Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter-II

A Hymn to Providence…

He said to (his) disciples, “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds!” (Lk 12:22-24)

“There was small mention of their poverty, but much about the confidence of Mother Gamelin in the Providence of God and He had never failed the community.” “Table of the King”. Katherine Burton. McMullen Books, New York, 1952. p166.

God’s “big and bounteous Providence”…
has never failed me… a group of intrepid
travelers… Sisters… have been
beside me: we, mystics
of a universe of caring…
sharing this
with our neighbors. The nature
of the immenseness
shown in the Cosmos
(a reflection of God’s glory–
to bring to the attention
of the doubting scientists…
now beginning to understand
what IS:
the Divine Mind
behind all order,
as well as the “chaos”–
as such,
“perceived” by His creatures
in their limitedness.)

Take me with you, I plead…
Surely there is room for one more–
in the grand scheme of things…
He counts the very hairs on our heads
and has known us from the womb!
We, sisters,
join all the others
placed within proximity
for reasons sometimes unknown
in the beginning (by us),
to proclaim the “overabundance”
returned in this very age–
and eternal life in the age to come
to all humankind.
Providence will provide
the time,
for the transformation
of the Earth
into the New Jerusalem.

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

On “paradox” in the Bible–and “koans”

A wonderful Dominican friend
much “taken” with interpreting “koans”
as well being a Scripture scholar sends…
his greetings via the Communion of Saints…

I don’t know if he knew on earth–
the wisdom he imparted his neighbors…
I humbly offer what I have pondered,
on those riches he offered
to a mind–now grasping the consequences.

Having searched through websites and comments…
of all those not knowing the importance–
of the “discrepancies” in Holy Scripture–
often seeming entirely contradictory in nature…
until looking and seeking more deeply!

O Holy ONE–You, indeed, are the author…
of Holy Scripture! or else why could so many
different people, writing in varying times and places,
come up with a unified whole…
to bring us to a transformational experience…
when, and only when the Bible is seen “as a whole”
(as well the Catholic Church teaches).

It is well we begin with Tradition…
from whence the Bible commences…
knowing Martin Luther, a priest,
knew well what he wrote and spake…
“now every milkmaid will have an interpretation”…
when guidance by the Church is needed…
(not individual pastors or scholars–
the Church does NOT do as she pleases!)
That Tradition is contained
in a “depository of faith”
not available to whomever or whatever…
a complete record is necessary for understanding.
You wonder why the hierarchy can be secretive?
Some things will be misinterpreted and disbelieved
on the basis of inadequate preparation/sinful
motivations… (to which we ALL are participatory)…
For that reason a “certain transparency”
as well as exquisite listening from the shepherds,
is necessary
to instill confidence in God’s people–
as well as collect material
for their guidance in spirituality.
For, if not, the “test of infallibility”–
acceptance by God’s people–
has been lost (whatever the meaning).
Here is seen
two duties for the laity:
1) active participatation, study, and communication
2) surrender to the will of God–Who IS all goodness!

Believe me, dear friends and neighbors–
the Divine order will NOT be achieved–
without “obedience”…
which translates not as “blind”–
but as “discipline”–
a rigorous asceticism.

(“He mocks those who mock,
but accords his favour to the humble.
Glory is the portion of the wise,
all the fools inherit is contempt.” Pr3:34-35)

Thank you, dear Thomas Stratman: now a saint in heaven!

St. Isidore–Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Dear St. Isidore–the plougher and farmer…
from your yoke and burden in abject poverty
came the Lord and angels in sharing…
to relieve the debt of labor
foregone to attend Church in the morning.
What is He, Blessed One,
Who suffers for us, and from us…
He sees into all we undergo–
and hung first from the cross
He knew we would be enduring.
He, too, worked with His hands
from morning ’til night…
suffered the humiliation of identity
discounted and disbelieved by the “authorities”:
He wants every one of His children–
to have and enjoy the immense LOVE of the Father…
but not invalidated are the Covenants
with the ancients,
though we often think ourselves quite capable–
of interpreting the message in the modern “lingo”;
we forget the lessons God gave us–
which persisted throughout all ages…
therefore, persisting in sinning…
we fall to our various idols:
our own will and modern philosophies–
untried and unproven (how can they?)
Dear Lord, grow in me a more faithful surrender…
empty me of personal passions–
so driven only by Your light
I can faithfully follow–
“wherever thou goest I will go”
a sign bright
on my breast-plate.
This spiritual-armoring
for the duties you gave,
brings the angels to my side
to accompany my battling:
to relieve me of pride–
are the injuries inflicted;
yes, these, too from the God
of all goodness.
Only in Him are healing and mercy…
His kindness
is never to be forgotten.
So I join St. Isidore at the ploughshare:
where poverty meets infinite riches,
in never-ending lines of continuing graces.

