Thursday, October 22, 2009

I am a jumble of broken parts that know nothing of each other.

Antiphon: We Will Meet Again, The Wolves, The Fire, And I.


I am a jumble of broken parts that know nothing of each other.

It is as if a farmer opened his seed bin and found;
An acorn,
Seventeen rusty machine screws of unmatched sizes, some covered in tar,
Three quarters of an inch of bailing wire,
Half of a stale cookie,
Four ants,
And a dead mouse.

Or maybe it is as if a householder planted squash in the garden;
and watched the plants sprout, and grow and put forth leaves,
and blossom, and begin to set fruit;
only to come out one day and find them all blackened and shriveled with a blight.

Or maybe it is like a merchant who plotted a trading route;
And built a ship and set out;
And travelled for leagues and leagues,
Only to look through the glass and find his destination laid waste.
And planned a new route, a new destination,
And travelled to within sight of shore,
Only to be driven off by pirates.
But being unwearied and unbowed, he plotted yet another course
To a new destination, and sailed strange waters,
Only to be halted by impassible reefs and inhospitable masses of land.

So I sit with the fragments of the lives I have lived,
And wonder what to do, and where to go;
And I remember not long ago,
When these mismatched parts,
Somehow lined up and made a perfect and remarkable machine.

A plan of goodness;
A pathway to a new place;
The seeds of a new life.

And today
With my water running low
And my sails ragged
And my options limited;
I pray for inspiration to God;
Who knows how these broken, jumbled parts
Are remarkable, and
Can made to work together
Once again

-LE

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

A Revised Our Father

Dearest God And Holy Father Of All,
Who Surrounds Us With Love,
Glorify Your Sacred Name,
Complete Your Holy Kingdom Here On Earth,
And Establish Your Will On Earth, As It Is In Heaven.
Increase Our Faith And Bless Us With The Holy Spirit,
Satisfy Our True Needs,
And Forgive Us Our Sins;
As We Forgive Those Who Have Harmed Us.
Shield Us From Temptation
And Save Us From Evil,
For All Power And Glory Descend From You,
Who Is Deserving Of Eternal Praise.
Amen

-LE

Slightly revised from a version written and published online by me in 2001

Antiphon: God knows the fish of the sea, and the stars of the sky, every one by its own name.

Monday, October 5, 2009

A Change of Tense to Contemplate

Being handed over to suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ takes bread; and giving thanks to God, he breaks it, and gives it to his disciples, saying; “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

And he also takes the cup of wine; and giving thanks, he gives it to them, saying; “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”


-LE

God is awesome; God stands before time and also after;