Towards The Light

Give us a sign, they cried,

more than 2000 years ago, in Nineveh

And still today- when we are all at sea,

When the road is long, and our way dim,

our cries for help seeming unheard,

Our voices go out to you pleading:

“Give us a sign, Lord, any sign.”

How often do we cling to you and trust?

Instead, we search the skies above

Looking for the rainbow –

A covenant of Your love.

Is not our sign the peace we feel,

In not dissecting everything.

In surrendering our very will

Knowing that Hope will prevail?

That Joy, the Peace knowing You can give,

Have You not come to us time and again ?

And calmed the seas and cured the pain

And yet with hearts in our mouths, we pray

Please Lord, not this- give us a sign

How should we pray in desert times?

As humans full of anxious thoughts

“Oh Lord -To thee I all resign,

Take thou my will that counts for nought.”

One thing I know He understands

With a kindly gaze He gathers us

Fretting, into His embrace

Till like a child, sobbing and lost, we nuzzle close

As a people lost, we take His hand

Seeking, yearning for a sign no more.

I reach out to You and find You there

In the morning sunrise, in the noise of life, in the quiet of night,

You listen to my joys, my woes, my cries, my complaints

No criticisms, no corrections, just listening

Till I am calm again

Spent after the day, I creep up to You like a child

And You are still there – ready

To cradle me to rest, to sleep

To waken with You,

Covered with Your Grace and blessings for one more day

Should I run or forget, then in a panic look for You.

You are standing where I left You

My friend, my Lord who saves

Me from myself, to learn there is

Another way to go, unperturbed by this world’s swervings

Your way, dearest Lord, Your way

In silence shall I find my strength,

In solitude feel Your guiding hand

And hear the whispers of Your words

One day when all the “what Ifs” have come to nought

I would find the peace I sought.

This is what I would say…

Without faith to show the way.

But how do I stop them coming now

And robbing me of sleep and thought

I wonder, Lord, was I made for this

Where am I going to find a relief from “ifs “.

But He accepts us with these doubts,

If I surrender as I am and be at peace

Trusting Him for courage and for strength

To walk through each anxious day as it comes

As it will or no, so let it be

For there is no other way

If I’m to say: ‘Thy will be done”

For in acceptance only will there be 

A new horizon, a clearer sky

A hope despite the clouds that roll

A peace beyond all, a triumph over doubt.

Light shining through our darkest hour,

He shows the way to those who stray

Asking me to tap into His power,

To put the rudder in His hands

To steer me through yet another storm

As He has done so oft before

And bring me home again safe and warm.

And if we cannot see ahead

Then trust and not find fear to fear,

imaginings of things we dread;

Nor doubts that only cloud our mind.

But in the joy of light and calm,

To walk lightheartedly in song

To say, “Be still my heart and wait on Him

Be still even as you fret,

For the skies are still clear, the sun still shines,”

He holds me close to dance with Him

And Hear Him say with reassuring voice,

“Angie – No ifs and buts…

You will know but not now…  its not yet time”

When all is dark, the sun setting in the evening of your life,

When daylight goes out and you feel all alone,

When all the earth is in shadow, look up at the sky

And see His signature- in resplendent gold.

A day well spent, a life well lived,

Breathe in, stretch out, be at peace with Him

Sunrise and sunset, opening and closing the day

Isn’t this what gives us time in-between.

A day filled with Love to follow your heart

To listen and to do His will, the day’s tasks

And then a well-earned rest after we’ve done our part

All planned by the Creator who knows before we ask.

And then one day when He thinks we are ready,

He holds our hand as He has always done,

And we Hold his hand tightly with Trust as He says –“Steady “ 

To walk into a new sunset and we are…

Home!

3 different bright red blooms on a plant

Tell me a story of the phases of life-

Of the different positions that we may be in,

To find the Shepherd and focus on Him.

When we are young and close to the ground,

Or bowing under the pressures of life,

Or after we have mellowed in humility, we bow,

To Maker and Friend, so close in our hearts.

In the silence to hear the Shepherd’s voice,

We rest away from busyness and noise

Close to the roots, we bloom content.

