Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The Hound of Heaven
This is only the beginning of a long and lovely poem written by a brilliant and
gentle soul who ended up addicted to opium and homeless. His story is not unlike what many experience today. We have so much drug addiction and homelessness in
America it makes one very sad. Set this poem is not about sadness, it is about
the unconditional love of a Merciful God who like a hound dog chases us. He will not abandon us and seeks us out always.If you know some of Francis story, then you know he went to college for 6 years
to be a physician and never practiced. When he was homeless a prostitute took
him off the streets as he was very ill and dying. She helped nurse him back to
health and then he ended up in a monastery.........a place he grew to know and
love God more and more.Please do not despair if your life has been difficult. The Hound of Heaven waitsfor you to turn to HIM! Do it now, share you heart with the ONE who really loves you.........He created you afterall!If you want to read the entire poem then go to this page.....http://www.houndsofheaven.com/thepoem.htm
The Hound of Heaven
by
Francis Thompson (1859-1907)
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes I sped; And shot, precipitated, Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears, From those strong Feet that followed, followed after. But with unhurrying chase, And unperturbèd pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, They beat--and a Voice beat More instant than the Feet-- "All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
St. John Of the Cross (1542-1591)
THE FOUNTAIN
How well I know that flowing spring
in black of night.
The eternal fountain is unseen.
How well I know where she has been
in black of night.
I do not know her origin.
None. Yet in her all things begin
in black of night.
I know that nothing is so fair
and earth and firmament drink there
in black of night.
I know that none can wade inside
to find her bright bottomless tide
in black of night.
Her shining never has a blur;
I know that all light comes from her
in black of night.
I know her streams converge and swell
and nourish people, skies and hell
in black of night.
The stream whose birth is in this source
I know has a gigantic force
in black of night.
The stream from but these two proceeds
yet neither one, I know, precedes
in black of night.
The eternal fountain is unseen
in living bread that gives us being
in black of night.
She calls on all mankind to start
to drink her water, though in dark,
for black is night.
O living fountain that I crave,
in bread of life I see her flame
in black of night.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Mass
St. Anselm,
Doctor of the Church "A single Mass offered for oneself during life may be worth more than a thousand celebrated for the same intention after death."
St. Teresa, Doctor of the Church Once, St. Teresa was overwhelmed with God's Goodness and asked Our Lord "How can I thank you?" Our Lord replied, "ATTEND ONE MASS."
St. Leonard of Port Maurice "The principal excellence of the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass consists in being essentially, and in the very highest degree, identical with that which was offered on the Cross of Calvary: with this sole difference that the sacrifice on the Cross was bloody, and made once for all, and did on that one occasion satisfy fully for all the sins of the world; while the sacrifice of the altar is an unbloody sacrifice, which can be repeated an infinite number of times, and was instituted in order to apply in detail that universal ransom which Jesus paid for us on Calvary."
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
Whispers of God
noise. We need to allow ourselves to experience internal quiet and peace that comes from being in the Presence of God. This is the simple message of today's reading. God is present for each of us. He speaks to each of us. We just need to do a better job listening to Him.1Kings19:12-12
After the earthquake there was fire-but God was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
The reading today help us recognize the gifts we have been. I am not sure who wrote this, but am sharing it anyway. Rest assured it was not me, but it is so lovely, I am sharing.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Three Signs of Being in the Night, by Fr J. Chalmers
St. John of the Cross gives three signs for discerning whether God is in fact leading someone into the dark night towards contemplation.
According to the work called "The Dark Night", these 3 signs are:
1. These people do not get consolation or satisfaction from the things of God, nor do they get anything out of anything else.
2. The person wants to pray but cannot. There is a painful sense of not serving God and turning back because of this distaste for the things of God. This dryness does not come from laxity for a lukewarm person does not care much for the things of God.
3. The 3rd sign for the discernment of this night of the senses is the powerlessness, in spite of one's efforts, to meditate and make use of the imagination, as was one's previous custom.
God come as darkness and dryness and the divine presence is more commonly experienced as absence. so consolations become a thing of the past and there is a pervasive sense of dryness in prayer and in daily life. The reason for this is that God is beginning to change my motivation. when we have no satisfaction in prayer, we are still asked to be faithful to prayer and when there is no more satisfaction in our good deeds, we are asked to continue doing them.
FOR REFLECTION:
1. Are you experiencing darkness or dryness usually when you pray?
2. If you answer to number 1 is yes, you must check your spiritual pulse: Are you praying regularly? In your prayer do you try to listen to God? Are you holding on to some sin? Are you holding on to some attachment of which you know you are being called to let go? Put right whatever you feel is wrong.
3. If your dryness and darkness persists when you pray after you have tried your best to let go of anything that may be impeding your relationship with God, just wait patiently in the darkness
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