O, Holy Mother of mine,
Feed me with the milk of the Word.
Lead me to your eternal Son,
So that I may call Him my own.
O, Holy Mother of mine,
Protect me in the tabernacle of your heart.
Love me along the path of salvation,
So I may meet Him on the way.
O, Holy Mother of mine,
Save me in love to empty my will.
Teach me to guard my heart,
So I may adore only him.
O, Holy Mother of mine,
Nourish me with the fruit of your womb.
Grace me with his presence,
So that I may rest at his breast.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
At the Foot of Your Cross
With Lent approaching... my mind returns to Passion Friday, 2004. At dawn, I awoke somehow already praying... my heart's song echoing the Divine love present in my dreams. Love listens... love forgives... love gives.
And here I am today, still musing over the journey that ensued following the prayer in poetry that issued forth that early morn.
At the Foot of Your Cross
I gaze up into your stricken face.
You lift chin from chest gasping,
Silently a sunken self heaves up and down.
As I watch shoulders rise and fall.
And I feel your breath.
Love listens. Love listens. Listens.
Here I am Lord holding on
At the foot of your cross in tears.
Splinters in skin as I grasp your feet,
Laying cheek on blood and dust.
I hear last words from you strike me!
“Father, forgive them” enters my soul,
Written on my heart in prayer your message.
As you exhale a last act of suffering.
And I feel your breath.
Love forgives. Love forgives. Forgives.
I watch my Lord as you hang limp,
Alone up against a dark sky.
Slack against wood bleeding still,
I am nearly lost without you.
Fallen to ground I lie next to you quiet.
No space between my heart and yours,
One we are now your death saving me.
Surrendering to each other we will live on.
And I feel your breath.
Love gives. Love gives. Gives.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
We Are Church
“For this too God sent the Spirit of His Son as Lord and Life giver. He it is who brings together the whole Church and each and every one of those who believe, and who is the well-spring of their unity in the teaching of the apostles and in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers.(119)” Lumen Gentium 13
God awakened me to His greatest gift - the ability to love. Truly love. In a way that makes it all about the other and not about me. I actually learned what it means to love God with your whole soul, your whole heart and your whole being. God helped me see that love is relational. You can never separate yourselves from others to go off on your own and handle things by yourself. We were created to be social and relatable - together in a community. As humans, we are meant to be graced with the beauty of each other. We are meant to be together to love one another, not envy one another. We are Church. We are meant to accept one another in love; bear with one another, accept each other’s frailties, idiosyncrasies, quirks, foibles and habits. We fall down, others fall down; we are there to help each other back up. We are here to laugh together, cry together, grieve together and celebrate together. The spiritual life is actually the path to loving others - which puts us on a path to loving God. The great escape from this stressful and demanding world is prayer. Praying incessantly. Prayer is the answer to feeding our spiritual life. God wants us to turn to His call of love for us, feel this love in our lives. It is all around us if we just stop long enough to listen.
God awakened me to His greatest gift - the ability to love. Truly love. In a way that makes it all about the other and not about me. I actually learned what it means to love God with your whole soul, your whole heart and your whole being. God helped me see that love is relational. You can never separate yourselves from others to go off on your own and handle things by yourself. We were created to be social and relatable - together in a community. As humans, we are meant to be graced with the beauty of each other. We are meant to be together to love one another, not envy one another. We are Church. We are meant to accept one another in love; bear with one another, accept each other’s frailties, idiosyncrasies, quirks, foibles and habits. We fall down, others fall down; we are there to help each other back up. We are here to laugh together, cry together, grieve together and celebrate together. The spiritual life is actually the path to loving others - which puts us on a path to loving God. The great escape from this stressful and demanding world is prayer. Praying incessantly. Prayer is the answer to feeding our spiritual life. God wants us to turn to His call of love for us, feel this love in our lives. It is all around us if we just stop long enough to listen.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hidden
“All men are called to this union with Christ, who is the light of the world, from whom we go forth, through whom we live, and toward whom our whole life strains.” Lumen Gentium 3
Hidden
You have hidden Your face
from me again, O God.
