Free Republic

Forget the pie crust promises and santa claus wishes dancing in the name of what's holy, and look, man, look at the core of it. In the darkness of confusion, here, then, up on the ridge where all men can see, is the truth, a burning torch, where heaven and earth meet, in one who is true God and true man offering all for love. Transformation in the fire of a God who held nothing back for love. Hold on to the wood, rough hewn, blood stained, and look into those eyes, and if you let them pierce your heart,...

Father, Abba, what a gift, to call you, who breathed upon the waters to create light out of darkness, world out of chaos, life out of nothingness, father, parent, ours. O let your name be made holy, here, today, in every heart who will acknowledge your lordship, the burning flame that gives meaning and burns away the dross of emptiness, of meaninglessness. O Father, today and always, may we thank you for the gift of creating us, of loving us, of breathing life into us and transforming us. Amen. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The...

Like a whisper hidden behind a wall of noise, like a rose hidden in a forgotten garden, like a buried, precious, unseen, there you lived your life, Mary, only briefly letting us see your smiling face, hear your soft voice, witness your faith, unwavering, total. Sweeping, and sewing and scrubbing and caring, and loving, and praying, one long yes to the call of the Father, to the actions of the Son, to the promptings of the Spirit. O Mary, pray for me that in the daily I may find God, that in my weariness I may say yes, and in...

From the waters you rose and Heaven bent down to note the moment. Your being there blessed the waters with your perfect presence, O you who had no need to wash away life's stains, As you gave the waters their life-giving task of giving men new birth into your kingdom. Thank you Lord, for the channels of grace you open to us here on Earth.

O Lord, on this day, do not fault us for wallowing in the whys that lead us down the roads we should not go, the whys which we use to destroy our faith, the whys we use to show our anger at events, the whys with which we blame you for the pain, the sorrow, the suffering the grief the death. O Lord, like spoiled or strong-willed children, Forgive us as we turn our back and choose not to see you walking beside us, weeping with us, feeling our pain, our anger, our loss. Forgive us when we forget that...

Dear Lord, so much of what we do, which road we take, which life we lead comes down to choice. Teach me then, to choose as you would have me choose, teach me to understand when to say Yes, like Mary said yes at the visit of the angel, how Joseph said yes when taking Mary into his house, how you said Yes in the garden among the shadows, the loneliness, the grief. Embolden me to say no when the world asks me to compromise, when the pinch of incense burned to Caesar seems such a little thing, harmless, meaningless,...

Walking With Job Of old thou didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They will perish, but thou dost endure; they will all wear out like a garment. Thou changest them like raiment, and they pass away; but thou art the same, and thy years have no end. (Psalm 102: 25-27) O Lord, now the anger begins as people shake their fists and say, "If you love us, how could you do this to us, put us in a world where terror happens, put us in a world where disaster rips...

Christmas Night Meditation Lord, tonight I sit at the foot of the feedbox Mary laid you in, having no other bed for you, her precious son, treasure beyond compare, a loving God's gift to a coldhearted, often indifferent and aching world, the most precious thing ever gifted, and even in your coming, mostly ignored. O Lord, how small you are as your mother picks you up with all the love a mother can offer, you, master and king, creator of all that was created, held in the loving hands of part of your creation. Unbound by space and time and...

Dear Friends, Please join me today in prayerfully remembering the reason for the season and in sharing the glad tidings of Christmas where we remember the birth of our Lord, and what it can mean for mankind. Merry Christmas Sweet, perfect child laying in Our Lady's lap, how amazing to think of who you are. Dim the light in this stable tonight, and yet, the Light of the world has come to join us. Sweet, perfect child laying in our Lady's lap, how amazing to think of who you are. Straw and the lowing of cattle tonight greet your coming,...

O Lord, amazing is your love that you come to us so vunerable, so open, You came as a babe crying in the night, You come as bread and wine, food of the poor. From the beginning you were aware of rejection, of how little room there was for you, No room at the inn, No room in many hearts, So little room in modern life, and yet, rejected or not, you wait patiently for the heart that will hear your calling, like Mary did, like the shepherds, like Andrew, and Peter and John. O Lord, that night so long...

O sweet Mary, You, with your yes as big and generous as the heart of humankind can get, with the help of the Father through the workings of the Spirit have given us the most precious gift human has ever given human: Emananuel, God with us, Jesus, whose very name proclaims this truth: God saves. O Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the church, whose advice to us has always been and always will be "Do whatever he tells you," as Christmas fast approaches, let us who know why there is a reason for joy, like you, ponder all these...

Light like a candle in the darkness, like hope in despair, like touch to the lonely, like water to a thirst, like a starry night filled with angels singing. Light, like the mysterious light filling a tomb to shatter finally the hold of the darkness. The gift of light, first among all the gifts, a love song of God, a love story, a baby's cry in the night announcing Emmanuel, God with us.

Interesting to think that in this day where the unborn are simply fetuses, tissues unworthy of consideration except at the whim of their mother, that it was the unborn John, leaping in his mother's womb who was the first to salute in the presence of Jesus? O Lord, help us to see that even the unborn are not unknown to you, and have value as children made in your image. Amen.

The Reason for the Season There is a marvelous interplay in many of the old masters' paintings of the Madonna and Child. Mary often looks sad and pensive, staring away into the distance, already our Lady of Sorrow. Sometimes Jesus is depicted with arms outstretched, or in postures that are reminiscent of the Deposition, forshadowing in this moment of joy at the beginning of his life, the moment of his death. The Virgin of the Eucharist - Botticelli These two events go totally together. Without the Incarnation, there can be no Passion. Without Christ's birth, there is no Ressurection. In...

Lord, amid all the hecticness that fills our life this time of year, help us stop and think of that ultimate gift, where, in a town that had no welcome you came to be with us. Like Bethlehem, once, where the crowd had no space for a poor couple and their child, the world seems to have no space for the way that leads to peace, hope, love. Yet like the angels and the shepherds that night so long ago, let us watch and be amazed at a God who loves us enough to be Emmanuel, God with us. Amen.

On the Nativity Thank you Jesus, for not coming to us in a palace, waited on by servants, pampered in cloth of gold and surrounded by walls to keep out those of us not worthy to glimpse your perfection. Thank you instead, for coming to us poor but accessible, laying in a cattle feeding box for lack of a better bed, in a hovel meant for animals, where anyone could walk in and see the miracle of God taking on flesh. Lord, teach us to value what is really important - As we celebrate the miracle of your birth, and...

Lord, This day when so much runs swirling around my head and my heart aches with unanswered issues, and I long for stability and health and peace, let me turn around and see you there, arms outstretched, waiting, ready to walk with me down this road, with its bumps, and ruts and sidings and obstacles each and every step of the way. Forgive me Lord, when I lose sight or turn away, distracted and forget that you are right here beside me. As you walked that long road to Calvary doing the Father's will, may I walk my own road,...