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Tom Murphy

@tommurphe.bsky.social

400 followers 600 following 470 posts

Episcopal priest in Baltimore suburbs / Jersey City forever / Baptismal Covenant / My saints include Dorothy Day, Alfred Delp, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Merton, Sam Shoemaker / community organizing / poetry / Orioles tommurphe.blogspot.com

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 5h

"The road forward runs through the past."

- Jason Bryan Silverstein

A narrow road, flanked by green grass and trees heading toward mountains in the distance.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 1d

I cry to the Lord with my voice;
to the Lord I make loud supplication.

I pour out my complaint before him
and tell him all my trouble.

(Psalm 142:1-2)

Morning mist unfurls around green trees and grass.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 1d

"The fact is that our Present has become the very Past we desperately hoped we had outrun. History, as it turns out, has swifter feet than even the most alert of us could've expected."

"The People's Project"

@theferocity.bsky.social @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social

A hand holds "The People's Project: Poems, Essays, and Art for Looking Forward," curated by Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith.

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 2d

Oh, how good and pleasant it is,
when brethren live together in unity!

(Psalm 133:1)

The sun's rays shining over St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Owings Mills, Maryland, surrounded by the churchyard, green trees and grass.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 3d

Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice;
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

(Psalm 130:1)

A layer of fog hovering above a mown field, surrounded by green trees.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 4d

"The source of justice is not vengeance but charity."

- Birgitta of Sweden, (c. 1303-1373)

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 5d

"Christ is with us until the world’s end. Let his little flock be bold therefore."

- William Tyndale, (c. 1494-1536)

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 5d

My sermon for today:

Lamentation and Faith

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD October 5, 2025 Year C, Proper 22: The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Lamentations 1:1-6 P...

tommurphe.blogspot.com

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 7d

Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt."

- Francis of Assisi, (1182-1226)

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Statue of Francis of Assisi, kneeling in prayer, outside the church bearing his name in Midtown Manhattan.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 7d

"Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation.

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Early painting of a haloed Francis of Assisi, wearing the brown Franciscan habit and bearing the Stigmata.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 8d

Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you;
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.

(Psalm 102:1)

The sun shining through trees with green and golden leaves.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 9d

"If we were incapable of humility we would be incapable of joy, because humility alone can destroy the self-centeredness that makes joy impossible."

- Thomas Merton, (1915-1968)

Above a line of darkened trees, a dramatic sky of blue and red.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 10d

"You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them."

- Thérèse of Lisieux, (1873-1897)

A photograph of Thérèse of Lisieux, wearing her Carmelite habit and veil.

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 11d

“Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.”

- Jerome, (c. 347-420)

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 12d

My sermon for today:

Beatitude People

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD September 28, 2025 Year C, Proper 21: The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6...

tommurphe.blogspot.com

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 14d

"God does not consider the outcome of the good work undertaken but the charity that accompanied it."

- Vincent de Paul, (1581-1660)

A portrait of Vincent de Paul, wearing a black skullcap and a white alb, with a kindly half-smile.

Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 15d

by writings, sermons, converse, prayers, examples, for all these and all others which I know, which I know not, open, hidden, remembered, and forgotten.”

- Lancelot Andrewes, (1555-1626)

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 15d

“Gratitude is the praise we offer God: for teachers kind, benefactors never to be forgotten, for all who have advantaged me,

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Oval-framed engraving of Lancelot Andrewes, holding a book and wearing a Canterbury cap.

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 16d

The mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in giving to others, we increase our knowledge of and belief in love."

- Dorothy Day, (1897-1980)

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 16d

"The mystery of the poor is this: That they are Jesus, and what you do for them you do for Him. It is the only way we have of knowing and believing in our love.

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Statue of begging Jesus, outside the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Midtown Manhattan.

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 17d

Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”

- Dorothy Day, (1897-1980)

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 17d

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions.

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 18d

and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- The Book of Common Prayer, pg. 824

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 18d

In Times of Conflict

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness,

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The sun sending forth rays through darkened trees.

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Tom Murphy @tommurphe.bsky.social · 19d

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows his handiwork.

One day tells its tale to another,
and one night imparts knowledge to another.

(Psalm 19:1-2)

Under a mostly cloudy sky, sunlight touches the top of a round green tree.