By Your love

Father, everything is in Your hands. We do not see those hands, nor do we see You, and so we falter day by day, grumbling amidst Your blessings which we do not desire, because our treasures are stored in another kingdom, not in Yours. Saying we believe, we form ourselves in our own image, because we do not trust You to form us in Yours. Religion is our protection, against You.

As You know everything about us, the falseness of our prayers, the vainglory of our good deeds, the insincerity of our worship, our misguided intentions, our carefully concealed evasions, our private fantasies, everything that we do under cover of night, how can You still love us? How can You bear our shame with us, and for us? Yet You do, and for this we cannot even thank You.

Because even our thanks is only a lesson memorized. And yet You love us. Our words, our vain musings, catch Your ears, yet You promise Paradise to us who have done nothing to deserve it. All things You have arranged so wisely, even Your Divine Nature You have distributed among us so amply, raining Yourself down upon our deserts like manna. Though One, You enter our tent as Three, and we call you ‘Lord.’

Crying ‘Lord, have mercy!’ we deny Your mercy already bestowed. Praying ‘Hear our prayer’ we confess that we believe but do not trust that You hear us before we call. All our worship is without spirit and truth, O Lord, until we know for sure that thanksgiving is the only sacrifice of praise we are capable of, for all You have done, all You are doing, and all You shall do as long as the age endures.

‘Not by us, Yahweh, not by us,
by You alone is glory deserved,
by Your love and Your faithfulness.’
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Brother Francis

Brother Francis,
you spent your youth in earthly revelry,
providing generously to your companions not from your own,
but from your father’s, store of wealth.

We find that we never really change:
what we are deep inside we always remain:
it is the pattern of our being.

You also remained the same,
but you exchanged the old world for the new,
to become the herald of the age to come,
providing generously to us, once more,
not what was yours, but your Father’s.

Following your Master Jesus
as He walks in our needy world,
pray for us, and help us
to find the heavenly treasure of Paradise.
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