To be born
a certain shade
a certain time
a certain place
gives or takes
chances, glances
The invisible institution
that taught
without words
formed a foundation
for me to stand
but another to suffer
Re-formation and
transformation require
unearthing efforts
seeing what was
hidden and hardened
Hope gains
ground slowly
the plow digs in
tilling and turning
allowing seeds
of all shades
to grow and
to gather
Jared Ray Mackey
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities
Behold God…
beholding you…
and smiling.
Anthony de Mello, S.J.
You do not
have
to change
for God
to love
you.
Be grateful
for your sins.
They are carriers
of grace.
Say goodbye
to golden yesterdays
or your heart
will never learn
to love
the present.
Anthony de Mello, S.J.
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning,
Is now,
And forever shall be:
World without end.
Amen.
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way
to something unknown, something new.
Yet it is the law of all progress, that it is made by passing through some stages of instability, and that may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually. Let them grow.
Let them shape themselves without undue haste.
Do not try to force them on
as though you could be today what time-that is to say, grace- and circumstances
acting on your own good will will make you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new Spirit gradually forming in you will be.
Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.
Above all, trust in the slow work of God, our loving vine-dresser.
Tellihard de Chardin
There was nothing to worry about. There was no reason to fear. It was all of it, all of it, and forever and always, good.
Frederick Buechner
The Eyes of the Heart
Today I put my past
In a small wooden chest,
Closed it and offered it to you.
From it now I turn, I fast.
On you now I gaze, I pray.
In your now I trust, I dwell.
Fr. Vince Hovely, S.J.
The only thing we take into eternity with us is all that we have become.
Dallas Willard
Preparing For Heaven
Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom?
Here’s what you do:
Live well,
live wisely,
live humbly.
It’s the way you live, not the way you talk that counts.
James 3
The Message
He’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple:
Do what hit fair and just to your neighbor,
Be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously - take God seriously.
Micah 6
The Message