Eucharistic Revival: O Source and Summit of Our Life

 

The Elevation of the Host, Easter Sunday 2023.
St. Theresa Catholic Church, Sugar Land, TX.

I wrote this hymn for the Eucharistic Revival Hymn Competition.  I did not win the competition, so I am posting my hymn here. Ms. Kathleen Pluth from Arizona won the competition, so congratulations to her!  For this hymn entry, I was contacted by someone in the USCCB who informed me that I was among the top three finalists, so there is that consolation.  To date, I have never won a poetry or hymn competition, but I am still trying! 

Hymn: O Source and Summit of Our Life

Text: David D. Varella

Primary Tune: KINGSFOLD, traditional English melody

Meter: 86.86.86.86

1. O Source and Summit of our life, we come into your home,

Our feet are standing in your walls, no longer shall we roam.

Your Presence here fills us with hope, gives foretaste of great joy:

You are unto your saints above delight without alloy!

2. Your manna in the desert fell, restoring weary feet,

And David ate the sacred bread that only priests could eat;

So as we journey on to you, in weariness and tears,

You freely give your Flesh to eat, refreshing us with cheer.

3. On mountainside you multiplied the bread for thousands there,

Then in the upper room changed bread into your Body fair:

The off’ring of Melchisedek was here fulfilled in you,

And your apostles took and ate as you told them to do.

4. As wedding Guest at Cana you changed water into wine,

Then in the upper room changed wine into your Blood Divine:

As blood on doorposts was the sign the Israelites to spare,

So we, your Blood upon our lips, your promised mercy share.

5. The power that you gave to men to offer Sacrifice,

“This do in memory of me,” is gift without a price.

And through the ages you come down to be our sacred Feast,

As bishops in unbroken line ordain men as your priests.

6. The priest holds high your Body and the chalice of your Blood,

Like serpent bronze in wilderness for healing lifted up;

And we are present at your cross on Calvary once more,

Your bleeding Body lifted up for love becomes our cure.

7. Examine we our inmost soul, ensuring conscience clean,

If unworthy through mortal sin, Confession first is key.

May this Communion not condemn our lives unto the flames,

But may it save our souls from death to praise your holy Name!

8. O Lord, remain with us today, for darkness gathers on,

Speak more to us within our hearts before the light is gone.

Grant unto us unyielding faith to know your Presence here,

And in the breaking of the Bread remove all doubt and fear.

9. In this great Sacrament, O Lord, make one this faithful throng,

Unite us in this Eucharist, with charity our song.

As we go out into the world, our hearts now set ablaze,

Show us all those who need our help in many, varied ways.

10. All glory be to Christ the Lord, our King and Bread of Life,

To Father and to Paraclete be power, laud, and might.

We here adore this Sacrament in truth and peace and love,

Lord, be our nourishment to reach our home with you above.

Commentary

After receiving a criticism of the mention of the word "Confession" in the text (along with the recommendation that I change that word to "repentance"), I consulted a priest, who had this to say:

I think both “repentance” and “Confession” are okay.  I think “Confession” is altogether better, more accurate, and better for the souls who will hear the hymn.  I think “repentance” is accurate, but not as specific as it could be, and opens the possibility of misleading souls since it is much more general and vague than “Confession”.

The current code of Canon Law says:

Can. 916 Anyone who is conscious of grave sin may not celebrate Mass or receive the Body of the Lord without previously having been to sacramental confession, unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, which includes the resolve to go to confession as soon as possible.

First, an act of  perfect contrition is pretty hard and I don’t think we should easily judge ourselves as having made one.  Even if we have, this includes the resolve to Confess ASAP.   I don’t have it in front of me, but there was a condemned proposition that held “asap” basically meant at the next convenient time.  The pope condemned that idea, meaning that it couldn’t just be when convenient, but had to be asap, even if that meant going to a different priest or one you would rather not go to.

