Friday, June 19, 2020

The Daily Prayer for SATURDAY, June 20, 2020

https://biblegateway.christianbook.com/common-prayer-liturgy-for-ordinary-radicals/shane-claiborne/9780310326199/pd/326199
The Daily Prayer
SATURDAY, June 20, 2020

Osanna of Mantua (1449—1505)

Born to wealthy parents in Mantua, Italy, Osanna Andreasi, at age five, heard the voice of God saying, “Life and death consist in loving God.” She was then given a vision of heaven and the Trinity. Tradition has it that Osanna learned to read and write by divine revelation and began studying theology after this vision. Against her parents’ wishes, she longed to join the Third Order of Dominicans, but she would have to wait thirty-seven years to complete her vows. Upon the untimely death of her parents, Osanna committed her life to serving Christ and caring for her family of siblings. She was privy to ongoing holy visions and was reputed to have received the stigmata—the wounds of Christ. She spent her life aiding the poor and sick and speaking out boldly against aristocrats who lived lavish lives while others suffered.

John Chrysostom, a fourth-century preacher and bishop of Constantinople, said, “Our spirit should be quick to reach out toward God, not only when it is engaged in meditation; at other times also, when it is carrying out its duties, caring for the needy, performing works of charity, or giving generously in the service of others. Our spirit should long for God and call him to mind, so that these works may be seasoned with the salt of God’s love, and so make a palatable offering to the Lord of the universe.”

Lord, we know that you will come again in glory to raise the living and the dead. Resurrect us now from the death of comfort, complacency, sloth, and shallowness that we might witness to your love in life and death. Amen.

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