Category Archives: Devotional

My case is null and void. I have nothing to say. At best I have my weak excuses, At worst I have my lies. And all the words against me lie Pinned up to the church’s wall; Every word the satan breaths Says of me what is true: That there is not in this worldContinue reading “Justification (For Martin Luther and Other Continental Reformers)”

Thus we behold two illustrious Apostles contented scarcely to be mentioned in Holy Scripture: which celestial partial eclipse is followed up by their sharing one Festival between them. (Christina Rossetti, Time Flies: A Reading Diaryj) My zeal clamours for heaven, Grabs it with its fists, Wrestles glory to make it mine, Steals the horizon andContinue reading “Eclipsed (For Simon the Zealot and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs)”

Not all our of causes are lost; Not all that are lost are beyond recovery. Not all who stumble will stay down; Not all who rebel have hard hearts. Not all who loom over fire are yet burned; Not all doubt is unbelief. Not all who believe will stand firm; Not every cloud brings rain.Continue reading “Lost Causes (For Saint Jude)”

Bless the Lord at all times: Though somehow the pain of blessing May cut through you with its sword; In your days of fear and anguish, Bless the Lord. Seek His face in every time: When you see Him clearly and When the sun obscures your gaze; On the days of desert wandering, Seek HisContinue reading “In Convertendo Dominus (Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost)”

The naive child longs for peace; The knowing adult smiles in condescension. The dreamer in the flowers hopes For that which realists know can’t be. And all the wisdom of each age Says what goes and what falls flat And takes the pin to all fond hopes, Bubbles burst with age and growth. And progressContinue reading “Yet This Beacon Glimmers (For the United Nations)”

If I see myself reflected – All my guilt and all my shame – How can I help but weep to see What I am before Him? If I look Him in the eye – Him, the brother that I scorned – Can I bear to hold my gaze? Can I let Him see me?Continue reading “The Mirror (For James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr)”

I am in the process of going back and writing some poems that I missed earlier in the year, so that the final collection of these liturgical poems can start and finish as neatly as possible. Here is one for April 3 of this year. More Clearly, More Dearly, More Nearly (For Richard of Chichester)Continue reading “More Clearly, More Dearly, More Nearly (For Richard of Chichester”

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forContinue reading “Ecclesia (Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost)”

Lord, shew me myself; nothing but “wounds and bruises, and putrifying sores,” and teach me to live by faith on Christ my all. (From the journals of Henry Martyn, January 1803) He gave himself – That mass of sores And deadweight heavy on his heart; He dragged this weary weight around, And, manacled, could sometimesContinue reading “The Weight and the Sufficiency (For Henry Martyn, Translator and Martyr)”

Because there are so many stories Rattling through the winds of time, So many heroes’ many legends, Many tall tales, many lies; Because so many hotly contest What, how and who is the truth, Because so many make their claims, And so many yet will say That here He is and this is He, ThatContinue reading “An Orderly Account (For Luke the Evangelist and Martyr)”