Looking online, it seems the 1983 code changed some language.  All previous mentions had said if there was “necessity”, which the new code changed to “grave reason”.  I don’t see a big difference between the two and the examples given could all fall under both “grave reason” and “necessity”.  Whichever it is, it will be much more likely to occur for a priest than a lay person.  The only examples I found online for a lay person were someone who remembers an unconfessed mortal sin on the point of receiving Holy Communion or to save the Eucharist from profanation.

 And Session XIII of the Council of Trent made the following declarations:

If it is unbeseeming for any one to approach to any of the sacred functions, unless he approach holily; assuredly, the more the holiness and divinity of this heavenly sacrament are understood by a Christian, the more diligently ought he to give heed that he approach not to receive it but with great reverence and holiness, especially as we read in the Apostle those words full of terror: He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself. Wherefore, he who would communicate, ought to recall to mind the precept of the Apostle: Let a man prove himself. Now ecclesiastical usage declares that necessary proof to be, that no one, conscious to himself of mortal sin, how contrite soever he may seem to himself, ought to approach to the sacred Eucharist without previous sacramental confession. This the holy Synod hath decreed is to be invariably observed by all Christians, even by those priests on whom it may be incumbent by their office to celebrate, provided the opportunity of a confessor do not fail them; but if, in an urgent necessity, a priest should celebrate without previous confession, let him confess as soon as possible. (Session XIII, Chapter 7).

CANON XI. lf any one saith that faith alone is a sufficient preparation for receiving the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, let him be anathema. And for fear lest so great a sacrament may be received unworthily, and so unto death and condemnation, this holy Synod ordains and declares, that sacramental confession, when a confessor may be had, is of necessity to be made beforehand, by those whose conscience is burthened with mortal sin, how contrite even soever they may think themselves. But if any one shall presume to teach, preach, or obstinately to assert, or even in public disputation to defend the contrary, he shall be thereupon excommunicated. (Session XIII, Canon 11).

And in the Summa Theologiae (Supplementum Tertiae Partis, Chapter Six) Saint Thomas Aquinas made these assertions:

As the purpose of confessing is united to contrition, a man is bound to have this purpose when he is bound to have contrition, viz. when he calls his sins to mind, and chiefly when he is in danger of death, or when he is so circumstanced that unless his sin be forgiven, he must fall into another sin: for instance, if a priest be bound to say Mass, and a confessor is at hand, he is bound to confess or, if there be no confessor, he is bound at least to contrition and to have the purpose of confessing.

But to actual confession a man is bound in two ways. First, accidentally, viz. when he is bound to do something which he cannot do without committing a mortal sin, unless he go to confession first: for then he is bound to confess; for instance, if he has to receive the Eucharist, to which no one can approach, after committing a mortal sin, without confessing first, if a priest be at hand, and there be no urgent necessity. Hence it is that the Church obliges all to confess once a year; because she commands all to receive Holy Communion once a year, viz. at Easter, wherefore all must go to confession before that time. (Article 5, Response).

PAD 30: The End in the Beginning

 

At the annual Life Chain in October.

PAD Challenge, Day 30 prompt: For today's Two-for-Tuesday prompt, write a The End poem and/or write a Beginning poem.

The End in the Beginning

“Finis origine pendet.” – “The end depends on the beginning.” (Manlius, 1st Cent. Roman poet).

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).

Most people begin with a sprint and then they choke out,

But some begin like a marathon as soon as the race has broke out;

The latter begin with a sure-footed step,

Not worried by those far ahead at first lap,

For they’ll persevere and then shorten the lead

When the sprinters will falter and struggle to breathe.

As parents, we always will look to the end,

And efforts to form a good character spend.

I have somewhere read that by the ripe age of six,

The foundation for character’s already fixed.

So we should not give children a life made of ease,

But forge them through toughness and responsibility.

We parents have always to think far ahead,

Or face dire consequences that we dread:

That Eli’s true shame would become then our own

For lack of good diligent discipline shown.

If twisting persists when the sapling is green,

Distorted and warped will the full-grown tree be.

