Tag: bible

Virgin Mother Mary

O Mary, virgin in God’s house,
May we our own vocations fill
As you’re forever Spirit’s spouse
And in God’s plan are virgin still.

Forever Mother of God’s Son,
You as a virgin always share
In birth by Spirit of each one
Who needs your mother’s tender care.

Your virgin’s hands and heart now bear
The life of each by Spirit sired,
For wedding garment you still wear
As mother of each new-born child.

On cross your Son to all us gave,
A virgin to our mother be—
Each one unique by Spirit made,
Like you a once-made specialty.

O Virgin Mary, be our guide
As with your mother’s hands you show
The gifts unique in each abide,
Configured there in shape you know.

May each of us then take the place
That’s made for each of us alone
In house with Mother, full of grace
And always virgin in God’s home.

Our Shepherd’s Voice

Our Shepherd’s voice is strong and clear
And travels down the length of time
As through the Church to us draws near
Through bishop with the bread and wine.

Through hands laid on we hear His voice
With Confirmation’s baptized ears,
And know that Jesus made the choice
To speak in words that we can hear.

His human words through bishop speaks
And through His pastors to our hearts;
We recognize the one who seeks
With Jesus’ truth to us impart.

As sheep we know a pastor false
Whose honeyed words will make no sense;
We separate the wheat and dross
And know the pastors Jesus sent.

We hunger for His truth in words
That live in Body and His Blood,
And we can recognize our Lord
As we ‘neath cross with Mary stood.

The pastors false deny His cross
And never will deny themselves,
So, in the end, they will be lost,
For they refuse His truth to tell. 

Cloaked in Humility

We long to be inside that gate
     So we can know God’s love
Where Tree of Life for us awaits
     And we can look above. 

But we too often  have looked down—
     In pride we’ve taken charge—
And in our sins our hope is drowned
     As sinful self enlarged.

Our god becomes our human strength
    But find it cannot lift
Ourselves from mire in which we sink
     And cry for Spirit’s gift. 

And then from where we wish to be
     One comes in heaven’s cloak,
A garment of humility,
     From inside out it soaks.

For heart of Him within is great
     And colors what’s without;
In Him there is no room for hate
     Nor is their any doubt.

He for us is God’s Truth and Way—
     The Life for which we’ve longed—
God’s Word for us has final say
    For to Him we belong.

Humility casts out our sin—
     In Him we are sin free—
And gate is opened, we step in
     To eat of His Life Tree.

We feast on risen Body, Blood—
     At last we truly live—
His key to gate is Holy Rood,
     And Paradise He gives. 

God’s Three

A husband and his wife await
     The birth of God’s own Son
Who comes to us through heaven’s gate:
     Those three are also one.

Our human family now remade
     In Holy Family three–
Brings light in dark to Eden’s shade
     To make us all sin free.

Of One above their likeness here
     Shows three they also are.
By them in Baby they draw near;
     We’re guided by a Star. 

God’s Three to stable summon us
     As two now three become;
Their Baby is the One we trust
     To take us safely home.

We join with Angels, Shepherds, Wise
     To sing our human praise;
We’ll once again see heaven’s skies
     And live in endless days.

With Him in crib again we lie
     And rise with Him from tomb;
Our sinful selves will with Him die,
     Be born from Mary’s womb.

A new creation of us springs
     From Trinity above;
Through Holy Family’s open ring
     We’re raised to endless love. 

HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY

Mended Hearts

In Advent we of sin take stock,
     For soon we’ll see the Lord
And don’t want sin our hearts to block
     From mercy’s cleansing sword.

We know our hearts will pruning need
     By two-edged sword, His Word,
To open us to Blood He bleeds
     In us, a cleansing flood.

From Bethlehem to Calvary
     He cleanses us within,
As new-born He now makes us free:
     Our life begins again.

We hand-in-hand to glory go
     With mended hearts made strong
By Him who’s raised so we can know
     With Him we all belong. 

A Warrior’s Sword

His Cross becomes a warrior’s sword,
     And with it death was slain;
Both sin and death now know their Lord
     Who one of us became.

His purpose was to cut the chains
     Of sin bound us to death;
To freedom for us all proclaim–
     Restore His Eden’s health.

For sin and death infected earth
     When we in Adam fell,
And all creation needs re-birth
     To save all from death’s knell.

Now Jesus rises from the dead
     In grave Old Eden leaves;
And He is now exalted head—
     New Eden His breath breathes.

His Spirit creates new again
     And Paradise re-born;
A world forever free of sin,–
     No longer we’re forlorn.