A Poem When All the World Seems Dark

You wake up with a hopeful heart, thankful for a new day that dawned. 

You may or may not feel the aches on your joints or the pain in your bones.

You may bounce out of bed or shuffle slowly out of it.

The weight of your matter puts a dot of gray on your otherwise sunrise-full morning.

You may or may not be a social media denizen.

But there are relatives to touch base with, friends' lives to check on.

Then the virtual world intrudes on your solitude.

And a clump of ugly and angry smear your lanscape.

You may attend to the matters of living no matter your circumstances.

For you are still living, for you are still breathing, right?

Yet you hold it in and try to stop the question

Is this really the way the only way to live?

You may retain your peace, although it may seem rare these days.

And after lunch and by the afternoon that peace may well have been destroyed.

By news, goings-on and the world's inevitable turning.

But sorrowfully turning, turning it seems to darkness.

But here is a secret -- the day is not lost.

Here is another -- the world is not dark.

It is only your mind and your matter that are lost and dark.

For there is One who never fails to win the day and light up the world.

Do you know Him?  He is the king of all creation, your God.

Does it make sense now?  Your mind and your matter is safe in His hands. 

Do you see it?  The day may seem lost, but it is still His day that He created.

Do you realize now?  The world may seem dark as it turns, but it is still turning by His will.

So tomorrow, wake up with a hopeful heart, thankful for a new day that dawns. 

Your God reigns over everything.

-o-

Anima Christi - a Prayer Against Evil

Anima Christi means "the soul of Christ."  The Anima Christi is a beautiful prayer that dates back to medieval times. It is often accepted as written by Pope John XXII during the 14th century, but it is uncertain to this date who actually authored this well-known prayer to Jesus for protection against evil.


Anima Christi 

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, give me strength

Hear me, Jesus
Hide me in Thy wounds That I may never leave Thy side
From all the evil that surrounds me defend me
And when the call of death arrives
Bid me come to Thee
That I may praise Thee
With Thy saints forever.

Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New

The song "Gandang Sinauna at Sariwa" is a beautiful Filipino song translated from the "Ever Ancient, Ever New - Confessions of Saint Augustine."  His was a beautiful prayer of regret that he had been so enraptured with the world for so long that he forgot the beauty that lies within him.

Ever Ancient, Ever New

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!

You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.
In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all.

You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.
You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.
You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.
I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.
You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

Gandang Sinauna at Sariwa
 (by Bukas Palad)

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Tapat Kang nanahan sa 'king kalooban
Ngunit hinahanap pa rin kahit saan

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Ako'y nagpabihag sa likha Mong tanan
Di ko akalaing Ikaw pala'y nilisan

Ako'y tinawagan mula sa katahimikan
Pinukaw Mo ang aking pandinig
Biglang luminaw ang awit ng daigdig

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Tapat Kang nanahan sa 'king kalooban
Ngunit hinahanap pa rin kahit saan

Ako'y inilawan mula sa 'king kadiliman
Minulat Mo aking mga mata
Biglang luminaw tanglaw ko sa tuwina

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Ako'y nagpabihag sa likha Mong tanan
Di ko akalaing Ikaw pala'y nilisan

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Akong nilikha Mo, uuwi rin sa 'Yo
Ako'y papayapa lamang sa pilin Mo

Faith in a Poem

What is faith to you?  We often ponder this very thing.  If we read the Holy Bible, does that mean we have faith?  If we read the news and find some horrific tale, how do we see it in the light of our faith?  If we are burdened, or victorious, where does our faith come in?  When faced with the prospects of death, how does our faith touch us?

It's not easy to define man's faith in God.  But man dwells on it anyway.  The Bible is filled with men's thoughts on his faith and his God. and one man in particular -- Job -- spoke so ardently of his faith.  His tangled thoughts, emotional fluctuations, deepest longings, ardent hopes and fears are voiced in a beautiful poem about his faith.

Read on, and be mesmerized by the beauty of Job's faith in his omnipotent God.


“Man, who is born of woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

You also open Your eyes on him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.
Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!

Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.

Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day like a hired man.
For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.
Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.

But man dies and lies prostrate.
Man expires, and where is he?
As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
So man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.

Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!

If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my change comes.
You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for the work of Your hands.
For now You number my steps,
You do not observe my sin.
My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You wrap up my iniquity"

- Job 14:1-17