Daily Reading for June 6

O Lord, bright as is the sun, and the sky, and the clouds; green as are the leaves and the fields; sweet as is the singing of the birds; we know that they are not all, and we will not take up with a part of the whole. They proceed from a centre of love and goodness, which is thee thyself; but they are not thy fullness; they speak of heaven, but they are not heaven; they are but as stray beams and dim reflections of thine image; they are but the crumbs from the table. Shine forth, O Lord, as when on thy Nativity thy angels visited the shepherds; let thy glory blossom forth as bloom and foliage on the trees.

A prayer of John Henry Newman (1801-1890), quoted in 2000 Years of Prayer, compiled by Michael Counsell. Copyright © 1999. Used by permission of Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com