By Martha C. Bartholomew, O.P.A. Sinsinawa Like Elijah, reclusive Elijah turning prophet We stand at the doors of our caves Say we'll never forget The "earthquake, the wind and the fire" The Tsunami, Katrina, the burning city. The burning desire for quenching relief. "After the earthquake, the wind and the fire" Yet in a still small voice onward comes our God. Listen! Stop! See! See: The Emperor has no clothes. See: Humpty Dumpty, fallen from the wall built upon the backs of the poor. The mortar of greed crumbles All the king's horses and all the king's men cannot - must not- put him together again. We stand at the doors of our caves Assigned to remember the sacrifice. We step out, Elijahs called to scan the sky in our moral drought. Again, there comes a small white cloud a moist flag of hope on the horizon. Will thunder announce rain to quench the fires of greed, rage, violence? Our own! It spills, the levy is breached. No single hand can staunch this flow of water - of blood. Together we stand-listen-hear the still small voice Become its crescendo Never again to enter reclusive caves Innocence and pretense are shattered Here in us is the slumbering God awakened to become the soul Clothed for action for all. We body forth into the world where we belong Building for and with one another Upon the firm foundation of love Out-distancing fear with compassion. From these burning tear moistened ashes of war and nature's fury the Phoenix will again rise- Free to fly, or be maimed, its wings bound by our hesitations. Will we allow it to lift us from fatal despair? Awakened again, we stand with Elijah, recluse turned prophet, Awake at the doors of our caves, Challenged to beget a legacy of blessing.
The Reservoir By Rosemary Loomis, O.P. Te Deum and Dies lrae - prayers in song; The Lord is My Shepherd and Out of the Dcpths - prayers in psalm; words that uplift and praise, words of pleadinq and humility - all ring familiar. Prayer postures, prayer rituals. prayerful reflections - ancient, traditional, spontaneous - invoke a Power greater than ourselves. But our heart's prayer is where we meet as one. The receptacle of our heart receives the divine voice, the divine whispers, the divine presence, in a holy communion. It is in the heart-place where our prayer is born; where we welcome divinity into our lives, and cement our union in magnificent Exsultets - and the reservoir is full.