Searching for You
plagues me each dawn.
Moving from tears to
sadness to darkness.
Alone in a room full
of books, banished.
Your lingering presence
grasped at, keeps yearning.
Longing to run into You
feeling swiftly carried.
So far away, yet here
with You still.
Reaching from soundless spirit
for Your face.
I feel lost sometimes when the darkness descends. Not darkness from the ways of the ungodly, not despair. But the darkness that occurs when you reach for your Beloved and He’s not near you – or so it feels. He is always there when needed and when you feel His presence, His light, in your need, you are overcome with joy, on fire, and then He vanishes! Having filled you, He swiftly leaves. You are left with the rush of winds blown through your very soul - soundless. This place within you has again become a cavity, a deeper abyss, utterly still. You wonder to yourself, how vast is this place within me, how deep has it become, how far has it been plumbed now? Every moment spent with your Beloved fills the vastness ever more with each visit and you empty it all around you, filling in all the cracks in humanity, every little nook and cranny where it is needed. And you look up again in prayer searching for your Beloved, the one who filled you so with such joy and such incredible, unspeakable love, it could barely be contained and spilled out all around you noiselessly. People see you not understanding this flame of love carried within you. You are different somehow they sense. In your difference and separateness, He teaches you about the world and creatures around you, whispering within you the lesson needed to be learned and lovingly admonishing your mistakes. And you are left helpless, wordless to explain this feeling, this place within you. And it is the only place where you want to dwell – sheltered with your Beloved. Hidden from the eyes of others. You surrender to this place within, that craves solitude, wanting no attention from others in the world. But it is not to be. You are carried constantly out of yourself in a rush of movement, carrying your Beloved to wherever He needs to be. And you stand there astonished and in awe of how you come to be where you are placed – filling others in their need! And you see the light in their eyes when the perfect moment has occurred and their soul, their spirit, the essence of them that was in need has been touched. The moment becomes a living prayer! God has passed through you to them and you quietly watch in awe the wonders of your Beloved.
Hidden
You have hidden Your face
from me again, O God.
Searching for You
plagues me each dawn.
Moving from tears to
sadness to darkness.
Alone in a room full
of books, banished.
Your lingering presence
grasped at, keeps yearning.
Longing to run into You
feeling swiftly carried.
So far away, yet here
with You still.
Reaching from soundless spirit
for Your face.
I feel lost sometimes when the darkness descends. Not darkness from the ways of the ungodly, not despair. But the darkness that occurs when you reach for your Beloved and He’s not near you – or so it feels. He is always there when needed and when you feel His presence, His light, in your need, you are overcome with joy, on fire, and then He vanishes! Having filled you, He swiftly leaves. You are left with the rush of winds blown through your very soul - soundless. This place within you has again become a cavity, a deeper abyss, utterly still. You wonder to yourself, how vast is this place within me, how deep has it become, how far has it been plumbed now? Every moment spent with your Beloved fills the vastness ever more with each visit and you empty it all around you, filling in all the cracks in humanity, every little nook and cranny where it is needed. And you look up again in prayer searching for your Beloved, the one who filled you so with such joy and such incredible, unspeakable love, it could barely be contained and spilled out all around you noiselessly. People see you not understanding this flame of love carried within you. You are different somehow they sense. In your difference and separateness, He teaches you about the world and creatures around you, whispering within you the lesson needed to be learned and lovingly admonishing your mistakes. And you are left helpless, wordless to explain this feeling, this place within you. And it is the only place where you want to dwell – sheltered with your Beloved. Hidden from the eyes of others. You surrender to this place within, that craves solitude, wanting no attention from others in the world. But it is not to be. You are carried constantly out of yourself in a rush of movement, carrying your Beloved to wherever He needs to be. And you stand there astonished and in awe of how you come to be where you are placed – filling others in their need! And you see the light in their eyes when the perfect moment has occurred and their soul, their spirit, the essence of them that was in need has been touched. The moment becomes a living prayer! God has passed through you to them and you quietly watch in awe the wonders of your Beloved.
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