Stephen Copeland

The great philosopher and theologian Paul Tillich once wrote about the profound inner movement of “accepting your own acceptance.” God loves us as we are, not as we should be.

Henri Nouwen’s book “The Return of the Prodigal Son” was inspired by a chance encounter Nouwen had with a reproduction of Rembrandt’s famous painting.

Richard Rohr sometimes talks about how negative thoughts have a way of sticking to our brains like velcro, while positive thoughts have a way of slipping away like teflon.

In the morning, afternoon, and evening today, enter into stillness and be reminded that God dwells within you and animates you through the mystery of the Holy Spirit.

It seems our world is becoming more noisy by the day. We can even become addicted to the noise, eager for the next stimulus to activate our hearts and minds, especially in our social media age and with inflammatory news cycles.

The constant angst and heaviness of the pandemic has taken its toll in some way on each of us. May this prayer remind you of your humanity at a time when it is easy to be hard on yourself.