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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Empty Hands

God always pours His grace into empty hands. ~St. Augustine

I sometimes find my hands too full, holding all the moments that charm me, claim me, constrain me, conceal me. Sometimes I hold to them in fear that I will lose them or not find them again. Then, sometimes I hold to them in joy for the same reasons. Either way, I hold to them tightly, hands full! Only when I lay them at the altar, in confession or celebration, can I open my hands to the Holy Father. The vivid imagery that comes to my mind is kneeling with my hands empty, palms up, and knowing His grace falls gently to me. Holy Father, may we know Your Glory in our every moment. ~ dho

Monday, October 01, 2007

O my soul . . .

Psalm 103 ~ The Message

O my soul, bless GOD! From head to toe, I'll bless His holy name!
O my soul, bless GOD, don't forget a single blessing!
He forgives your sins - every one
He heals your diseases - every one
He redeems you from hell - saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy - a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness - beauty eternal.
He renews your youth - you're always young in His presence.
God makes everything come out right. He puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how He went about His work, opened up His plans to all Israel.
GOD is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, He's rich in love.
He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is His love to those who [revere] Him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset, He has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children, GOD feels for those the [revere] Him.
He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we're made of [dust].
Men and women don't live very long; like wild flowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here.
GOD's love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who [revere] Him,
Making everything right for them and their children as they follow His Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever He said.
GOD has set His throne in heaven; He rules over us all. He's the King!
So bless GOD, you angels, ready and able to fly at His bidding, quick to hear and do what He says.
Bless GOD, all you armies of angels, alert to respond to whatever He wills.
Bless GOD, all creatures, wherever you are - everything and everyone made by GOD.
And you, O my soul, bless GOD!

". . . Possibility discovered the unexpected, assumed the predictable and hoped the impossible. Of all the routines possibility choreographed, His unforced rhythms of grace* became my favorite. This dance revealed the heights, depths, widths and strength of His Amazing Grace. Too high for words, too deep for tears, too wide to grasp, too strong to fail, He held me in all circumstances ~ good and bad, easier and harder, known and unknown. Mercy reached through, beyond my human fraility, and Grace restored my soul." dho excerpt from my devotional journal ~ 10/8/06 * Matthew 11:29 (The Message)

In memorial ~ Mary Sue Howell October 7, 1929 ~ October 1, 2006