How many times
Have I waited and hoped?
Only to hear the silence
Of the night sky
That is your soul.
And I don’t know the way
Days go by
Many nights
In contemplation and prayer.
Thinking, breathing in
The nothing repeating – again and again.
And I lie mystified there…
The candleholder casts a beautiful blue light in the immediate space around my room.
I feel calm and at peace when I pray by the softness of such comforting light.
At times – when I sense heaviness upon my soul and heart, as I have many times this year – I leave my little candle on all night in a safe space. It reminds me that God is watching over me until dawn, and the darkness lifts. Likewise, regardless of what has happened to me and to you this year, the light of Christ pervades the whole of creation. We know this because nothing exists outside of Christ (John 1:1-5). He, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the Master who is in charge of all things.
Continue reading “A 2020 Perspective”
I was speaking with someone about the Catholic Church’s various responses to the Coronavirus pandemic in my country and city, insofar as some parishes are doing much better than others. The person said that it was as if some in the Church are holding their breaths. A few are actively reaching out, going to great lengths to safely communicate with their local parishioners and being wonderfully pastoral, while others have fallen completely and disappointingly silent. It seems as though many of us have seized up and do not know what do to (or do know but feel helpless due to fear and/or the restrictions).
When do we get to exhale? How long will it take before we realise that we can reach out in some way? This is especially important for people of faith and those in charge of our churches.
What can we do? What could we be focussing on?
We can also decide that we need to work on ourselves.
Continue reading “Don’t Hold Back”
Heavenly Father.
For those who are fortunate,
To soak up the sun,
Walk the streets,
Lay on green grasses,
See a friend,
And visit family,
Once more,
Gratitude abounds.
As we emerge from our stupor,
Slowly,
With red-rimmed eyes,
From so much crying,
Or fragmented hearts,
And minds,
Thinking, reflecting,
And reaching out for You.
Teach us,
To hold onto any humility,
You may have gifted us,
In this time of woe,
And death.
