Luke 7: 36-50

at his feet
we see a path
a way
and put
our faith there
forgiven much
we love much
ever grateful
of the gift
given
and do not
neglect it
absorbed
in God’s word
we act on it
saving ourselves
and those
who will listen

What is the gift you have been given?
How do you use your gift?

1 COR 12:31-13:13

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, love is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

1Cor 12:12-14,27-31; Psalm 100:1-5; Luke 7:11-17

from sorrow
and death
we arise
at His command
one body
in Christ
each a gift
received
to give
again
healing
assisting
teaching
interpreting
feeding
a world
in desperate need
with kindness
compassion
and love
we sing
God’s praises
everyday
with a joyful song

What is your gift?

1Cor 11:17-26,33; Psalm 40:7-17; Luke 7: 1-19

one bread
one cup
given to all
not as sacrifice
but as love
beyond
our worthiness
authority
or ability
resting
in God’s generosity
a life
given
as gift
received
as love
we give
as love
from God’s
overflowing cup

What is Christ’s gift to you?

Memorial of Our Lady Of Sorrows
Luke 2:33-55

mother
of sorrows
we see you
at the cross
and enter
your anguish
as we see
the worlds sins
put upon him
contrite
of any
complicity
we turn
ourselves
over to
the love
we see
and enter
your “yes”
where our intention
meets God’s will
and divine love
is born

Where do you go with your sorrow?

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

WHY THIS CROSS?

why this cross
this ornament of human suffering
in comfort and complacency
it can seem quite out of place
yet let one moment of tragedy
need or desperation come and
this cross is no longer a foreign land
but a shelter and home
a passage of power
and transformation–
is it magic–some talisman-
so it would seem
as it is forged in gold
carved in wood and fashioned in beads
strung on necks and molded on rings
held up to recoiling vampires —

yet kneeling
silently
before the cross
I hear
the whispers
and struggle
of the world
as it wrestles with its horror
its daily news
of evil and death
cruelty and selfishness
politics and greed
ideological slaughter
and mass destruction
our grieving and loss
our starvation and calamities–
earths quake and worlds fall
within the cross

we are free to place our burden there
and leave as though it were some receptacle
some garbage pit or scapegoat

yet not for long
for His whispers
and movement and life
are too compelling
He calls
over and over
to visit
this strange
place of death
that leads to Life

entering the suffering
the solitude
the darkness
of his outstretched tomb
we answer his call
to pray
to trust
to stay
until wisdom
whispers
the promise
of new life

how
long is
our suffering-

it is
a moment
of grace—

then there is
no time
at all
no need-
we are completed
resurrected
in His love

1Cor 8:1-7, 11-13; Psalm 139:1-3,13-14, 23-24; Luke 6:27-38

being known
in our inmost being
by God
we are shown
a love
that surpasses
our understanding
and knowledge
a love
that extends
even to our enemies
that gives
beyond our measures
that lives
beyond our judgement
as it embraces
all of life

We stand in awe of this love.

Psalm 145: 2-3,11-13; Luke 6:20-26

knowing
our need
in hunger
poverty
and grief
we look
to what
is above
far from
greed
anger
malice
and evil desires
we seek
compassion
as God
is compassionate
loving us
in our sufferings
we are healed
and give thanks

Do you feel God’s compassion?

1Cor 6:1-11; Psalm 149:1-9; Luke 6:12-19

divine light
divine love
shows itself
and heals
call us away
from all deceptions
that lead to sin
and injustice
spirit of God
sings
and dances
within our being
as we praise
and new way
of life
God’s delight
in His people

Do you see God’s delight in His people?

Col 1:24-2:3; Psalm 62: 6-0; Luke 6:6-11

we stretch
out our hand
and are healed
by the one
in whom
all the
treasures
of wisdom
and knowledge
are hidden
who would
save life
rather
than destroy it
we are brought
together
in love
chosen
to make
manifest
the Christ
in us
laboring
and struggling
with His power
working
within

Do you experience the power of Christ in you?