For the Sake of the Ten

As Abraham plead for the righteous,
and those saints who have gone before us call

I confess to you my brothers and sisters.
I have sinned.
Our nation lies in a deplorable corrupt state.
I am to blame.

I borrowed for things that I did not need.
In my comfort I gave only token gesture to
Feeding the poor,
Giving drink to the thirsty,
Clothing the naked,
Sheltering the homeless,
Visiting the sick,
Visiting the prisoner.

My stagnant, greedy spirit threw pittance,
Converting the sinner,
Instructing the ignorant,
Counseling the doubtful,
Bearing wrong patiently,
Forgiving injuries and
Praying for the living and the dead.

How could I serve you in my gluttonous state?
Intoxicated with the temporal,
my vision was obscured.
How could I forsake your abundant grace?


Before you I lie prostrate,
in shame and guilt.
with a contrite spirit,
I turn up my eyes,
and thrust forward my heart to you.
I beg your forgiveness of my debt to you,
and I forgive those who have trespassed against me.
With firm conviction,
I turn to you, and stand.
Here I am Lord, your servant.
I choose righteousness.

All you righteous ones, give answer to
His call,
Hear I am Lord.


GENESIS 18: 20-33
20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. [e] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare [f] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge [g] of all the earth do right?"

26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."

29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."

30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."

32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

Shine Forth

As darkness and gloom hover.
I seek and thirst for the Lord.
I pray for our troubled world,
and for me.
What am I afraid of?
The Lord is my light.
When I walk in the dark of the night,
the moon and the stars shine on.
When Jesus walked on Galilee,
He gazed upon the same sky.
We touch.
He lights my path
home.

A Day of Grace

It's my Saturday to work.
I slept well last night.
My husband and I had a nice breakfast.
The coffee was great.
I got a nice email from a friend whom I had been concerned about, and not heard from in months.
The weather was warm wet and blustery with the colours blowing in the wind.
I saw two turkeys strutting along in a field on the way to work.
Work was pleasant.
I had a nice phone conversation with my daughter.
I received an upbeat letter from my son who is a marine Corps Recruit in basic training-he's going to church!
I took a nice walk with the dog.
On that walk
I prayed,
and heat of the sun fell squarely on the tightness
between my shoulder blades relaxing them and giving me comfort.
A healing touch that I didn't ask for.
Another son is coming for a visit tonight.
My soul feels
gratitude.

See, darkness covers the earth,

and thick clouds cover the peoples,

Conscience marks the ballot
Election over.
Majority decision made.
Dust settles.
In the bleakness of our present state,
We lie in wait, in hope, in anticipation.
Yearning to see God's hand,
Thirsting for His strokes of comfort for us
and rescue for the voiceless and oppressed.
Who has known the Mind of God?
He dwells not in the politics of this world,
but in the souls of His faithful.
Sin is not erased by laws or politicians.
By God's grace alone,
it is crushed in changed hearts,
with Perfect Love.

but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Isaiah 60:2

How cool it is to be faithful.

For the Rest of My Tomorrows

The rest of my life.
I'm not a great planner.
It's not likely that I'll ever be the founder of a noble cause.
My vision is limited to here and now.
My service is mostly to those whom I may encounter in my daily life.
At my job as a nurse.
At the grocery store.
At the side of a friend.
At home.
I sin, so
I pray.
I pray a lot.
I pray for the grace to always see Christ in the faces of others,
and I pray for discernment that my actions be pleasing to God.
I'm a one by one girl.
Mother Teresa is my hero and role model.
With her example before me,
by the Grace of God,
for the rest of my tomorrows,
I have a plan.

A Godmother's Prayer.

His name is Andy and I am proud to be his godmother.
On May 9, in the Year of Our LORD, two thousand eight, at the age of 13 ,Andy began his new life with Jesus and all of the angels and saints in Heaven.

When a body is given the privilege of being a godparent he is charged with the responsibility of of supporting and bearing witness to the faith development of the child. I loved the special "holy" gifts and offering up prayers for all of my godchildren. I hoped for them all to be inspired by my faith I imagined them giving testimony of my example at the celebration of my mass of the resurrection.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one of them would witness to me the way to walk the walk. I never thought that I would be the one proclaiming Scripture at their memorial service. But that is, in fact, what came to pass.

God spoke to Andy. Without hesitation and in the purest of faith, Andy passed it on.
"melesureJ dogevoL"
"Love God, Jerusalem"
When you think about it, it really does encompass all that is good.

Shortly after Andy's homecoming a poster on his website cited all of the child saints and suggested that even though Andy is not formally canonized he can surely pray with us and for us in his state of grace.

Recently I attended a concert that was part of Christian Singer Sara Groves' Art*Music*Justice Tour. Sara Groves' music speaks very deeply to Andy's mother, Eileen. Her songs of hope have ushered Eileen to the first baby steps of healing from the depths of her grief. Eileen, my brother Jim and their children had the opportunity to meet with Sara prior to the concert and tell her of Andy's great faith. At the concert Sara spoke of the faithful souls that have gone before us. She said that they had finished the race and crossed the finish line. Before us they are, cheering us on. "I can see Andy is right there along with all the others", she said.

This past August a veil of sadness over Andy's loss darkened my heart as it does from time to time. Now August is the month of my birth, and this year I turned fifty. I was taking a walk and I decided to talk to Andy.

"Andy,please pray for me. Talk to God, and send me the perfect thing to smile about."

Andy loved frogs and used acronym F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely On God). I am fond of red hair and Andy and I had joked about my "naturally red hair". When I arrived home from the walk, a little RED frog was in our driveway. My family will all testify to it. It is pictured right here on this post. The frog lingered in our driveway and garage for a few weeks. The last we saw of him was early September. He made me smile. A Lot! I am blessed indeed.

After Sara Groves had called on the image of saints cheering us on she led into her next song by "O I want to be in that number...."

So do I, Sara.
So do I.

Peace and All Good