May 21
_As one familiar with the sonatas and the symphonies of Beethoven, while pa.s.sing along the street in summer, gets, from out of the open window, a s.n.a.t.c.h of a song or a piece that is being played, catching a strain here and another there--and says to himself, "Ah, that is Beethoven. I recognize that: it is from such and such a movement of the Pastoral" or whatever it may be;--so men in life catch strains of G.o.d in the mother"s disinterested and self-denying love, in the lover"s glow, in the little child"s innocent affections. Where did this thing come from? No plant ever brought out such fruit as this?_
HENRY WARD BEECHER.
Father of all and giver of every good thing, to Thee we pray; to Thee we look for light, for truth, for beauty. In the travail of thought may there come only the highest and best good. Where there is division we ask for unity; where there is confusion we ask for serenity; where there is discord, we ask for harmony. May divergent paths lead to the larger way of widening vision, distinctive service, unstinted love. Hasten the day when Thy purpose shall be accomplished in us, and when that which is now imperfect shall become the perfected whole. Grant to us wisdom to pursue n.o.ble ends with intelligent zeal, and patient effort, and in a charitable and hopeful spirit. Amen.
C. C. CLARK.
May 22
_It is very interesting to watch a plant grow, it is like taking part in creation. When all outside is cold and white, when the little children of the woodland are gone to their nurseries in the warm earth and the empty nests on the bare trees filled with snow, my window-garden glows and smiles, making summer within while it is winter without. It is wonderful to see flowers bloom in the midst of a snow-storm! I have felt a bud "shyly doff her green hood and blossom with a silken burst of sound," while the icy fingers of the snow beat against the window panes. What secret power, I wonder, caused this blossoming miracle? What mysterious force guided the seedling from the dark earth up to the light, through leaf and stem and bud, to glorious fulfilment in the perfect flower? Who could have dreamed that such beauty lurked in the dark earth, was latent in the tiny seed we planted? Beautiful flower, you have taught me to see a little way into the hidden heart of things. Now I understand that the darkness everywhere may hold possibilities better than even my hopes._
HELEN KELLER.
Grant us, O G.o.d, this day, vitality of brain and heart, to lay hold on the ordinary events and experiences of life, and trans.m.u.te them into beautiful and permanent values for ourselves and others. May we have courage, love and faithfulness, to conquer adversities and fulfil our duties. And should the winter of discontent and disappointment beat without against our souls, even so may Thy Kingdom come. Amen.
JULIUS P. WEST.
May 23
_Brother--there is no payment in the world!
We work and pour our labor at the feet Of those who are around us and to come.
We live and take our living at the hands Of those who are around us and have been.
No one is paid. No person can have more Than he can hold. And none can do beyond The power that"s in him. To each child that"s born Belongs as much of all our human good As he can take and use to make him strong._
_And from each man, debtor to all the world, Is due the fullest fruit of all his powers, His whole life"s labor, proudly rendered up, Not as return--can moments pay an age?
But as the simple duty of a man.
Can he do less--receiving everything?_
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN.
O, Thou Most Bountiful Giver! We thank Thee this morning for all the conveniences and comforts, the stored knowledge and acquired wisdom, the inspirations and encouragements of our daily life. Truly others have lived as Thy children and labored as Thy servants, by mind and hand and heart, and we are wondrously permitted to enter into the fruits of their labours. Grant unto us this day, O Father, so to strive and so to live that some other life may be cheered and blessed by the spirit and by the fruit of our day"s service. May our thoughts and words and deeds somehow express our grat.i.tude for the blessings which we are constantly receiving. Amen.
WILLIAM H. GOULD.
May 24
_What a wonderful thing it is to meet a man or woman whose manners are instantly open and free--opening up a direct road between him or her and yourself!_
EDWARD CARPENTER.
_There is a world in us that G.o.d keeps to himself, except when He calls some few souls, with special errand for us, to receive a glimpse. It is full of life, and growths, and wonders, that are to be developed and revealed. We ourselves know not what we shall be; but He knows that we shall be like Him.... It is the world of the spiritual microscope._
MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.
