Scripture readings for today's Mass are here.
though sometimes it is necessary
to re-teach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on the brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within; of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of the earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."
This is a really neat video that makes clever use of hand mime and the ending is cute !
Responsorial Psalm Ps 8:2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9
Response: O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
O LORD, our Lord,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth
This is a lovely Psalm and I think this poem by Galway Kinnell fits with the sentiments and joy of the Easter Season and also links well to today's Gospel.
When the troubled and hurting disciples were probably thinking that the three years of Christ's budding ministry had come to nothing, Christ came and allowed them to touch his wounds.
I can only imagine how fantastic it must have been for the disciples to do that.
That touch helped restore their wholeness and self belief as humans and in the reality that Jesus had risen from the dead.
The resurrection of Christ in our lives should also enable us to touch our own and each others wounds with care and compassion, even the familiar, overlooked or neglected parts of ourselves and others in our friends , families or communities or strangers and those on the margins who feel excluded.
This poetic image of the sow invites me to see the image of the "child piglet" in myself that needs to suckle and can sometimes be demanding of others , and another perhaps more mature view that allows others to be suckled by me in an act of more self- giving love. I am of course both piglet and adult and can switch roles all times !!
The truth of Christ's resurrection shows that His love is always there for all of us - we can be suckled and the grace of new life is always a real possibility.
But there is also His command and challenge to allow the gift of life we receive to overflow into action in the world by giving nurture and care to others.
When the troubled and hurting disciples were probably thinking that the three years of Christ's budding ministry had come to nothing, Christ came and allowed them to touch his wounds.
I can only imagine how fantastic it must have been for the disciples to do that.
That touch helped restore their wholeness and self belief as humans and in the reality that Jesus had risen from the dead.
The resurrection of Christ in our lives should also enable us to touch our own and each others wounds with care and compassion, even the familiar, overlooked or neglected parts of ourselves and others in our friends , families or communities or strangers and those on the margins who feel excluded.
This poetic image of the sow invites me to see the image of the "child piglet" in myself that needs to suckle and can sometimes be demanding of others , and another perhaps more mature view that allows others to be suckled by me in an act of more self- giving love. I am of course both piglet and adult and can switch roles all times !!
The truth of Christ's resurrection shows that His love is always there for all of us - we can be suckled and the grace of new life is always a real possibility.
But there is also His command and challenge to allow the gift of life we receive to overflow into action in the world by giving nurture and care to others.
For all who like St. Francis are able to reteach things their loveliness," I am deeply thankful.
We could all be so utterly transformed if we could spend more time gently touching each other, and retelling each other we are loved.
We could all be so utterly transformed if we could spend more time gently touching each other, and retelling each other we are loved.
Saint Francis and the Sow
The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don’t flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
stands for all things,
even for those things that don’t flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to re-teach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on the brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within; of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of the earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
and in the same vein.................
For The Beauty Of The Earth John Rutter
A great reflection on the Poem St Francis and The Sow here
Gospel Luke 24 : 35-48
The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Art by James Tissot
Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."
This is a really neat video that makes clever use of hand mime and the ending is cute !
Who Am I ?
by Casting Crowns
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