Catch the Transient Hour
(from The Breadbox Letters)
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What Could God Accomplish in Me?
'Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him...' St. Ignatius Loyola from The Breadbox Letters Painting: Joseph Rodefer DeCamp, The Blue Mandarin Coat
The Martyrdom of Me
Today I realized something about myself. I don't mind suffering! Physical distress, poverty, pain: none of these bother me at all, as long as I'm not inconvenienced or uncomfortable. I've read gripping works about Christians in horrid circumstances. St. Therese on her deathbed, Ignatius of Antioch on his way to martyrdom, John of the Cross imprisoned, Immaculee Ilibagiza huddled in a bathroom. I usually read these things at night, under soft blankets in my cozy house. From my comfort zone, I am inspired and challenged and ready to endure anything for God. And then I wonder if someone might have misunderstood something I wrote about prayer. Or if I might be getting a headache. Or maybe I'm asked to go a teeeeeny bit out of my way to help someone else. Alas and alack. Such things can feel like the very martyrdom of me. back of hand to forehead; long sigh........ (continue at The Breadbox Lette...
Hush
I am enchanted by snow when it softens a city. It's like the gentleness of God blanketing all that is sharp and angular, and somehow this is magical to me. Maybe that's because, in grade school, I rode the city bus twice a day, and I got to see a chunk of my town in its sooty as well as whitewashed conditions. The bus made stops and starts along Main Street, its doors whooshing open to let in soggy passengers toting briefcases and shopping bags. I could hear sighs of relief as these weary ones fell into seats; I knew they were grateful to simply let chilled bones thaw..... (continue ...)