Our Father and Mother G.o.d,--we have cried for Thee as little children cry for parental love to wait upon their wants, and, like babes that cry, we have looked for Thee in nothing else. We would be now Thy sons and daughters of a larger growth, who learn to find Thee in a more complete and blessed fellowship of service and sacrifice with Thee, of united thought and will with Thine, of such living as shares in Thy perfect and eternal life. Help us so to be and so to live that even in ourselves we may get glimpses of Thine infinite good will and faithfulness, and show in our human lives, that G.o.d is in His world and all is well. Amen.
GEORGE W. KENT.
May 25
_What are we set on earth for? Say to toil: Nor to seek to leave the tending of thy vines, For all the heat of the day, till it declines, And death"s mild curfew shall from work a.s.soil.
G.o.d did anoint thee with His odorous oil To wrestle, not to reign; and he a.s.signs All thy tears over, like pure crystallines, For younger fellow-workers of the soil To wear for amulets. So others shall Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand, From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer, And G.o.d"s grace fructify through thee to all.
The least flower with a br.i.m.m.i.n.g cup may stand, And share its dewdrop with another near._
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.
Our Father In Heaven, we devoutly thank Thee for that ceaseless and refreshing tide of blessing that, from the reservoir of Thine exhaustless goodness, flows into our hearts and lives. And we further thank Thee that among the choicest of those blessings, is the one of being, not merely the receptacles of this inflow, but also co-workers with Thee, and with Thy Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in carrying forward to successful issue Thy beneficent purposes of grace and salvation. Grant us, we beseech Thee, day by day, such an infusion of Thy Holy Spirit as shall fittingly equip us for the gladsome and effective discharge of the duties of this divine relation, and its exalted privileges. All of which grant for Thy mercy"s sake. Amen.
CHARLES P. NASH.
May 26
_The deepest secret of life is love. Without love there is no enthusiasm, and without ideals there is no enthusiasm. We freeze our hearts by selfishness, and stifle them by sordidness. We fix our eyes upon the little field circ.u.mscribed by our day"s activities and ends. With no wide-reaching affection and no uplifting ideal, we make of our life a treadmill and of our duty an unwelcome drudgery. We disclaim the highest endowment of the soul and deny our sonship to G.o.d. Narrow faiths and narrow hopes put fetters on the spirit, and small affections keep small the heart._
PHILIP S. MOXOM.
Our Father, every morning is a fresh witness of Thy loving kindness.
When we sleep the vigils of Thy love are round about us. At the threshold of this new day, may it please Thee to inspire us with lofty aims, so that we may rise out of our selfish selves into conscious kinship with Thee. Help us to know the mystery of love, how limitless and all-conquering it is. Animated by its sweet law, may we go out into this great, needy world with hearts to sympathize and words to cheer and hands to minister. Then we shall know the divine sweetness of our Christian faith, the joy of Christlike living; we shall know that love is the fulfilling of the law. Amen.
Q. H. SHINN.
May 27
_Every day is a fresh beginning, Every morn is the world made new.
You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, Here is a beautiful hope for you, A hope for me and a hope for you._
_Every day is a fresh beginning; Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain, And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning, And puzzles forecasted and possible pain, Take heart with the day, and begin again._
SUSAN COOLIDGE.
O Thou, who makest all things new, we are glad each day is not only a new day but one unlike any before it. Everything breathes freshness and newness of life; a new heaven is over our heads, a new earth beneath our feet. We know this day will be full of new opportunities for work, new scenes for pleasure, new chances to make better our lives. If yesterday was not all we could wish, if there were failures in duty, or loss of faith in ourselves, and Thy great love, may this be filled with larger faith, greater hope, complete love. May we so take heart in this quiet morning hour, that we may be brave and faithful all the day, so that in spite of old sorrows and older sins, the memory of which may now and then shadow our way, we may find ourselves when the evening shall come, nearer heaven in heart and life, and more worthy to be called Thy children. Amen.
WILLIAM F. POTTER.
May 28
_O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with G.o.d the seas.... He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear._
RALPH WALDO EMERSON.