Another bloom lay in the middle of the part

Where the plant is fullest with twigs and leaves.

Staying in mid-air, face to the sun

Bright and bold, A joy for all to behold!

For most of life, we coast along like it –

Taking the middle path, not too high,

Nor too low, hoping to be just left in peace,

Supported and supporting –

In our comfort zones.

Listening to the world’s bidding all round us,

Crowded and encircled by the demands of life.

Yet some on the topmost bough,

Reaching up to meet the sky

Yet still connected to the earthly plant

As if ready to take flight and soar.

To me a lesson it did teach-

To never give up, despite all our falls,

From wherever we are –

Let our spirits stay free!

Unfettered by our troubles and fears,

Focused on hearing the Shepherd’s call,

Striving till we rise

Our everlasting Father to reach! 

In the blink of an eye,

You worked a miracle!

The scales fell off my eyes,

As I looked, my vision cleared!

In trying too hard, we over-correct

With powered lenses and could not stay focused

Not seeing ….that you have restored

Eagle Vision- your gift of sight!

Thank you, Lord , with the snap of your fingers

I see again, with both my eyes and my heart!

A vision to discern with wisdom.

To walk your way, with wonder and clarity

A sky swept with clouds, stars at night

Landscapes, birds and rainbows bright

Sunrise, Sunsets – your signature of Love

Scenes alive with colour, Beauty below and above,

Your creation which we are a part of –

As partners with you to care for.

Thank you Lord, for gifts beyond compare!

With a gust of wind, suddenly,

the black clouds rolled in.

With no warning,

the heavy rain followed,

Following in every direction,

Wetting those who could run,

and all still things on their path.

Isn’t this how it came?

This virus sweeping us off our feet,

in total disregard of young and old.

Hitting us even harder,

Just as we thought that the worst was over.

Then like the rain, it lingers on

Not letting up in numbers or fury.

Yet, now, despite the rain I hear

Birds twittering in the trees.

Hope, in spite of all that comes

Will, in the end, prevail.

Mankind, His creation and God-

Hand in hand in this storm, this wind

Will hold each other fast

and take the lashing together

and in the end, Love Incarnate,

Cannot, will NOT, fail.

I come, Lord,

HRWed twice over, tired yet fired up!

I come for You

To carry and lead me,

To show me where I should go,

Where I can BE – for You;

With all that you have given me,

with all that I am.

With the gifts you’ve given me,

Your touch to set me free,

I come in grace at last,

To do your will, step by step an offering,

one drop of water, one grain of sand.

Be it as a friend to walk beside the lost;

Consoler in prayer and penance make.

1 sheep, 1 shoulder at a time,

To bring to you to lead them Home.

For this, help me to stay awake

To wait and listen to your call –

To bless others with your calm, your peace, and  

In the end, your forgiveness bring.

So that through me, Lord they see and feel

Your presence once again and make

Their home in your Love, their Hope in You,

Their Joy in knowing You and you alone.

My Lord, My friend, My Saviour KING-

I place all my trust in you,

I have come to do Your Will.

“Walk with me on the Road I walk

So that I reveal to you,

Not only who you are but who I AM.

When you fall, I will pick you up

And walk with me ..on the water.”

Yes Lord but we dont walk, we run

as if some winds were PROPELLING

The fear that we need to leave behind.

You see, we are the Human Race

In an ever-circling paper chase

Ever running in an amazing Race

Against Time at a dizzy pace.

We run from you who are Light and Truth

When we should be with deliberate, thoughtful steps

walking with you in heart and mind.

Will we one day run to You -to hold your hand tightly

And walk in Faith, Hope and Love?

Beside you and beside our brother, sister

Who needs our time, our touch.

You invite us each day to have
a closer walk with you.
Can we Stop running past you
And let You catch up with
our racing thoughts and hearts?
Sit quietly at your feet like Mary
and stop running around in circles

Losing our way in a Maze.

Let us learn to appreciate and walk

Now, when we are able

not only when we have run into a brick wall

and stopped dead in our tracks.

Save us Lord from ourselves before

it is too late, Amen

God chooses us, we do not choose Him,

Believe that you have been chosen!