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

Why do they not hear, my Precious Risen Savior?
Have the complexities of our lives so embittered,
we no longer take time to study or listen?
The minds of the “concrete” are simmering
in hatred…
Tender Jesus, You love them so; but disbelief
rampant…
for them You have produced “no signs”–
“eyes hath not seen, ears hath not heard”…
I know You want for all to come to salvation–
the reason Your second-coming is delayed…
our sorry attempts to “convert the nations”
only come to naught… we are only human,
using flawed words…
since the Tower of Babel… not understanding
what each means… not understanding
what each is about… not understanding
each soul: individual and unique
as You made us. Therefore, like our Father–
“one-by-one” is good enough.
We are simple fools needing Your grace
every moment, every day…
to sally forth
into this unknown world
with LOVE a banner
under which to stand…
My God,
I need Your helping hand!
Open my eyes, too…
to the beauty surrounding me…
and all Your manifestations
of Your glorious majesty.

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

“So I ask you not to lose heart over my afflictions for you; this is your glory.” (Ephesians 3:13)

Dearly beloved,
there is but a touch of mirth–
in my heart… “they know not
what they do”–but release a gift
of powerful LOVE throughout
the universe… by these caught
in emnity…
“Do not fear!” says Lord Jesus,
over-and-over to the apostles… truly,
the cross He asks us to bear–
is so light compared
to what these poor people
feel in their dread and hostility…
Oh, Precious Savior!
You have surrounded me
with the direct route to Your arms!
The struggle has been fierce,
and I carry
the cross on shoulders
wounded and bleeding with nary
a thought of other than Paradise!
Be my liege and protector
as the path continues…
I only look forward–
for on the horizon Your face
appears…
weeping, weeping for the whole human race…
(they long for sweetness and consolation,
but seek
where it is not).
“So then you are no longer strangers
and sojourners, but you are fellow
citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household
of God,…” (Ephesians 2:19)
Come, my friends–
no further watching is needed…
He has found you
on the Via Dolorosa,
the only path to LIFE!

Sunday of the Sixth Week of Easter

“I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:5)

Today deacon quoted our dear Lord and Master,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (John 14:27)

Dear Majesty, open my heart to understand…
Your Word heard by many–only apparent to a few…

Dear Jesus, the world offers no peace;
the artificial relief
gained in earthly measures
is only worldly treasure…
perhaps resting the body–
but certainly not the soul.

My body, in a state of exhaustion,
is so weary: my only goal
is to rest in You… how often
I cannot sleep more than a few hours…
seeking, seeking to be prepared
for a mission
unseen and unknown. So I tarry
in prayer–or reading Scriptures,
because You are always there:
“Not a hair
on your head” is uncounted or unknown…
You have known me “from the womb”
presenting Yourself to an infant
in a crib, looking out into a room
of sunlight… as a human
I first knew You as “light in the darkness”…
then the “world was without form”;
You were felt as “void” (or was this inner
state waiting, waiting
for the ultimate of fillings…)

I knew You more each day…
now each time I eat the Bread of Life,
drink the Cup of Salvation… You, the “way”,
open Mystery to one inclined
to see and hear,
“Simplify, simplify”.
Gracious Providence, how am I to answer
except in perfect obedience? The Word
has spoken, I must follow…
for You have offered all I desire:
the continuity which completes…
the vein of nourishment
directly from the Father.
What any other
does with me is immaterial…
“you have the words of eternal life.”
“How can I repay the Lord
for all the good done for me?”

