A Christmas Prayer

A Happy and Blessed Christmas

I pray the Stillness,

Faith, Hope and Love of Christmas,

enters all our souls.

Sister - Too Young to Leave

two peas in a pod

then one day you were taken

one pea in a pod

who had to let your hand go

but will never forget you

Controversial - Servants of God

Dorothy Day

Peter Maurin

radical Christians
both brave and controversial
lights in the darkness

Good and Evil

Prologue

what is good

the sheer absence of evil

what is evil

a rebellion against

the Will of our creator

Act One

The first cosmic "No"
pride and malicious envy
opposed to God's plan
that creatures were to become
 more like Him than angels   

Act Two

Lucifer cast out
pure evil spite turned upon
 God's good creation
venomously seeking to
drag humanity to hell

Act Three

he contemplates his 
scheme to end God's plan for man
and defeat heaven
"what weak pathetic creatures 
and so easy to bring down" 

Act Four

"never heard a lie
so trusting of each other
not a great challenge
deceive these naive help-mates
through their innocence and love"

Act Five

The next cosmic "No"

"God didn't really mean it

think of the pleasure

we are free to chose ourselves

what could possibly happen"

Act 6

cast out of eden 

promise of a saviour

to redeem the world

hardship, toil and sin ahead

until God's plan is fulfilled   

Epilogue 

Then came history

ours written with free will 

foreseen and foretold

God's will unfolding in time

a mystery to fathom

Imponderable

in the beginning
harmony beauty balance
what on earth happened

innocent child yet

better had he not been born

whatever happened 

a gentle breeze comes

offering life to the soul

will we breath it in

a faithful selfless

surrender can only be

an act of free will  

Father and Mother

11th November

Requiem Aeternam dona eis, Domine

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Requiescant in pace.

Amen.

Broken - Fixed

God made Himself known 

becoming human like us

 to unite the world 

with Himself through Jesus Christ 

 in a life-giving process

We Can All Fly

Please ignore the crass introduction. 

We're lost in a cloud

With too much rain

We're trapped in a world

That's troubled with pain

But as long as a man

Has the strength to dream

He can redeem his soul and fly

Impossible Dream

 

Safe Journey

Send forth your light and your truth,
Let them guide me;
Let them bring me to your holy mountain
To the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God,
To God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.

May He support you all the day long,
till the shades lengthen,
and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and your work is done.
There in His mercy

may He give you a safe lodging,
and a holy rest 
and peace at the last.

 Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life
Of who shall I be afraid?
Though an army besiege me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war break out against me,
Even then will I be confident.
Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;
Be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and take heart
And wait for the Lord.



Christian Extremism ......

 

"The kingdom of God is peace in the Holy Spirit;

He will reign in you if your heart is at peace.

So, be at peace, Mademoiselle,

and you will honour in a sovereign way

the God of peace and love."

(Saint Vincent de Paul)

 

 

Everyone who follows Christ receives true peace,

the peace that Christ alone can give,

a peace which the world cannot give.

Many people, when they think of Saint Francis,

think of peace;

very few people however go deeper.

 

What is the peace which Francis received, experienced and lived,

and which he passes on to us?

It is the peace of Christ, which is born of the greatest love of all, the love of the cross.

It is the peace which the Risen Jesus gave to his disciples:

 

 “Peace be with you!”

 

The peace of Saint Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who “take up” their “yoke” namely, Christ’s commandment:

"Love one another as I have loved you!"

This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride,
but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.

We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you:

Teach us to be “instruments of peace”,
of that peace which has its source in God,
the peace which Jesus has brought us.

 

Pope Francis

Feast of Saint Francis, Assisi

October 4, 2013

 

Weep No More ....

 

 guitars gently wept

love diverted, unfolded, 

perverted, sleeping 

the world unlearning still turning

and all weeping silently

Who?

"But what about you?

 Who do you say that I am?"

 "Christ, Son of the living God."    

Requiem for 'Fish'

so long my friend 'Fish'

you nearly made it to ten

but t'was not to be

i shall miss your calm wisdom

and your unspoken insight 

Heaven and Hell

a perfect Being

having only perfect thoughts

conceived of sharing 

His blissful Love with others 

to freely join Him

man must become perfected

through knowing evil

in order to reject it   

so it came to be

that corruption became 

the forerunner to

perfecting His creation 

knowledge of evil

means choosing His goodness

 becoming One in Him

and at One with the Godhead

 material man

once perfected in Spirit

Body and Mind then

joins the eternal Godhead

(its best not to ask
 about those who choose evil 
over God's offer
and exclude themselves from Love)

