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Footprints
Author Unknown
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
 Song of the Sea, The
by: M. Stanley Bubien
I'm not sure why I decided to bring James, my six year old son, to the beach this morning after Church---we usually got donuts instead. Maybe because this was the first clear day in a week; or maybe we were both lonely and needed a song.
"Dad," James began as we leaned against the railing separating us from the pile of boulders forming the breakwater, "I got a question."
A wave crashed in with a thump, sending spray across my face. Inhaling the freshly-salted air, I listened as the hissing foam boiled about briefly before slowly draining out again. Thousands upon thousands of cobble stones were displaced by the flow, and they rolled with the water, clapping against each other like a distant cheering crowd. It raised in pitch until another wave thudded against the shore.
"What's your question, James?"
"I can't hear God, Dad. How do I hear God?"
I gazed down the stretch of beach skirting Highway 101. This expanse, usually covered with brilliant, fine-grained sand, had been stripped clear by recent storms, leaving only a confusion of cobbles and driftwood. Yet even buried and littered with flotsam, this remained my place of peace---for here, the song of the sea provided solace through the year since my wife's death.
"You want to hear God?" I asked as the cobbles clattered again.
James nodded and I leaned close. "Then," I whispered into his ear, "you have to really, really listen."
Another wave broke against the boulders, and I saw James inhale the salty spray.
Comprehension
by: Anthony de Mello, SJ
"Every word, every image used for God is a distortion more than a description."
"Then how does one speak of God?"
"Through Silence."
"Why, then, do you speak in words?"
At that the Master laughed uproariously He said, "When I speak, you mustn't listen to the words, my dear. Listen to the Silence."
Far as the eye could reach no tree was seen,
Earth, clad in russet, scorn'd the lively green;
No birds, except as birds of passage, flew;
No bee was heard to hum, no dove to coo;
No streams, as amber smooth, as amber clear,
Were seen to glide, or heard to warble here.
Prophecy of Famine - RobRoy by SirWalter Scott
When Jesus Christ was four years old
The angels brought Him toys of gold,
Which no man ever had bought or sold.
And yet with these He would not play.
He made Him small fowl out of clay,
And blessed them till they flew away.
Tu creasti Domine Jesus Christ,
Thou child so wise,
Bless mine hands and fill mine eyes,
And bring my soul to Paradise.
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