Reflection
We who are alive today are creating tomorrow
with our thoughts and words.
We are shaping ourselves and our cultures
by what we do and fail to do.
Justice and mercy are the works of our hands.
They never told us it would be like this:
that we were vessels of the Great One
called to create,
called to BE in the God we want to see in the world.
Let us not lose heart
no matter what storms batter and buffet us.
For we are One with life
and Life holds us firmly in the palm of Its Hand.
Adapted from Jan Phillips
Prayer
Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet born may praise God.
Psalm 102:18
Action
Consider the society in which we live, the political, personal, and religious interactions, the relationships and opinions among nations, the social milieu, the ecological situation. How are we creating the world of tomorrow? What may that world be like? What about you?
Suggested Readings
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
None of us is an island, an autonomous and independent ‘I,’ separated from the other, and we can only build the future by standing together, including everyone.
Pope Francis
We believe that we create the future as we move with the Spirit.
Sisters of St. Joseph, Vision Statement
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
William Shakespeare
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
Abraham Lincoln
Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now.
Mattie Stepanek
Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
Albert Camus
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
John F. Kennedy
What matters is to live in the present, live now, for every moment is now. It is your thoughts and acts of the moment that create your future. The outline of your future path already exists, for you created its pattern by your past.
Sai Baba
Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.
Alan Lakein
The future ain’t what it used to be.
Yogi Berra