The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Another day of paperwork and preparation
We continue to prepare for the sale of our Colorado home
We continue to enjoy the company of friends who are family
As we prepare for the next step in our journey
Lord, we ask for your Spirit’s guidance and encouragement
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a wonderful Lord’s day
Worship online and fellowship in Mobile
Time with friends who are family
Time to simply Be Still
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been an incredible day of ups and downs
We pray with dear friends facing tough concerns
We are thankful for dear friends and for a place to stay
We are thankful for the connections we have with so many
So many dear friends who are family all around this world
Continue to guide us Spirit through these times
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a long day, Lord
House hunting and driving
Yet another day of driving
This time to see family and friends
Tomorrow is a day of writing for my last class assignment
Tonight was lovely as we sat on the back porch of our friend’s home
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
August the 11th is the day the church remembers with thanksgiving the life and witness of St. Clare. She was the friend and companion of Francis, and founder of the Poor Clares. Her love for Christ, her share in the vision of St. Francis and her extraordinary gifts a soul-guide, friend, and leader made her a shining light and a clear mirror of Christ for thousands in her lifetime and still a light and inspiration to Christians from many denominations today.
— Read on malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2020/08/11/st-clare-a-sonnet-6/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A long three day journey is complete
From Colorado, across Kansas, and through Oklahoma
Through Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama
Touching the corner of Tennessee as well
We finally landed in Georgia tonight
The road was a time for reflection and listening to music
We are in our new community
A new and exciting beginnjng
Thankful for and missing such dear and amazing friends in Colorado
Thanks to all for making these past five years such an incredible experience
Looking forward to new friends and adventures in Georgia
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
These words of Cohen’s are prophetic as we face these times of rampant materialism, greed, and self-centeredness. May the lights in the land of Plenty indeed shine on the truth someday.
For the millions in a prison
That wealth has set apart—
For the Christ who has not risen,
From the caverns of the heart
For the innermost decision
That we cannot but obey
For what’s left of our religion,
I lift my voice and pray;
May the lights in the land of Plenty
Shine on the truth someday.
—Leonard Cohen
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
What a wonderful day with dear friends
A time to share stories and experiences
A time to say “see ya later” instead of good-bye
For the many blessings we have experienced these past five years we thank you, Lord
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
As the church struggles to re-invent itself in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there are many challenges and reckonings to face. In a day and age where life is all about the me-first and individual salvation experience, we need to go back to our roots. Those roots are found in worship in homes and the catacombs in the age before the church got into bed with the Empire. The church in Acts cared less about the individual experience and more about holding all things in common and caring for each member of the community as equals.
Thomas Merton had a great deal to say about the communal nature of our faith and the imperative to speak and breathe words of peace in a world Hell-bent on selfish destruction. In the preface to the Japanese translation of his autobiography The Seven Story Mountain he said the following:
By my monastic life and vows I am saying No to all the concentration camps, the aerial bombardments, the staged political trials, the judicial murders, the racial injustices, the economic tyrannies, and the whole socio-economic apparatus which seems geared for nothing but global destruction in spite of all its fair words in favor of peace. I make monastic silence a protest against the lies of politicians, propagandists, and agitators, and when I speak it is to deny that my faith and my church can ever be aligned with these forces of injustice and destruction. (p. 15)
Presently far too many in the church have forgotten the call of the prophet to Do Justice, Love Kindness, and Walk Humbly with God. Merton and Ignatius are calling out to the church today to be the voice of the voiceless.
If our church is not marked by caring for the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy. — Saint Ignatius of Loyola
May our lives, dear reader, speak against the selfishness and greed of the Empire. May we indeed, heed the words of the late Congressman John Lewis: Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Today has been a full day of Ora et Labora
Work and prayer as we continue the transition
Your Spirit has guided us every step of the way
Thank you for your light which shines, even in the darkness
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