“I will raise the cup of salvation
and call upon the Lord!”
He has brought the finest wine…
so we can celebrate!
Holy be His Name!

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

A tribute to the Sorrowful Mother during May

My dear heavenly Mother,
who suffered like to no other…
except, Himself, the Savior.
You have blessed me without measure
with signs concrete and discreet,
new health and new fervor
to spread the Word in my life.
The Gospel message, so compelling–
rings Truth, in bell-tone clarity
a choir of angels singing
dulcet and sweet harmonies
to the mountain-tops ascending…
yet through prophetic dreams
and musings…
no hosannas nor alleluias,
only disjunction and discord seem
to be our lot as humans…
the utterings of poor old Simeon
that a sword would pierce the Immaculate
Heart of this Blessed Virgin…
oh, dear Mother of my vocation…
we, too, begin the desert journey–
jolting on the backs of donkeys–
the weight of the Holy Innocents
borne on shoulders sick of sinning;
burdened with exile from the Presence…
the land barren and bereft: no one winning!
The grief so heavy and exponential,
the lives of Your children, lost and gone forever…
not found there in Your temple–
where questions of the priests and rabbi’s
will go unanswered–unaddressed…
by the Model.
No sacred mysteries lit with all Knowledge
from the Master–no rest in Wisdom
for the wicked… the children,
pure and simple, cannot find their Way,
the path unopened. Bless them,
tender Mother; you know how Jesus loved them!
He, on the trudge to Calvary,
saw you weeping; His cross and ours,
carried by bodies bruised–torn and shorn
of dignity–horrendously humiliated…
He challenges us to LOVE in spite of losses,
daring us to LOVE, tho’ emnity searing
the souls of all who conceive these crosses–
the instruments of grace
for all God’s People.
We cannot be saved without this action,
the necessity of suffering
is for our sins and the sins of many…
we all contribute to what is seen
as God, unforgiving and non-compassionate…
No my Precious Lord!
It is not You, but is what is in us!
The heat of hell
surrounds and confounds us…
to stand underneath, until the tomb
overwhelms the life-force in us.
Then bitter cold
heals and releases
the desolation of death:
the void and emptiness,
it is then, dear Mother,
your arms encompass…
to take us home to our Father;
where mercy and LOVE’s kiss
gently heals all wounds and dryness.
I love you, my sweet Mother!
Show me Christ, my Spouse and Brother!
Where He leads, I follow
with you; the jugs for wine
filled with the Waters of Life
are waiting.

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

On “Obedience”…

The Lord, of course,
as a shepherd leads…
sometimes in those dark valleys
of which we are not pleased.
An earthly context
of humility, seeds
yet another concept:
how could we deceive
our atheist
brethren by limiting
God’s immense energy-sea
and Cosmic forces
beyond human abilities
to conceive
immenseness packaged in simplicity.
“The Father and I are ONE”
said He Who saves even one sheep
lost
from the ninety-nine
left in the flock.
It is so blind
of us with our human minds…
limited in space and time
to contend with paradox
such as these.
Yet, it is entirely-so–
and, if we do not hear nor see
we can never grow
out of the constraints placed
by inflexible people, locked
ideas and words
totally inappropriate; meaning nothing.
The disciplines of millenia
of godly and holy people–
find new life in we who are able
to transcend the suffering
of our earthly temples;
(of course, we are not alone
capable of such drastic action)
we depend the face of Christ
in all God’s Holy People…
to dismiss each lesson
granted by the “depository of faith”…
is short-sighted, as well as negating
the guidance of history for the road
less-taken.
To “follow the crowd”
dangerous and uneven…
like lemmings
over the cliff–a shroud
hangs over. But, my friends,
God’s work is never done;
to aim to LOVE
without hesitation or displeasure…
indicates willingness to surrender
to wherever He takes you.
Be it to a death of martyrdom
or to service of neighbor…
Open those eyes
and visualize
your connectedness
with all creation…
Christ, Himself, the inimitable Master!
proceeded before us
preaching and teaching
the unlimited LOVE
available to each of His disciples…
just who are they?
the Gentiles, the Sammaritans,
the women and the children…
not just the Israelites–
God’s first Holy People…
those who do not know
bring confusion and darkness;
but remember your place–
it is not one of judgment…
we follow our Master
to the cross of forgiveness…
our power is only as big
as the good God intended.
With patience we must wait–
to see the hand of God opening goodness–
for our puny attempts are late
and often ineffectual.
But soon on the horizon
the new Day is rising…
we follow the Son
to ever-ongoing beginnings;
the Eternal Sacrifice
never more seemly.

