J. Randal Matheny

The deluge of news in the world, via our constant connectedness to the Internet, depresses the soul with the perverseness and maliciousness of man. The disciple of Christ protects his mind. He guards his soul from corrupting influences. He keeps away from the negativity. While he engages the people of the world, he raises high barriers against its perspective.

So today's poem focuses on the things — shall we be more precise? — on the One from whom all good and righteousness flow.

The meter is unusual for me, seven feet, which connotes the crowded negative and twisted media that presses in upon us.

Three stanzas were written some days ago. The third, below, was added this morning.

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Sometimes we spend more time talking about proofs for the existence of #God than we do proving his presence in our lives to those who need to hear the #gospel.

I may use this verse for a near-future devotional:

I am Yahweh, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another
or My praise to idols. (Isa 42.8 HCSB)

A bit ironic that most translations put LORD in the place of his name.

We are the generation of causes — whales, trees, petroleum, pets, and passing meteorites — because we have rejected the First Cause. #causes

The head of the Roman church had a good sermon — I liked this part especially — until the last line.

What is the image we have of God? Perhaps he appears to us as a severe judge, as someone who curtails our freedom and the way we live our lives. But the Scriptures everywhere tell us that God is the Living One, the one who bestows life and points the way to fullness of life. I think of the beginning of the Book of Genesis: God fashions man out of the dust of the earth; he breathes in his nostrils the breath of life, and man becomes a living being (cf. 2:7). God is the source of life; thanks to his breath, man has life. God’s breath sustains the entire journey of our life on earth.

Source: Pope: Homily at Mass for Evangelium Vitae Day [full text]