With diligent discipline prune we the branch,

Or else all is fruitless not taking a stance

To form moral compass and character firm

In all of our children, despite tantrums and squirms.

Thus, we look to the end when raising our children,

Raising to maturing: with this sight we begin.

But how to form their character when often it’s the case

That many men are fatherless or with indifference raised?

So often, men do seek to be affirmed in manliness,

And often seek it wrongly in a woman’s sweet caress.

Boys are made to men within the council of other men,

Political correctness cannot stifle this natural trend.

We look to the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End,

The first One and the last One, to be our very Friend;

To reveal to us the Father, and Saint Joseph in His stead,

As we seek to raise our families and earn our daily bread;

To give to us His Spirit, Paraclete and Counsellor,

That our efforts may be fruitful by His grace for to endure.

Eucharistic Revival: Come To Me

 

Sanctuary Lamps burning before the Tabernacle, where the Lord Jesus Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist.

Come To Me

Tune: Chartres, 15th Century French Tune
Meter: 87.87 D

Come to Me, all you, My faithful,
Come unto My altar-throne,
Come and visit Me more often
For I wait here all alone.
I have kept My lamp-light burning,
Glowing in deep crimson red,
For I thirst for one small visit
More than all this silence dread.

Come to me, all you o’erburdened
By your sorrows and your woe,
I will grant you rest more precious
Than the pleasures of the foe.
I have kept My lamp-light burning,
Come and rest your weary head,
I will calm the storms of anguish
More than sleep upon your bed.

Come to Me, all hearts yet broken
Treading sorrow’s darkened road,
I will be your sweet Salvation,
I will be your Joy untold.
I have kept My lamp-light burning,
See its beams of blesséd light,
Come to Me and in your heart I’ll
Set your hope to burning bright.

Come to Me, all you who, sinners,
Live amidst despairing fear,
Be not afraid, My Blood was shed,
Price was paid, and you are dear.
You are not beyond My Mercy,
Repent, enter My Heart’s cove,
See, I keep My lamp-light burning:
In the Host, My Heart of love!

Come to Me, all you the lukewarm,
Now’s the time to fervent grow;
Come to Me, be My disciple,
Learn from Me and get to know
All the ways of love and mercy,
Fervent charity to sow.
See, I keep My lamp-light burning,
Keep your baptism-flame aglow!

Come to Me, all unbelievers,
See Me in the Host at Mass!
I am here, your great Redeemer,
Hear My priest, have faith at last!
Look! I left My lamp on for you,
I who am the Lamb of God,
Doubt no longer, come to know Me,
Come and find what saints have sought!

PAD 23: Burden of the Heart

 

Image Source

PAD Challenge, Day 23 prompt: for today's Two-for-Tuesday prompt: write a "(blank) of the Heart" poem, and/or write a "Heart of the (blank)" poem.

Burden of the Heart

"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1).

"Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him" (John 13:16).

"And when they bring you to trial and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say; but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11).

My heart weighs so heavy within my own soul,
My heart bears a cross that so few people know;
This cross is the knowledge that where Christ hath trod,
I will quickly follow my Master, my God.

There looms in the sky such an ominous cloud
Attempting the light of my faith to cast out.
May God grant me courage to stand and be true,
Despite that strong persecution will ensue.

I often do wonder ‘bout what I will say,
But God will give words to my mouth on that day.
May God grant me courage to say what I must
‘Gainst participation in others’ own lusts.

A law has been made and been put in effect:
In others’ own sins we must partake direct;
But I will not bow to this godless decree
That strips us of all religious liberty.

Now some say that prudence means bowing to this,
But we must stand up against evil amiss,
Or otherwise suffer the fate that is sure
For letting an evil agenda endure.

Written in 2016 at Martindale Army Airfield in San Antonio, Texas, just after a mandatory class on transgenders and homosexuals in the military. I nearly walked out during that class because the NCO giving it said, “Any individual or any religion still holding that transgenderism and homosexuality are wrong needs to get with the times.” I was so furious that I would have walked out, except that my fellow soldiers must have seen how red my face got (my face must have been beet-red because I know I was trembling and burning hot), for they really plead with me during the break, saying, “Don’t ruin your career!”