May - The Month of Mary

Ave Maria

Sorrows of Mary

Simeon warns of grief to come

Fleeing from Herod 

Losing of her child in the Temple

Witnessing her son on the road to Calvary

Watching her son dying in agony on the Cross

Holding the broken body of her dead son

Placing her son in the his tomb

Joys of Mary

Gabrielle announces her conception

Her glorious infant is born

The Magi visit and adore Jesus 

Christ is resurrected

Christ ascends in glory

The Holy Spirit descends

Mary is lifted up into Heaven



The Face of Love



a profound silence
in this shrouded mystery
of luminous dark

beaten for mankind 

crowned with piercing thorns

hung broken to die

though abused and killed

His defeat is victory  

for the Love of God

 a bursting of hope  
as light shimmers through darkness 
 His majesty shines

though hurt and abused
this defeat is victory  
in the name of Love 

with His eyes resting 
revealing my heart and soul
this Face gives comfort

eyes slowly open though

lids be glued with blood and tears

bringing joy and peace

words never spoken
tell of deep, dark mystery
in this still silence

this Love penetrates
springs up a bubbling Spirit
opening Sheol's door

 victory bursts forth  

light overcomes all darkness 

 His majesty shines

a Voice beckons me
offering to show the Way
humbly, i follow 

"Who do you say that I am?"

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! 

Exult, all creation around God's throne! 

Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! 

Sound the trumpet of salvation! 

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, 

radiant in the brightness of your King! 

Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! 

Darkness vanishes for ever! 

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!

The risen Savior shines upon you! 

Let this place resound with joy,

echoing the mighty song of all God's people! 

It is truly right

that with full hearts and minds and voices

we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father, 

and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, 

and paid for us the price of Adam's sin 

to our eternal Father! 

This is our Passover feast,

when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,

whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers. 

This is the night when first you saved our fathers: 

you freed the people of Israel from their slavery 

and led them dry-shod through the sea. 

This is the night when the pillar of fire 

destroyed the darkness of sin! 

This is the night when Christians everywhere,

washed clean of sin

and freed from all defilement,

are restored to grace and grow together in holiness. 

This is the night when Jesus Christ 

broke the chains of death

and rose triumphant from the grave. 

What good would life have been to us,

had Christ not come as our Redeemer? 

Father, how wonderful your care for us! 

How boundless your merciful love! 

To ransom a slave 

you gave away your Son. 

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, 

which gained for us so great a Redeemer! 

Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God 

to see Christ rising from the dead! 

Of this night scripture says:

"The night will be as clear as day: 

it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night

dispels all evil, washes guilt away,

restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy;

it casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride. 

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth 

and man is reconciled with God! 

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night, 

receive our evening sacrifice of praise, 

your Church's solemn offering. 

"It is Accomplished"

The Cross as the Cosmic Tree 

This Tree is my eternal salvation.

 It is my nourishment and my banquet. 

Amidst its roots I cast my own roots deep: 

beneath its boughs I grow and expand, 
reveling in its sigh as in the wind itself. 

 Flying from the burning heat,

 I have pitched my tent in its shadow, 

and have found a resting-place of dewy freshness. 

 I flower with its flowers; 

its fruits bring perfect joy - 

fruits which have been preserved for me since time's beginning, 

and which now I freely eat. 

This Tree is a food, 
sweet food, for my hunger, 
and a fountain for my thirst; 

it is a clothing for my nakedness; 
its leaves are the breath of life. 

Away with the fig-tree, from this time on! 

If I fear God, this is my protection; 

if I stumble, this is my support; 

it is the prize for which I fight and the reward of my victory. 

This is my straitened path, 
my narrow way; 

this is the stairway of Jacob, where angels pass up and down, 

and where the Lord in very truth standing at the head.

This Tree, 

vast as heaven itself, 

rises from earth to the skies, 

a plant immortal, 

set firm in the midst of heaven and earth, 

base of all that is, 

foundation of the universe, 

support of this world of men, 

 binding-force of all creation, 

holding within itself all the mysterious essence of man. 

 Secured with the unseen clamps of the spirit, 

so that, adjusted to the Divine, 

it may never bend or warp, 

with foot resting firm on earth 
it towers to the topmost skies, 

and spans with its all-embracing arms 
the boundless gulf of space between.

He was All, 
and in all, 

filling it with himself; 

stripped naked for battle against the powers of the air.

With him two thieves were extended, 

bearing within themselves the marks of those two peoples, 

the marks of those two types of mind. 

When this cosmic combat came to an end ... 

the heavens shook; 

almost, the stars fell from the skies;

the light of the sun was extinguished for a time; 

rocks were split asunder; 

the entire world was all but shattered ... 

But great Jesus breathed forth his divine Soul, 

saying: 
"Father, into Thy hand I commend my spirit." 

 And lo, 
even while all things shuddered 
and heaved in earthquake, 

reeling for fear, 

his divine Soul ascended, 

giving life and strength to all; 

and again creation was still, 

as if this divine Crucifixion and Extension 
had everywhere unfolded and spread, 

penetrating all things, 

 through all, 
and in all.
0 Thou who art alone among the alone, 

and all in all! 

 Let the heavens hold thy Godhead; 

and paradise, thy soul; 

and earth, thy blood . 

For the Indivisible has become divided, 

so that all might be saved, 

 and the world below might not remain ignorant of the coming of God...

(Excerpt from Pseudo-Chrysostom)

The Passion of the Christ

St Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

"Francis, repair my church, which you see is falling down"