Happy Independence Day to the United States of America! On this day of patriotic reflection, let us take a moment to enjoy a poem by Thornton Bancroft Penfield. For his beautiful poem, a national hymn, and for words from Pope John Paul II, on his farewell address to America, please click on the image. Peace be with you!
God loves sleep. He made it. We should too because it's for our good. In sleep, let us refresh our bodies and refresh our soul. For more about what we can learn about sleep and our physical and spiritual need for restfulness, please click on the image. Peace be with you!
For those who've been to sea, to sea in open water far from land, and who have encountered storms face-to-face with the fury and force of nature, it is then that you recognize how powerless you are in the vast expanse of water that surrounds you. You are at the mercy of the destructive force of winds and wave. In the Psalms we read an image of such force that causes men to cry out to their Lord in their distress. Such is it with the storms of life. Some storms can be seen from a distance closing in. Other storms are upon us suddenly, like a fearsome squall. It's said the sea can make a man see the face of his God. In such moments of intense helplessness a man knows he's entered the limits of his own power and is at the mercy of God. We see this relationship of Man, God, and Mercy on display in this Edward Hopper poem, and from the Psalmist in the Book of Psalms (Ps 107). Click on the image. I hope you will enjoy. Peace be with you!
Born into a devout High Church Anglican family, Gerard Manley Hopkins is considered one of the greatest poets of the Victorian era. Alas, he encountered the Catholic Church's teachings; then his love of Jesus and the Virgin Mother brought him to Catholicism, then the Society of Jesus, as a Jesuit Catholic priest.
