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From the Pastor&
I recently read this poem and used it for my meditation. I found it quite powerful for several reasons. Maybe you could use it this week for your Advent prayer time.
Virgin's Lullaby
Rest, my child,
they cannot hurt you,
safely here within my womb.
Feel my hands, they long to hold you,
while these soft-sung lullabies enfold you,
safely here within my womb.
Grow, my child, to budding boyhood.
Let love's lifeblood give you strength.
Nine warm months are yours for feeding
at the center of my being.
What awaits you in the brightness
of the daylight and the moon?
A father--tender, strong and wise;
loving kinsmen;
conquering Romans;
rocks to climb on;
games to play;
Sabbath candles;
Sabbath day;
shouts of laughter;
threats of doom;
and that day...
when I will wish you
safe again within the womb.
By D.D. Dalman
As Catholic Christians we follow the WAY of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not grow up in a vacuum. Like the rest of us, he grew up in a home with a mother and father. He BELONGED to a family. One's parent is really one's first friend. One's longest first friend. No friend we will ever meet on life's journey will have been so interested or committed to us. No other friend will have known our first step or our first smile or our first tear. No other friend will know us through and through in such an intimate manner as to call us by our name--a parent is one who calls us by name for the first time.
In the gospel we read, "Learn from me," said Jesus, "because I am gentle and humble in spirit." The WAY of Jesus Christ calls us to be gentle: gentlemen and gentlewomen. Today, violence is more popular than gentleness. Television has given it a widespread audience, because it gets big Nielson ratings. All of this has taken its toll on us. It is our dubious honor to have coined such expressions as "battered woman" and "abused child." Families reflect the violence of our age: we shout, kick things, throw things, and sadly, even strike one another.
Jesus grew up in a family. His parents nurtured and taught him to be a gentle human being. Re-read the gospels and see how he taught gentleness& e.g the woman caught in adultery, the story of the Prodigal Son, the parable of the lost sheep. The WAY is about peace and gentleness with everyone and all of creation.
Don't you think he learned a lot from Mary and Joseph? As we prepare to celebrate the birth in history of the Prince of Peace can we slow down, be quiet, reflect on the real meaning of our lives, and be gentle with one another& especially our children who are growing up in an age of violence. As Jesus learned from Mary and Joseph, may our children learn from all of us who call ourselves disciples of the Gentle Savior.
Fr. Bill
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