August 12, 2026
Today, sitting down to listen to the Gospel and engage in contemplative prayer, I see Jesus and very large numbers of saints and angels. I hear that celestial beings are always concerned with human welfare to be sure, but now they are crowding in large concentrations around the painful trouble spots afflicting humanity – the shift to authoritarianism and mistreatment of people in the United States; the attacks on Ukraine; the desecration of the people of Gaza; Sudan; and other places.
These painful concentrations of aggression and suffering are like open sores or breaks in the protective skin surrounding humanity as a whole. And much like sores on the body, when the antibodies and white blood cells crowd around the intrusion and work to heal it, so too do the celestial powers and angels crowd around these pain spots, trying to get through and bring healing.
In the days when human beings in general recognized and tried to uphold a moral code, which is found in common among virtually all the world religions and cultural customs, it was easier for the divine powers to intervene for healing, peace, and justice. But when more and more leaders simply cast aside any semblance of morality and it becomes increasingly acceptable to give in to greed and cruelty, the moral code breaks down and it becomes more difficult for God’s way to prevail. Thus the clusters of celestial beings gather and crowd in, trying and trying to get through to any who will listen and cooperate.
We should not feel abandoned by God. We can help by making time for prayer and meditation, which makes the space for divine influences to enter the world. As always, we can propagate simple acts of kindness which demonstrate the divine way. We are encouraged to gather together in meditation groups, prayer groups, churches, mosques, support groups, and any place that promotes peace. Amen.
Another day we will speak about the liturgy (or in other traditions, the sadhana) as not just a convening and a practice, but also a pervasive pattern running through the universe, in other words, the Tao.
