First was a gift from my mom when I arrived at her house Friday evening, a bookmark that my dad had used that is printed with a verse from the canticle Benedicite, omnia opera Domini (BCP 47).
O ye sun and moon, bless ye the Lord;
O ye stars of heaven, bless ye the Lord.
It's tucked into my Prayer Book now, in the page that suggests the canticles to read for Morning and Evening Prayer each day.
The second gift was from a reader here in Florida who asked if I had taken a fast from posting on my blog during Lent. While I hadn't done so intentionally, the fact remains that my last post dates from Ash Wednesday. I appreciate the nudge to get me back into a habit that had started slipping these last three weeks.
So today I bless the Lord for these gifts, and I invite you to bless the Lord for the tokens of the Spirit that you find in your life. As Paul writes to the Romans, "to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace" (Rom. 8:6).
May you have new life in Christ, and lasting peace in the presence of his Holy Spirit.
O ye children of men, bless ye the Lord;
praise him and magnify him for ever.
