Caught in the act with LOVE!

“I am touched to the core with a presence I cannot explain. A loving plan enfolds me. Someone is always believing in me, calling me forth, calling me on. I am standing in grace filled with mystery touched with the eternal.  I cannot get away from goodness. I think I name you, God.”    (An Amazing Presence by Macrina Wiederkehr)



 This Sunday’s Gospel is the story of the adulteress woman “caught in the act” and brought before Jesus by the Scribes and Pharisees. Seems her lover was given the nod to run off and not be held accountable for this crime against the Mosaic Law.  I have often wondered how they were able to get her to this place of exposure without pushing or pulling her or touching her. Was that not a crime as well that made them “unclean"?  It was a set up. They were trying to trap Jesus saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.

Jesus is cornered and caught in the act, but in what God does best – pouring forth unconditional compassion, forgiveness, and love. He stoops to write in the dirt not once, but twice. Even though we know not what he wrote, could we imagine that it was her name – for her accusers call her, “this woman,”  Or maybe - "you are loved."  He then stands up to look not only in her eyes, but deep into her soul – and invites her to trust being loved unconditionally without judgment, exploitation, or condemnation.

He reaches into the very depths of her heart - there to catch her with the grace of forgiveness, and invites her to sin no more – not just for the next half hour, or the next day – but for the rest of her life!  He catches her in the act of sorrow, offers healing and freedom, and has her claim her new way of being woman – believing in herself – and knowing that God believes in her!

He then stands and turns only to prepare himself to have the “rocks of lies” cast at him as he moves deeper into the week named Passover. There he will be “caught in the act” of being betrayed, judged, stripped, crucified, buried – but already making plans to break the Law once again by not staying dead – for no stone can keep God’s power contained or from loving us!

A Candlelight prayer . . .

http://doriskleincsa.com/  Image by Doris Klein., CSA

 Softening the Soul

(by Robert J. Wicks)

Lighting a candle
in a dark room
is a small gentle act of peace.

When the match touches the wick,
time slows down
and the race to the future ceases.

Worries are consumed
anxiety burns out
and I sigh deeply.

Watching the flickering light
is a graceful prayer
which eases my stress and lessens my strain.

Finally when the flame goes out
I turn quietly back,
to the events of the day

And find everything changed because of the time
I sat softening my soul
...by candlelight.

 http://www.robertjwicks.com/

                                     http://www.paulistpress.com/Products/5213-4/softening-the-soul.aspx                                                  

                                                                         Snow Falling on Snow Bookmark                                                                           

Used with permission

Reflections on the Prodigal Son . . .

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Ivor Williams (1908-1982)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivor_Williams

The Mother of the Prodigal Son

Where is the mother of the prodigal son
On that day so long ago?
What were her thoughts
And what were her fears
As she watched him turn to go?

How many times in the dark of night
Did the tears slide down her face?
Did she get out of bed
And fall on her knees,
Just to pray that her boy was safe?

How were the days when she did not know
Was he alive? Was he warm? Was he well?
Who were his friends?
And where did he sleep?
Was there anyone there she could tell?

But, oh, on that day when she looked down the road
As she had looked since her son went away,
Did love unspeakable flood her soul?
Did she cry?
What did she say?

I think when the father had welcomed their son
And the boy had greeted his brother,
That the servants made a path
For him to enter the door
And the waiting arms of his mother. Author: Chis

The Gift of Hope . . .

 

Help Us to Hope

O loving God,
we thank you for bringing us the rivers and streams of this world.
May the rivers we know be an image of the stream
that you want to flow within each one of us.
Teach us now, take away all fear,
dare to let us believe that we could really be a small part
of a reconstructed society, that we could build again.

Take away our cynicism.
Take away our lack of hope.
Take away our own anger and judgments.
We thank you for the faith and the desire that is in our hearts.
You have planted it there. Now help us to preserve it,
protect it and increase it.

We long for vision, God.
We need vision and we know we will perish without it.
Help us open each new day to a new meaning,
to a new hope, to a deeper desiring.
Show us your face, loving God, and we will be satisfied.
We ask for all this in Jesus’ name.
AMEN.

(Richard Rohr, ofm)
https://datinggod.org/2011/02/27/franciscan-prayer-for-hope-openness-and-conversion/
Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety (2001)

 

Welcome, Spring!!!

 

 

Ready for Spring (by Annette L. Sherwood, 2013)

I stand here watching

waiting, listening

in early Spring

I see the tiny bud

shooting up from

the tip of the branch

in anticipation, I remain still

I take in the cold air,

watching a few snowflakes fall by,

even feeling some of them

melt on my cheek

I breathe in this Holy moment

I did not plant the seed,

nor spend effort to encourage

original years of growth

No, that was not my work

only yours, Dear

I stand here with you now,

holding your hand,

awaiting Spring

We've made it through

another harsh spell,

cold, windy, bare

facing together a New Season,

we stand in a patch of wet snow

as it melts at our feet

Here I am, to Rejoice with you
 as we experience New Growth
 little buds are formed,
 the flowering has already begun
 together or apart, we delight
 and share this moment
 knowing New Life,
 fresh perspective, and green leaves
 are arriving,
 even as the last storm is passing…

 Spring starts blossoming now
 The winter of our hearts will
 begin to fade into cold
 distant memories

 Joy begins sprouting
 with our eyes,
 in our smiles,
 as it softens our hearts,
 leading us to laughter

 Hope enters,
 which we know
 will bud,
 into the flower,
 and then the seed,
 gently dropping to feed the birds

 The passing order of this Season
 feels like it is rooting us on
 toward New Life

 Before long,
 these cold days will pass away
 into warm ones with
 mild breezes
 and
 Easter Blessings
 carrying a new promise for Life

 In Gratitude,
 I bear witness
 to Your Beautiful Spring
 and Celebrate!

(Used with permission)

What's in a name?

 
 
Litany of God's Names

by Joseph Sobb, S.J.

O God of silence and quietness, you call us to be still and know you -
O God of steadfast love, your Spirit is poured into our hearts –
O God of compassion, your Word is our light and hope –
O God of faithfulness, you fill our hearts with joy –
O God of life and truth, from you we receive every gift –

O God of healing and peace, you open us to divine grace –
O God of all creation, our beginning and our end –
O God of salvation, you reconcile all things in Jesus, -
O God of Jesus, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit –
O God of Jesus, who invites us, “Come and see” –
O God of Jesus, who was tempted as we all are –

O God of Jesus, who is your pledge of saving love –
O God of Sarah and Abraham, from whom came  Jesus -
O God of Anna and Simeon, who recognized Jesus, your Son,
  as Messiah –

O God of Mary, who bore Jesus, -  

O God of Joseph, to whose fatherly care was entrusted Jesus, -
O God of all generations, of all times and seasons and peoples –
O God of our mothers and fathers, of all who have loved us –
O God of our past; O God of our future –
O God of our present, O God in our present -

 

(Original source unknown)

A Blessing of Light and Hope . . .

Blessed Are You Who Bear The Light

 

 

Blessed are you
who bear the light
in unbearable times,
who testify
to its endurance
amid the unendurable,
who bear witness
to its persistence
when everything seems
in shadow
and grief.

Blessed are you
in whom
the light lives,
in whom
the brightness blazes ___
your heart
a chapel,
an altar where
in the deepest night
can be seen
the fire that
shines forth in you
in unaccountable faith,
in stubborn hope,
in love that illumines
every broken thing
it finds.

Author: Jan Richardson
From Circle of Grace/
 http://www.janrichardson.com/index.htmlichardson.com
©Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com