I will state outright that I do not hate anyone, not even transgenders or homosexuals. There are many who suffer from the disorders of gender dysphoria or same-sex attraction, and I am aware that such are heavy crosses to bear. But what I cannot and will not tolerate is being told that I have to sit down and shut up, and act like those disorders are ordered to true love when they are in fact ordered to sin (if they are indulged in and acted upon). I have often heard it said that “You can’t help who you love,” and that may be true because we should love everyone; but even if we reduce love to mere physical attraction, people can still help how they love others. To phrase it similarly, “You can help how you love.” Not all love is or should be marital love; there are also other types of love: there is filial love, which a child has for a parent; or parental love, which a parent has for a child; or the love of friendship. In Christianity, there are also the self-sacrificial love (agape) and love that wills the best for others in light of eternity (caritas). Though there are times in a marriage when the marital love is good and delightful, there are also other times when the love is more akin to agape-love or caritas-love, wherein spouses let go of their own desires for the good of one another or of the whole family.

There is one more point. There are nine ways of being an accessory to another's sin:

1. By defending the sin.
2. By being silent.
3. By being a partner in the sin.
4. By concealment, or hiding another's sin (in this case, a sin that is public; revealing someone else's sins that are not public is another sin called detraction).
5. By praise or flattery for the sin.
6. By provocation.
7. By consent.
8. By command.
9. By counsel.

The NCO instructing the class ultimately said that we must agree and act like everything is normal. That would force us into participation in others sins by violating numbers 2 and 7; those who participate in June Pride events or misrepresent the whole affair as one of "civil rights" are also violating numbers 1 and 5; and those who try to paint these sins as normal and acceptable are also violating number 9, and potentially number 6 as well. Those who, in schools or other venues, conceal from the parents any surgical procedures, pharmaceutical prescriptions, or sexual education or counselling that their children receive, are also in violation of number 4. Of course, when we speak out about anything, prudence is required. Sometimes others are not ready to hear our message, at other times they are unwilling to hear it. In that case, we pray for them so that their interior disposition will be softened and enlightened and ready for the grace of God. Then, when they are ready, we speak the truth with great charity. As Aristotle once wrote, "having virtue just means doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, in the right measure, toward the right people." And we should take these words to heart when teaching others the truth of the Catholic Faith.

Ash Wednesday Poem: Silence Fleshly Lust

 

Silence Fleshly Lust

Remember, man, that you are mortal dust,
Humble yourself and silence fleshly lust.
The lust of food against all moderation,
So that the more you may resist temptation.
The lust of reins against all chastity,
So that in heart and mind you may be free.
The lust of comfort against all good reason,
So that you may be fruitful in all seasons.
The lust of anger to vent all your passion,
So that you may be gentle with compassion.
The lust of greed to usury and harm,
So that you be detached and give out alms.
The lust of unforgiveness in your heart,
So at your judgment you won’t hear “Depart!”

PAD 17: Not Septuagesima, But Modern Captivity

 

PAD Challenge, Day 17 prompt: take the phrase "Not (blank)," replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: "Not the Only One," "Not Like This," "Not Without Eating One More Piece of Pie," and/or "Not Sure What I Was Saying."

Not Septuagesima, But Modern Captivity

This season once both honored and revered
Is in the Pauline Rite excised, severed;
And though reformers gave their reasons why,
One’s only known by hindsight’s keenest eye:
We do not celebrate this season now,
But in our own captivity we bow
Beneath a heavy yoke painful to bear,
Yet firm in Peter’s Barque, the storm we dare.
Hear ye this truth which I shall here define:
We do not celebrate Gesimatide,
For in captivity ourselves we find.

