New Years

“I won’t take no for an answer,”

God began to say

to me

when He opened His arms each night

wanting us to

dance

                             St. Catherine of Siena

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what does God want from me?

the question haunts

each

step

as I plod through each day

seeking answers

ah, for certitude

to know, to know

that I am good

with

God

and then the answer come

“I want you to stop worrying!

all I want is your love

all I want is for us to dance

through life

all I want is for you

to know you are loved

as you wallow

in the questions

you don’t need no stinkin’ answers

just be loved

just love

that is ultimately it”

and thus my New Year’s Resolution for this year

allow myself to be loved

by God

by others,

and pass it on

Our one job

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”

― Thomas Merton

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O Beloved

it is cold outside

a wasteland

that is stilled

by the magnitude of its

frozen nature

even that which normally

bends

and moves

is stiff and brittle

O Beloved

do not allow my heart to become

such a place

where, frigid,

love cannot flourish and grow

this day may I simply love

may I radiate

compassion

and may those I meet

unfold and bloom

in the warmth

of Your sacred affection

Union, not perfection

Divine union, not private perfection, is the goal of all religion (Goal).

What is the source of your spiritual power? It’s radical union with God, not just doing good things or holding a role or function...in the end, the only basis for fruitful Christianity is divine union. Such people change you and change the world. Leon Bloy said it well: “There is only one sadness in life, only one—not to be a saint.”

                                                          Richard Rohr

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today O Sacred One

I want to be a saint

St. Stephen has such a nice ring to it

so Lord

this day consume me,

be present inside me,

roll

roar

blow

it is time for a non-hostile take over

make yourself so much a part of me

that I cannot tell where you start and “I” end

let us be united

for that is what faith is all about

may we be like lovers

yes, like husband and wife

two becoming one

the mystery of incarnation

of faith

and

life

will take care of itself