materia prima. pic.twitter.com/rnuMWWYaN1
— Jeanne Perego 🥨 (@jeperego) March 7, 2025
(Local Paper) Daylight Saving Time is more diabolical than losing an hour of sleep, experts say
“We have a lot of data to go to a permanent Standard Time,” Burman said. “So hopefully (Daylight Saving) will, in the next few years, get eliminated.”
There are biological reasons the time change is harmful, said Dr. Jigme Sethi, physician-executive for Sleep Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. The body has an internal clock that governs many functions and runs on a 24.2-hour cycle, the circadian rhythm of activity and rest. There is also a solar clock that pays attention to light and darkness and helps set the internal clock, Sethi said. When those are properly aligned, the body functions normally.
But with Daylight Saving, there is more darkness in the morning, when the body is trying to wake, and more daylight into the evening, when rest and then sleep should be coming on, Sethi said.
This can lead to immediate consequences. The number of fatal accidents increases by 6 percent the weekday after, and those accidents are more likely in the morning, according to a 2020 study. An analysis of criminal sentences handed down on the Monday after the time change found sleep-deprived judges gave out prison terms that were 5 percent longer than those on the preceding or following Mondays, one study found.
Medical errors also seem to rise soon after the time change, Sethi said.
But there are also long-term consequences, particularly for children, Burman said.
Daylight Saving Time is more diabolical than losing an hour of sleep, experts say https://t.co/m41qUbirkX
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) March 7, 2025
A Prayer for the Feast Day of Perpetua, Felicity and Her Companions
O God, the King of Saints, who didst strengthen thy servants Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions to make a good confession and encourage one another in the time of trial: Grant that we who cherish their blessed memory may share their pure and steadfast faith and win with them the palm of victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Today's the feast of St Perpetua and Felicity, by tradition 2nd Century Carthaginian martyrs. They stand either side of St Alban in typical Kempe glass at St Mary, High Pavement, Nottingham. pic.twitter.com/9gS1EOYLDb
— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) March 7, 2025
A prayer for the day from Prayers for the Christian Year
O Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son hast taught us that whosoever will be his disciple must take up his cross and follow him: Help us with willing heart to mortify our sinful affections, and depart from every selfish indulgence by which we sin against thee. Strengthen us to resist temptation, and to walk in the narrow way that leadeth unto life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
–Prayers for the Christian Year (SCM, 1964)
As the sun broke through the textured clouds. Taken this morning in Glastonbury. pic.twitter.com/rX8tuLgGGW
— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) March 7, 2025
From the Morning Bible Readings
For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
–Titus 2:11-14
Good morning
— 🌱Mystic Mel (@Melshenny1) March 7, 2025
Buenos días pic.twitter.com/WOUFwmKI37
(Church Times) Commons debate airs ‘disappointment’ at direction of church safeguarding
The Synod’s failure to vote for such an approach, but to prefer more time to explore the legal and logistical barriers to outsourcing diocesan safeguarding teams while simultaneously creating a new, independent scrutiny body, was, Mr Myer said, “deeply disappointing”.
The decision, he said, “did not follow the recommendation from Professor Jay and many other specialists and professionals, or the preference of many survivors”.
Two separate surveys have suggested that about three-quarters of the victims and survivors questioned supported Professor Jay’s recommendations; but her advice was not supported by all safeguarding professionals.
Jim Gamble, the head of the INEQE Safeguarding Group, which is auditing all Church of England dioceses and cathedrals, was among those to disagree with Professor Jay. In a report published the day before the Synod’s debate, he wrote: “When it comes to delivering effective safeguarding practice — practice that genuinely works and makes a difference — it is most effectively delivered from within, not imposed from without”….
In a House of Commons debate on Monday evening, MPs criticised the General Synod’s decision last month not to outsource all safeguarding functions immediately to an independent body https://t.co/phh7IAy7FJ
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 6, 2025
(Commonplace) Emile Doak-The Stabilization of Religious Decline Is a Big Deal
In this light, we can see that the dizzying changes of the past decade represent the dying lurches of a postwar consensus and a re-enchantment of the West. History, contra Fukuyama, is not linear, and epochal shifts will often entail volatility as the old order grapples with its demise. In other words, Pew’s RLS data is more evidence of what N.S. Lyons called the “end of the Long Twentieth Century.” And it may be the strongest evidence yet that we’ve truly turned the page.