Sunday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Looking down
on bare rock mountaintops,
(where once prayed the prophets)
flocked with crystal gowns
of dazzling white snow
glowing
in the rising morn…
We climb higher and higher
soaring in this conquering bird,
mounting the mighty jet streams.

This plane,
man-made?
“Man” where is your humility?
You have taken
what you found
in the ground–
given by God’ hand…
for your own use
through your divinely-given mind,
following God’s directive–
the Earth and all its creatures…
“to subdue.”
You
only “brought forth”
from this Earth
God’s Ultimate Plan
for His people.

Dear Lord,
full-throated songs
in relections of praise…
for Your temple–
the entire universe,
Earth sings
harmonic tunes–
sound-waves of the LOVE
immense and available.
I, alone in vastness,
visualize
from this place in space
Your golden throne–
surrounded by angelic throng–
while You peer
at the Cosmos whirling,
cloud wrapped
as You BE in the sea of eternity:
around, within, and without.

All molecules and atoms
stream in belief
of their divine substance
in human life
and in all things
of the created Cosmos.

My body,
not the same as yesterday,
or what it is to be
in the future…
knowing my few molecules and atoms
exchange and share
with the worms on Earth,
the seas,
and the brown dirt
from which Adam was formed.
There is no separation–
all a continuity…
unknown and unseen
by the rigid scholarly.

O humanity,
why hold yourselves
above these?
We, each part of each,
(stardust if you please!)
are unique,
but one of a continual evolution
of all creation
groaning as it goes…
to perfection.
When I join dust..
let it be in peace!
For my God has quickened
my soul to release
bodily energies
needed to participate
in the turning of the stars and planets
on the axis of LOVE.
Christ’s divine identity
is God eternally:
the scheme
and grand plan
of All-in-All’s LOVE call!

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

The “magnum opus”

St. Thomas Aquinas, on receiving vision
of Your magnificence of visage,
overcome with ecstacy,
declared his work
only “so much straw.”
I, having completed
a mission You gave me:
a work intended
as “midwife” to new life…
can only declare:
You, my Almighty King,
the Source of everything…
have shown the power
of Your healing grace
to the whole human race…
as evidenced even
in the rigorous scientific method
so well-loved by “modern humanity.”

My Lord,
my former contention
that You would remain unseen
for the purpose
of freely-allowing choice
in belief or unbelief,
in order that love of You
not be robotic nor artificially-induced…
while mistaken in some aspects,
still remains true in others.

Our human propensity
for eschewing the lovely,
for turning away from the health
of our entire natures…
thereby leaving holes
for idols to fill, is legion.
This will not be ended
until Satan is defeated…
(however one chooses to define
the personification of evil).

You, as all LOVE/TRUTH/BEAUTY,
knock us to our feet–
knowing our pride
is ever beckoning… to assumption
of our control of life…
that over others, and our own.
We so easily fall–
we call
ourselves as God.
When our puny efforts
to help our neighbors…
do not produce the effects
we think best…
we come face-to-face
with our utter helplessness.

O Magnificence!
If I can but express
Your loving intent,
yet mastery
of the progression of the Cosmos…
in the words of one lowly midwife
companioning and “standing by”
the distress
of the bringing forth of New Life
though the hand of the Father…
my life will be complete.

What is yet-to-be
is not my perview,
but I have faith
in the consumation of LOVE–
seeing it every day
in the life-blood
flowing from the bodily temples
of Your beloved Holy Peoples.
Lord, let the “straw”
of my work line Your manger-bed!

Thank you, my Majesty!