I am very proud of America for electing an African-American to be president. It is a long-awaited milestone in correcting a grievous social injustice, from slavery, to segregation, suppression of economic and politic freedoms, to hard fought civil rights changes, and now to the ultimate statement in political achievement and freedom. There is still much to be done in balancing political and economic equality for all. But in the face of the intrinsic evil of abortion and the president-elect’s past legislative support for this “choice”, I wonder if maybe America has settled for correcting a great injustice for an even worse injustice?
Change is apparently coming to America. Some change is needed and is good. Some change is bad and should be avoided. It will be interesting to see how the president-elect’s proposals for universal health care will fair. I pray for measured success. The president-elect’s true measure of his morality will be seen in how adamantly he fights for his universal health care plans to include government-funded abortions.
Keep hope alive.
So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can’t, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home
It feels like I’m in Advent, waiting. (I never seem to be in sync with the current liturgical season.) I feel like an old dog trying to find a comfortable spot to lay down—he circles and circles around the same spot, but no angle quite looks comfortable enough to settle on.
I am uncomfortable in my own skin. And there is no where to go or run or do anything. Just wait.
I am not comfortable waiting. But there is no other choice. Only God can fill this God-shaped hole in me. It felt like I was standing on His shoulders back in the summer, now it feels like I’m standing on the edge.
Advent Longing
In the darkness of the season,
in the silence of Mary’s womb,
new life waits and grows.
Hope is shaped in hidden places,
on the edges, in the depths
far from the blinding lights
and deafening sounds of consumer frenzy.
In the darkness and silence of my own life,
I wait,
Iistening for the whisper of angel wings,
longing for a genuine experience of mystery,
hoping for a rekindling of joy
and the establishment of peace.
I lean into the darkness
and silence.
Expectant.
The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima has traveled the world over bringing the message of Fatima, and today she visited my school. Below is a picture of the statue in the student chapel. When one looks at Mary, like all the saints, she points to her beloved son, Jesus.
![[Statue of Our Lady of Fatima]](http://cowpi.com/journal/media/2008/our_lady_of_fatima-pilgrim_statue.jpg "International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima at Mount St. Mary High School, Oklahoma City")
O ME! O life!… of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—
of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself,
(for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—
of the objects mean—
of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—
of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—
with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—
What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.