June 29

Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. — Ezek 16:20

Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers,
Ere the sorrow comes with years?
They are leaning their young heads against their mothers,
And they cannot stop their tears.
The young lambs are bleating in the meadows;
The young birds are chirping in the nests;
The young fawns are playing with the shadows;
The young flowers are blowing toward the west:
But the young, young children, O my brothers!
They are weeping bitterly.
They are weeping in the playtime of the others,
In the country of the free.
— Elizabeth B. Browning.

Prayer

Father of all, I pray that I may always love children. May I never forget that I wanted things and needed things when I was a child, and that the help and neglect which I received then told in my life. Make me interested in the purposes that will help the progress of the child to-day, and may I realize that the child does not need my casual charity as much as it needs my permanent justice. Amen.