Lyons is following Rusty Reno, who sensed in his 2019 book Return of the Strong Gods that the era of a Western “open society” consensus was coming to an end. In its place, “strong gods” would return. These strong gods “are the objects of men’s love and devotion, the sources of the passions and loyalties that unite societies.” While the twentieth century saw an attempt to domesticate the strong gods through the promotion of weak ones like “inclusion” and “multiculturalism,” the quest has proved futile. These weak gods stand in negation to certain values—“anti-racism” or “anti-totalitarianism”—and are therefore incapable of stirring the aspirational loyalty necessary for a cohesive society.
But not all strong gods are equally benevolent. Some can be quite destructive. Reno argued that to counteract the rougher edges of strong gods like nationalism, we will need “to nurture to primeval sources of solidarity that limit the claims of the civic ‘we’: the domestic society of marriage and the supernatural community of the church, synagogue, and other communities of transcendence.”
Thus, we can say that religion is perhaps the strongest of the strong gods….
Read more in @commonplc, an essential journal: https://t.co/FNH7Z8pLNd
— Emile Doak (@EADoak) March 6, 2025
A C.S. Lewis reflection for Lent 2025
The idea of national repentance seems at first sight to provide such an edifying contrast to that national self-righteousness of which England is so often accused and with which she entered (or is said to have entered) the last war, that a Christian naturally turns to it with hope. Young Christians especially-last-year undergraduates and first-year curates- are turning to it in large numbers. They are ready to believe that England bears part of the guilt for the present war, and ready to admit their own share in the guilt of England. What that share is, I do not find it easy to determine. Most of these young men were children, and none of them had a vote or the experience which would enable them to use a vote wisely, when England made many of those decisions to which the present disorders could plausibly be traced. Are they, perhaps, repenting what they have in no sense done?
If they are, it might be supposed that their error is very harmless: men fail so often to repent their real sins that the occasional repentance of an imaginary sin might appear almost desirable. But what actually happens (I have watched it happening) to the youthful national penitent is a little more complicated than that. England is not a natural agent, but a civil society. When we speak of England’s actions we mean the actions of the British government. The young man who is called upon to repent of England’s foreign policy is really being called upon to repent the acts of his neighbor; for a foreign secretary or a cabinet minister is certainly a neighbor. And repentance presupposes condemnation. The first and fatal charm of national repentance is, therefore, the encouragement it gives us to turn from the bitter task of repenting our own sins to the congenial one of bewailing-but, first, of denouncing-the conduct of others.
–-C.S. Lewis, “Dangers of national repentance”
"Jesus is not a figure from the past: He continues now and always to light the way for us." – #PopeFrancis #ThursdayafterAshWednesday
— Catholic Priest Media (@Catholic_Priest) March 6, 2025
📷 The Suffering Christ / © 1971yes / #GettyImages. #Catholic_Priest #CatholicPriestMedia #Lent2025 pic.twitter.com/jRMnpho0rb
(Eleanor Parker) ‘þu eart dust and to duste gewendst’: Ælfric, Ash Wednesday and ‘The Seafarer’
On that Wednesday, throughout the world,
as it is appointed, priests bless
clean ashes in church, and then lay them
on people’s heads, so that they may remember
that they came from earth and will return again to dust,
just as Almighty God said to Adam,
after he had sinned against God’s command:
‘In labour you shall live and in sweat you shall eat
your bread upon the earth, until you return again
to the same earth from which you came,
for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’
This is not said about the souls of mankind,
but about their bodies, which moulder to dust,
and shall again on Judgement Day, through the power of our Lord,
rise from the earth, all who ever lived,
just as all trees quicken again in the season of spring
which were deadened by the winter’s chill.
'Þu eart dust and to duste gewendst.' An Anglo-Saxon Ash Wednesday and the link between Lent and spring: https://t.co/gW6skHKmRv
— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) March 2, 2022
The word 'Lent' comes from the Old English word for spring, 'lencten', the season when the days are lengthening. pic.twitter.com/gDszcwXwJe
A Prayer for the Feast Day of William Mayo, Charles Menninger and Their Sons
Divine Physician, your Name is blessed for the work and witness of the Mayos and the Menningers, and the revolutionary developments that they brought to the practice of medicine. As Jesus went about healing the sick as a sign of the reign of God come near, bless and guide all those inspired to the work of healing by thy Holy Spirit, that they may follow his example for the sake of thy kingdom and the health of thy people; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, now and for ever.
