“To say that the face of God is perpetually concealed expresses a truth. But the metaphor might be completed by insisting that the sound of his breathing can still be heard int he darkness that sometimes hides him.” (Fr. Donald Haggerty)
Absolutely Clear
Sunday poem . . .
Don’t surrender your loneliness
So quickly.
Let it cut more deep.
Let it ferment and season you
As few human
Or even divine ingredients can.
Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft,
My voice
So tender,
My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.
~Hafez, Persian poet
When my heart clenches with sadness, when my thinking is muddled with stress and doubting, when I can’t focus on what is right before me because tears cloud my vision, I remember one thing remains clear in the mist and midst of the fog.
I have need for God and I am softened in my neediness.
The courage and strength to press on
Today is the Triumph of the Cross. May this from Blessed John Paul II encourage all of you:
The Way of the Cross . . . invites all of us, and families in particular, to contemplate Christ crucified in order to have the force to overcome difficulties. The cross of Christ is the supreme sign of God’s love for every man and woman, the superabundant response to every person’s need for love. At times of trouble, when our families have to face pain and adversity, let us look to Christ’s cross. There we can find the courage and strength to press on . . . .
In times of trial and tribulation, we are not alone; the family is not alone. Jesus is present with his love, he sustains them by his grace and grants the strength needed to carry on, to make sacrifices and to overcome every obstacle. And it is to this love of Christ that we must turn when human turmoil and difficulties threaten the unity of our lives and our families.
Did you catch this sentence: ” The cross of Christ is the supreme sign of God’s love for every man and woman, the superabundant response to every person’s need for love.” Remember that His cross will triumph in your life as you turn to Him for help.
Normal ingredients in life
“Suffering and diminishment are not the greatest of evils, but are normal ingredients in life, especially in old age. They are to be accepted as elements of a full human existence . . . As I become increasingly paralyzed and unable to speak, I can identify with the many paralytics and mute persons in the Gospel . . If the Lord now calls me to a period of weakness, I know well that his power can be made perfect in infirmity. “Blessed be the name of the Lord!'” (Avery Dulles, S.J., 39th McGinley Lecture, April 1, 2008.)
Love is on its way . . .
Especially for those in desperation . . . this song by Audrey Assad is for you. (Lyrics below) Just reach out your hand . . .
You’ve been let down, it’s true
Your pain is so easy to see
You’re hunted by your history
and it feels like you’ve got no escape
Your life left you high and dry
You used to be sure of yourself
But then your whole world went to hell
and tomorrow looks like just like today
So, you lie on your bed, you won’t let the morning come in
And you hide in your room, feeding that fear and it’s killing you
don’t you know
that it’s killing me too, cause your heart break is breaking you
I miss the life in your eyes
the home that I found in your arms
and now you don’t know who you are
but I won’t give up on you
on no
You lie on your bed, you wont let the morning come in
And you hide in your room, feeding that fear and it’s killing
don’t you know
that i’ts killing me too, cause your heart break is breaking you
and you lost your fight
and your flame’s gone out
and you’re down on your knees
cause your life is not what you thought it would be
no,
lift up your head
help is on the way
and it won’t pass you by
you just gotta reach out your hand
lift up your eyes
love is on the way
and it won’t pass you by
you just gotta reach out your hand
go on and lift up your head
because love is on its way
and it won’t pass you by
you’ve just gotta reach out your hand
Check out my other blogs if you haven’t yet
Every once in awhile I just like to remind you of some of my other blogs besides this one . . . just in case you’re interested.
Wonder and Beauty: a blog to promote wonder at God’s beauty and ultimately of God himself.
Heart Arrows; little prayers that pierce the heart of God.
Conversations in the Convent: from the divine and the sublime to the very, very funny (as overheard by the mouse in the corner)
“It ain’t over yet.”
Another person I want to be like when I grow up. (If you’ve seen this before, it’s worth a re-look.) This will give you hope, especially if you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning.
You can find more about him here.
Birth of Mary
A repost:
Today we celebrate the birth of Mary. I have to say that this morning when I woke up, I felt like breaking into a little song to her, at least “Happy birthday to you . . .”–which sounds so trite–but I knew in my heart that that would be dear to her . . . because she is that kind of Mother.
I want to share the first verse of a poem by Rilke because I think it conveys the sense of joy in the heavens at the birth of this great gift of God to us.
Birth of Mary
O what must it have cost the angels
not suddenly to burst into song, as one bursts into tears,
since indeed they knew: on this night the mother is being
born to the boy, the One, who shall soon appear.(Rainer Maria Rilke, translated from the German by…
View original post 3 more words
Mary words
The wonderful truth about our Mother . . .
“It is very important that we do not allow Our Lady to be distanced from us by her Immaculate Conception, but to be brought closer to us. She is the one to teach us poor sinners because she is called the Refuge of Sinners. Our Lord did not give her to Saint John and say, ‘Now I am giving her to you, and she is the Mother of all the flawlessly holy ones.’ But he gave her to be the Mother of all persons . . . and he knew what was in man, what is in each one of us, our weaknesses as well as strengths.” (Mother Mary Frances)
I Shall Not Want
Just in case you didn’t get to listen to this when I posted it last, here is a beautiful take on Cardinal Merry de Val’s litany of humility:
Witnesses to Hope 