ON TODAY'S SITE:

Tzvi Freeman, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Suzanne Grosser, French Proverb

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Photo by Chuck Bowman    All rights reserved

         

Cultivate the soul with hope;
teach it to await the break of dawn
with longing eyes. Through its ordeals,
the soul is softened to absorb the rains,
but spring will only come to those
that long for it.

And so the sages say, "In the merit
of hope, our parents were
redeemed from Egypt."


From the wisdom of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson;
Words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Courtesy of Chabad.org


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When you pray with hope you turn yourself
toward God, trusting fully that God is a
faithful God who makes all promises real.

This hope gives you a new freedom
which lets you look realistically at
life without feeling dejected.


Excerpted from "With Open Hands,"
by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Ballentine Books, 1972



Photo by Chuck Bowman   All rights reserved


Hope

The faintest of whispers: the softest of sighs,
a "did I see something" obliquely pass by?

a movement that speaks; a presence that loves,
a rustle of gossamer; myriad doves.

not much is required; so little we need,
the smallest of dreams, a mere mustard seed.

a glimpse, or a glimmer, a flicker of light,
a promise of day against vapid night.

hope.


Suzanne Grosser

From "Bless the Day,"
by June Cotner
Kodansha International, 1998


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...Hoping is knowing that there is love,
it is trust in tomorrow
it is falling asleep
and waking again
when the sun rises.

In the midst of a gale at sea,
it is to discover land.
In the eyes of another
it is to see that you are understood.

...

As long as there is still hope
There will also be prayer.

...

And God will be holding you
in God's hands.


Excerpted from "With Open Hands,"
by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Ballentine Books, 1972