In 1931, Dr. William J. Mayo observed, "Each day, as I go through the hospitals surrounded by younger men [and women], they give me of their dreams and I give them of my experience, and I get the better of the exchange." #MedEd https://t.co/5lMYFAjGZD
— Mayo Clinic Transplantation Surgery (@MCTransplntSurg) March 3, 2025
A prayer for the day from the Church of England
Holy God, you know the disorder of our sinful lives: by your Spirit set straight, our crooked hearts, and bend our wills to love your goodness and your glory in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (slightly edited; KSH).
As we begin the season of Lent, let us put down deep roots of hope by connecting with God.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 5, 2025
Find ways to follow our daily Lent reflections at https://t.co/GS18VO42Db.#LivingHope pic.twitter.com/qJB769pCAj
From the Morning Bible Readings
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
–Psalm 37:3-5
Bishop Báez writes: The ashes on our foreheads remind us we are dust and to dust we shall return. But we’re dust shaped by God’s hands, into which He breathed the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7). We’re dust loved by God, called to do good and live forever. #AshWednesday https://t.co/gdzP44niVF
— Carmelite Quotes @carmelitequotes (@carmelitequotes) March 5, 2025
A Prayer for Ash Wednesday from Harold Anson
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst take upon thee the form of a servant, humbling thyself and accepting death for us, even the death of the cross: Grant that this mind may be also in us; so that we may gladly take upon ourselves the life of humility and service, and taking up our cross daily may follow thee in thy suffering and death, that with thee we may attain unto the power of thy endless life. Grant this, O Christ, our Saviour and our King.
A fabulous #AshWednesday – 40 adults and 9 children ashed as we begin this season of Lent ✝️ pic.twitter.com/CQNuHyGA7t
— Fr George Reeves (@FrGeorgeReeves) March 5, 2025
John Calvin on Silence and Psalm 62 for Ash Wednesday
But in order to arrive at its full meaning, we must suppose that David felt an inward struggle and opposition, which he found it necessary to check. Satan had raised a tumult in his affections, and wrought a degree of impatience in his mind, which he now curbs; and he expresses his resolution to be silent. The word implies a meek and submissive endurance of the cross. It expresses the opposite of that heat of spirit which would put us into a posture of resistance to God. The silence intended is, in short, that composed submission of the believer, in the exercise of which he acquiesces in the promises of God, gives place to his word, bows to his sovereignty, and suppresses every inward murmur of dissatisfaction.
–From his commentary on the Psalms
Lent begins today with Ash Wednesday. #AshWednesday #Lent2025 #anglican #anglicanchurch #anglicancommunion #acna pic.twitter.com/CBvHmmQ47q
— New Wineskins (@newwineskins) March 5, 2025
A prayer for Ash Wednesday from the Church of England
Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 5, 2025
Today, many will attend church services and have a cross of ash traced on their foreheads. This acts as a reminder of our mortality and need for reconciliation with God.
Find an Ash Wednesday service at https://t.co/R8wMSEkNUx. pic.twitter.com/m5DBIVcChz
Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Ash Wednesday
“Confess your faults one to another” (Jas. 5:16). He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. This pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. so we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!
But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. “My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that; He loves the sinner but He hates sin.
–-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
"Remember that from dust you came and to dust you shall return." Today marks the beginning of #Lent2025 with #AshWednesday, a time for reflection, repentance, and renewal. May our faith in the Lord be strengthened as we pray and meditate on His word during this holy period. pic.twitter.com/DzY8Z7GCeQ
— Trinity College Nabbingo (@TRICONAOfficial) March 5, 2025
A prayer for the day based on the thought of the Gelasian Sacramentary
O God, who by thy care and counsel for mankind hast moved thy Church to appoint this holy season wherein the hearts of those who seek thee may receive thy help and healing: We beseech thee so to purify us by thy discipline, that, abiding in thee and thou in us, we may grow in grace and in the faith and knowledge of thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Heerlijk zonnig voorjaarsweer. Fijne woensdag😀 #zonsondergang #rivier pic.twitter.com/VL4Otb5oYd
— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) March 5, 2025
From the Morning Scripture Readings
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:7-14
Whenever you feel hopeless about the hate and ruin and sadness in the world, remember that the sun still rises every day, still draws long shadows on the fields, the birds still sing their little hearts out in the gold, and the spring flowers still push up through the hard earth… pic.twitter.com/dZe1yZsTYN
— peaklass (@peaklass1) March 5, 2025