When Israel returned from Babylon,
And seventy years’ exile had been done,
The Levites had to interpret the Law:
Aramaic was their tongue since Babylon,
But God’s Law written in the Hebrew tongue.
And so it is in hist’ry’s second lung
(The first lung was the time before the Christ,
The second now ‘til Christ returns in light):
The Liturgy in languages dispersed
Has all but lost the language of the Church,
One of the triple-tongues made sacred by
Its presence on the sacred Cross of Christ.

Septuagesima means “seventy”,
Full excised in year Nineteen-Seventy.
To some, these things are mere coincidence;
To me, they are clear signs of Providence.
No longer in the Babylon of old,
The enemies of Christ are very bold.
The true captivity that now we face
That seeks our holy Faith to now erase,
If not from out our churches, from our hearts,
Causing us to doubt is where it starts.
And when our faith and hope become unmoored,
Our love grows cold, our souls become so poor.
All this is driven by our enemies
Who hold us in present captivity.

“Who are these captors?” this we dare to ask.
They are Freemasons, working Satan’s task.
And just like Satan wants us to believe
That he does not exist because unseen,
So his Freemasons operate in dark
To snuff out grace divine, God’s inward spark,
To force atheism upon the world
By cruél and barbaric means untold.
Yet now in modern times it’s not the same,
They saw that by Martyrs the Church became
Stronger than before the captors came,
To their public disgrace and utter shame.

Here they attack through universities,
And that is why they push to get degrees,
Even though most are useless now because
The trades are in demand, not tie-wear jobs.
They educate to materialism
By marketing and consumerism;
And by not training in money and budget,
They set up youth as slaves to crushing debt.
These secular institutions have sold
So many minds to errors for much gold.
They hate the Church and all us patriots,
And train up Marxist useful idiots
Devoid of faith in God and moral ways,
Hell-bent on pure destruction in their wake.

While “climate change” at first appears to be
A lack of faith in nature’s God fully,
God who created things both great and small,
Things visible, invisible, and all;
God who, the Word through whom all things were made,
Who in our flesh would calm the wind and wave;
God who, the Spirit hov’ring o’er the deep,
Would order all from chaos to beauty.
But hidden ‘neath this surface lack of faith
Is hatred of our God by treach’rous knaves.
‘Tis Satan’s strong desire: “All but God!”
So he would have us worship naught but sod,
Which is the earth absent God’s sacred breath
(His Rhua breathed into our clay-formed flesh).
This is the reason demons fiercely hate
All men and strive to earth depopulate
From us who bear God’s image and His life.
And to this end, divide as with a knife,
As fear spurs hate, and hatred global war,
Abortion, and indiff’rence to the core,
Murd'ring the helpless all throughout the land,
Ignoring needs of neighbors – fellow man.

For theft of hope, the demons oft employ
The media, which steals all peace and joy.
The news itself has rightfully been called
“The devil’s gospel”, for ‘tis evil sprawl
That they lay out to catch us in a snare,
Evil on full display to cause despair.
The devil often seems angel of light,
He shines in our devices glowing bright,
So we beware his evil, wicked glow,
Whence vile impurity is wont to flow:
Through TV and radio waves he roams
As uninvited guest into our homes.
Beware his wickedness on full display,
Or else he'll with your fam’ly have his way.

So how do we our spirits now renew,
How dread fear and anguish to undo?
We laugh, rejoice, and smile in evil’s face,
And thank God for this undeservéd grace:
That we more keenly feel this exile now,
And lift our eyes to heaven from the ground.
For we have been so prosp’rous here below,
It's dulled our senses to what we should know:
That Christ is King and Lord of hist’ry here
Upon this earth, so we should never fear.
For what can separate us from the life
Or love of God, save sin, ‘gainst which we strive?
Our charity for God and neighbor’s good
Will lift us up to heaven by His Rood.

May faith and hope and charity abide
In each today we have ere death’s divide.

Septuagesima Poem: Prepare Ye Well

Gesimatide, Ash Wednesday, and the four Sundays of Lent before Passiontide.
The fourth Sunday of Lent is also called "Laetare Sunday".