We pray, O Lord for your Anointing,

To do what we have been gifted for,

Be it in Music , Prayer or Mission.

For the power of the Spirit is what we need,

To carry out our mission in the fullest measure.

Our generous, compassionate and loving God!

To walk in Faith wherever You may lead,

Our generous, compassionate and loving God,

Who is ready to empower and with prophecy to assure.

For it is always You, not I

Whom I must rely on and follow,

In Humility and blind Faith go,

Keeping the “Why” and “why not” to myself

Till in your time, You turn the page

To reveal Your wisdom and relieved, we say

“Thank you Lord, for now I know,

Yes, Lord for showing me the way,

Though the path be winding and unclear,

That step by step and hand in hand

Your way is best, and you never say no.”

You only ask that we wait in trust,

And pray for Your anointing to Go Forth

To use your Gifts on us bestowed.

As we hurtle towards the end ,

Of yet another year of twists and turns,

Of kind and unkind surprises,

Lockdowns and openings of economies and borders,

Churches and …ourselves,

I ask “What have we learnt along the way?”

To share, to care, to love and hope,

to see beyond ourselves to

an inclusive world of new horizons

To let go of power, fear, lest we forget

Our humanity; our Faith and for this world-our Respect.

If we have, indeed learnt

Such lessons to reach ,to teach,

and to look beyond our limited vision of self,

then we can say with full hearts,

That we have arrived.

We are ready to face whatever lies ahead.

We, who have borne the suffering and hardship

Of our brothers and sisters the world over and cried

Praying with them and for them.

We now carry within us a renewed courage,

Spiritually converted, strengthened,

a heart broken and mended,

a little more worthy Lord of you.

For it is only then that we can return,

Kneeling in great relief and thankfulness to say

COME, LORD JESUS, COME

BRIGHT SHINING STAR, O LORD EMMANUEL,

AND BLESS US THIS ADVENT AND THIS COMING YEAR-

AMEN.

How Dare we complain

Of small inconveniences, at the slightest.

Instead of giving thanks

For what we have , all gifts from you.

How dare we think of slights to our vanity, Our space

When Our Lord and our suffering brothers and sisters

have been stripped of THEIR dignity.

How dare we eat without giving thanks

And blessing those who do not know

where their next meal will come from.

How Dare we Lord, forget

to be thankful and instead criticize and judge,

How dare we not think of You- the one who suffered ALL on the Cross

When we celebrate the Eucharist

with absent minds,

finding fault with our neighbour in the seat next to us,

Whose crosses and reason for being there, we do not know.

Can we not, instead of criticizing, pray for them,

Be thankful for the Eucharist,

And in faith bear with others’ ills, coughs and sneezes,

Remembering worse ills being borne

by those in war torn regions who are

being ministered to in greater charity.

How DARE we not trust

that God will protect us or invite us to learn from bearing our ills too.

How dare we forget why we are in Church, worshipping in community

as He commanded us to do.

Does He not have that right to demand of us a sacrifice mirroring His?

A complete sacrifice instead of half-hearted, grudging,

calculated worship that gives one way but

Expects so much more in return.

How dare we call ourselves Christians? His own?

How dare we judge others according to our own inflated standards?

Forgive us Lord, for forgetting

that you fell 3 times on the way to Calvary

Bearing our burdens, our sins

Dying in pain for us on the Cross.

Forgive us Lord, when wandering thoughts assail us during Mass,

When we are concerned with ourselves and forget,

How you touched and cured the lepers.

All we do is shrink away to keep ourselves and our families “clean”,

You did not wear a mask, yet with a mask on, we are still afraid

With sanitizers we are still “germ conscious”.

WE have not learnt to put our faith, our trust in you

To ask how can we go beyond ourselves, our fears and comforts, to fulfill your mission

And BE Christ to others.

How dare we forget

You, OUR KING AND SAVIOUR

who came down from Heaven

And the Holy pirit who alone

will save and EMPOWER us!

Forgive us, Lord when next we DARE

to go against what you stand for in our Lives

and pint a finger when in all humility, weshould ask-

“How dare I” , “How dare We.” AMEN .