OPreach
Dominican Preaching through Word and Image
Tag: poetry
May Christmas Come
May Christmas Come by Alan Jones The rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem, still waits to come to term. Christmas comes and goes as we expect. Nothing changes. This year in New York, Jerusalem and Kabul, the Innocents are slaughtered according to Herod’s schedule. His… Continue Reading “May Christmas Come”
The Second Coming
This poem by Yeats is very dark indeed. Yeats lived from 1865 to 1939 – some of those days must have seemed apocalyptic to many. In spite of the problems in our world, though, we continue to live in hope. Advent is the time… Continue Reading “The Second Coming”
The Christmas Tapestry
The Christmas Tapestry By Michael Hare Duke The humdrum duties of the land, feeding the beasts, mucking out the straw provide the dull hessian background of the Christmas scene. Suddenly the tapestry is lit by glory’s gold and smirched by red threads of violence.… Continue Reading “The Christmas Tapestry”
The Slip
I love Wendell Berry’s poetry, so I was delighted to find this in the Advent collection on Education for Justice. The river takes the land, and leaves nothing. Where the great slip gave way in the bank and an acre disappeared, all human plans… Continue Reading “The Slip”
Prayer: A Progression
This Jessica Powers poem was found on the Education for Justice website. Prayer: A Progression You came by night, harsh with the need of grace, into the dubious presence of your Maker. You combed a small and pre-elected acre for some bright word of… Continue Reading “Prayer: A Progression”
Mary Oliver’s Wisdom
Making the House Ready for the Lord By Mary Oliver Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but still nothing is as shining as it should be for you. Under the sink, for example, is an uproar of mice –it is the… Continue Reading “Mary Oliver’s Wisdom”
Weekly Photo Challenge: Grand
Can there be anything more grand than the magnificent mountains?! And we are fortunate in California to have one of the grandest mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevadas. Its grandest and tallest peak is the tallest in the contiguous 48 states, Mt. Whitney, and it… Continue Reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: Grand”
Advent Calendar
I remember the Advent Calendar of my childhood. Mother would pull it out of the box of decorations every year, and every day I would open a new window or door and see the delightful picture behind it. I don’t recall that it felt… Continue Reading “Advent Calendar”
How Do We Prepare?
Advent 1955 By John Betjeman The Advent wind begins to stir With sea-like sounds in our Scotch fir, It’s dark at breakfast, dark at tea, And in between we only see Clouds hurrying across the sky And rain-wet roads the wind blows dry And… Continue Reading “How Do We Prepare?”
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