Septuagesima: Prepare Ye Well

Septuagesima Season reminds us that we are
Not in heaven-Jerusalem, but in exile afar,
Held captive by this world of sin, this city-Babylon;
Remember we our miseries by sin and vice brought on.
A deep, honest Confession we prepare ere holy Lent,
So Lent we start within God’s grace, in spirit penitent.
And in this preparation we can see our weaknesses,
And form a Lenten practice to combat our sinfulness.
So for example, if it’s sloth to which we tend to fall,
Resolve we to not hit the snooze, but out of bed to crawl,
And day’s first battle thus is won, and each day strength we find.
Then on Good Friday offer Christ what habit we’ve refined,
And though Lent may be over with the joy of Eastertide,
This habit that we’ve formed for good need not be cast aside.

PAD 16: The Babylonian Captivity

 

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by Francesco Hayez (1867).   Image Source: marsmet543 / Flickr

PAD Challenge, Day 16 prompt: we have our third Two-for-Tuesday prompt: write a poetic form poem, and/or write an anti-form poem.

Today, I have decided to invent my own poetic form, which I have called a gesima. 

How to Write a Gesima

The first stanza has seven pairs of one line of heptameter (seven syllables), followed by a line of tetrameter (four syllables).

The second stanza has seven pairs of one line of hexameter (six syllables) followed by a line of tetrameter.

The third stanza has three pairs of one line of pentameter (five syllables) followed by a line of tetrameter.

Inspiration Behind the Gesima

In the Septuagesima Season (called Gesimatide by some), there is one week of Septuagesima (seventy), one week of Sexagesima (sixty), and only three days of Quinquagesima (50), leading up to Ash Wednesday and the holy Season of Lent. This Gesimatide leading up to Lent was often called "pre-Lent" in English (this Season was abolished in the Missal of 1970 because of much misunderstanding and ignorance even on the part of liturgical reformers; however, it is now seeing a revival thanks to the Sarum Use employed by the Ordinariates established by Anglicanorum Coetibus).

The first stanza is for Septuagesima week, hence the lines of heptameter. 

The second stanza is for Sexagesima week, hence the lines of hexameter.

The third stanza is for Quinquagesima week, hence the lines of pentameter.

Since this season prepares for holy Lent, and Lent is called Quadragesima (forty), the second lines of all three stanzas are tetrameter. The first lines coupled with the second lines of four syllables are a way of saying, "It's Gesimatide. Get ready, Lent is on its way! Prepare now your hearts, wills, and bodies for the penance."

But there is one last thing that is special about the poem: it's as if the poem is spoken by two voices. Thus, the poem makes the most sense when reading the longer lines first, and the tetrameter lines second. If it were put to music, two different voices could sing the lines simultaneously.

And now, on to my form (gesima) poem...

The Babylonian Captivity

Seventy years as captives
With bitter tear,
For idol-worship punished,
How could we ring
Sabbaths Israel defiled,
The songs we sing
Consciences Judah beguiled,
To captor’s jeer?
Prophets shamefully reviled.
To torment’s wrong
This valle lacrimarum:
We grant no song
Ere heaven’s joy, earth’s strong gloom
In Babylon.

The time for reform near,
The blood of them
Embrace the fast with cheer.
Who died for Him,
Lent's corporal weakness
Of Church the seed,
Should lead us to meekness,
The harvest-wheat
And to great compassion.
Sown in good ground
Mortifying sadness
Where grace abounds
Leads to Easter gladness
As time goes 'round.

Choose your penance now,
Fasting and prayer,
Bend your haughty brow,
Almsgiving dare,
Grace's work allow,
Your soul to spare.

From the Scripture

Jeremiah 25:8-11: “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, says the Lord, and for Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these nations round about; I will utterly destroy them, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting reproach. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

2 Chronicles 36:15-21: “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, till the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged; he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfil seventy years.”

Daniel 9:2, 22, 24: “I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years which, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. [Gabriel] came and he said to me, ‘O Daniel, I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding. Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.’”

PAD 15: What's In The Middle Of A Tree?

 

Moses and the Burning Bush   Image Source: Pascal Deloche / Getty Images

PAD Challenge, Day 15 prompt: write a middle poem. Some people feel stuck in the middle; others like being in the middle of things. There are foods that are known for their middles (like jelly doughnuts and empanadas). So poem your way to, within, or away from the middle today.

What's In The Middle Of A Tree?

"So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant which they had from Cyrus king of Persia" (Ezra 3:7).

What's in the middle of a tree?
The rings of age we cannot see,
Until it's cut across the trunk.
How do those rings get in the wood,
Which we can see in frame of bunk
Or dining table, firm and good?
It seems they form in winter freeze
After the tree has lost its leaves,
When sap begins to move more slowly
And colder days are shorter growing.
Between each ring, a year of life
And growth beneath the summer sky.
What happens if the tree gets hollow,
And it no longer has tomorrow?
Well, then the tree, though not alive,
Becomes a bustling honeybee hive.
The hive in turn attracts the bear,
Or humans seeking honey there.
If hollow only is the branch,
The squirrels will nest and bark and prance.
Yet if the tree should all be dead,
The logs could make a firewood spread
That would be stored in a woodshed,
To keep us warm in winter dread,
To cook our food and bake our bread,
Or whittle and woodburn instead.
The branches cut alive and tarred
Form fenceposts for our land to guard.
And so the middle of a tree
Bears strength we often do not see:
It has such uses, tells a tale
Of fair weather, storm, and gale.
Pay heed: though it seems lazy there,
Its roots are deep and does not scare.
The ultimate Tree, on its middle
Hung our Savior, face with spittle,
Pierced by nail, spear, and thorn --
On that Tree the Church was born.
And now that Tree of Life has built
The Barque of Peter, sailing still.

PAD 13: For My Oldest Living Son

 

Homecoming Day, after my oldest son's stay in the NICU.

PAD Challenge, Day 13 prompt: write a living poem. What makes a living poem may be different for everyone. Some people may like to live it up, while others may focus solely on being alive. However, only you know what kind of poem you can live with. After all, it's your life (and poem).

After several years of struggle with infertility, and then the loss of two sons nearly one year apart from each other, our oldest son was finally born. After a brief stay in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), we brought him home to take care of and, best of all, to hold onto and love.

For My Oldest Living Son

"He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 113:9).

Oh my dear son, my littlest one,
My heart is so happy because you have come.
This smile that rests across my happy face
Is because I now have you to hold and embrace.

I’ll never forget your Mommy’s tearful eyes
When we first heard your tiny but beautiful cry.
Your hand on your cheek truly seemed to express,
“Oh, what am I doing here? Oh, my goodness!”

You came slightly early and were very small,
You needed some help, so the NICU was called.
It drove Mommy crazy that you were downstairs,
She had to get better when you were not there.

But every time that she had visited you,
Her spirit was strengthened, her heart was renewed.
She healed so much faster with you in her arms,
You healed her much better than strongest of pharms.

I thank God for the skill of your Mommy’s doctor,
Without her good skill you’d have been lost for sure.
We owe her so much, for your life she did save,
And she saved Mommy’s, too, on that most joyful day.

PAD 12: A Christmas Inscription

 

PAD Challenge, Day 12 prompt: write a funny poem. Keep in mind that funny isn't always "ha-ha" funny. For instance, your poem could include a funny smell or talk about a funny (or weird) person or situation. And if you've ever hit your funny bone, that pain is not making anyone laugh. So write a funny poem, whether it's for a laugh or not.

I wrote this inscription in a gift for an elderly gentleman this Christmas. As you can see in the image, I wrote it in a book of Dad Jokes. Due to a lack of time, I am using the inscription for today's poem.

A Christmas Inscription

"A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22).

My Dear Fellow,

I hope you like these light and punny jokes
Made for both great and ordinary blokes,
But be prepared, for laughter they provoke,
And if you tell them, give all: go for broke!

Now some may groan and roll their solemn eyes,
While others laugh until they split their sides,
But all will have some fun while peace abides,
And that's why wholesome humor's always wise.

And so, please take this book up without fear,
May it bring you merry Christmas cheer,
With wholesome laughter all throughout the year,
And please keep me in thoughts and prayers so near.

From,

A Fellow Gentleman

PAD 11: The Deepest Ties

 

My Oma and Opa. Photo taken 2022.

PAD Challenge, Day 11 prompt: write a memory poem. The poem could conjure up an actual memory that you have from your childhood, or last week, or earlier this morning. Or the memory could be made up. Or the memory is just a starting point for a completely different poem. Your memories, your poems.

The Deepest Ties

"O son, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives; even if he is lacking in understanding, show forbearance; in all your strength do not despise him. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and against your sins it will be credited to you; in the day of your affliction it will be remembered in your favor; as frost in fair weather, your sins will melt away. Whoever forsakes his father is like a blasphemer, and whoever angers his mother is cursed by the Lord." (Sirach 3:12-16).

When a loved one has dementia,
It is hard to understand
How she looks the same as always,
But her memory is bad.

My Oma had this happen,
And a while I did not see,
But when in March I saw her,
She could not remember me.

I stooped down low to kiss her
On her forehead where she sat,
But her eyes grew wide and startled
As she asked my Dad, “Who’s that?”

Perhaps if I’d have shaved my beard
She might have known ‘twas me,
‘Cause I’ve only grown it lately
In the last two years or three.

But my Dad said not to worry,
For her mind is fading now.
Very soon we’ll say farewell,
We know not where nor how.

As autumn leaves that gently fall
Preparing for the cold,
So time fades to eternity
As blesséd ones grow old.

So how do I connect with her
With most her mem’ries gone,
Bereft of hope to share our lives
In verbal ways alone?

Ah, there are ways that I can see
Of service I admire,
So many people come to help,
Their hearts with love afire.

My Dad is great, he spends much time
With Oma in these days,
And though he is her youngest son,
Looks she with empty gaze.

His patience is a sight to see,
His calm voice and gentle touch
Convey to her the message clear,
“I love you, Mom, so much!

“You may not now remember me,
But I can for us both,
Because you gave me life and love,
Passed on your heart and soul.”

So now I think I understand
The secret that he bears:
The deepest ties can never die
So long as love is there.

Identity can seem to fade
As memories die out,
But only this side of the grave
Until death lifts the shroud.

As soon as Oma crosses o’er
To Heaven’s sacred shore,
She will regain her memories,
Along with many more:

How Opa stood so valiantly,
Steadfastly by her side,
Even when his heart seemed broke
And silently he cried.

How Dad and all his siblings worked
So patiently with her,
And all their spouses lent a hand
To help Opa endure.

How caregivers became members
Of the family for love,
By mercy caring for her needs,
A grace from God above.

So now I see, while it is sad
She not remember me,
A stronger love connects us than
Her long-lost memories.

PAD 10: Love is Better

 

Mixed Wildflower Field #1.   Image Source: wanderingYew2/Flickr.

PAD Challenge, Day 10 prompt: take the phrase "(blank) Better," replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: "Be Better," "Write Better," "Wanting Better," and/or "There's Nothing Better."

Love is Better

"So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Better than the roses red:
Words both calm and gently said.

Better than a pink carnation:
Angry words that go unspoken.

Better than gold chrysanthemum:
Willing help with cheerful hum.

Better than blue forget-me-not:
Petty fight that goes unfought.

Better than the bright sunflower:
Kindly words in needful hour.

Better than yellow daffodil:
Work that’s done with love and skill.

Better than Texas bluebonnet:
Heartfelt words formed into sonnet.

Better than all this world’s flowers:
Faith, hope, love in life’s short hours.