The serious and sometimes satirical reflections of a priest, poet, and pilgrim —
who knowing he has not obtained the goal, presses on in a Godward direction.
Fished from the ocean of compassion,
baked in the oven of his heart,
broken, given; in like fashion
may I do my part:
catching the fish you have provided,
baking the bread from grain you give,
sharing with all the gifts, divided
that we all might live.
—Tobias Haller BSG
“a clear-sighted companion.... If you are passionate about the vitality of today’s church, I encourage you to accompany him on his mystagogical excursion into the liturgical landscape. You will rediscover a familiar place rife with fresh provisions planted by the God who longs to feed our deepest hungers and hopes.” —Jay Koyle, chair, Faith, Worship and Ministry of The Anglican Church of Canada
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4 comments:
Tobias, this is good, quite moving. Is Grace a person, or do you ask for the gift of grace? And you rhyme! I don't believe I could do that, but my muse visits so infrequently that it's hard to say.
Thanks GM. In this time of so much tension and seeking after self, I keep trying to remind myself what is really important in the church.
I do like rhyming verse, especially when I'm in a lyrical mood. (I thought this one might make a decent song...) But I also appreciate free verse, and even more blank verse (I guess it's my Shakespearean ack-tor background.)
I meant grace as a gift, but now you mention it, I think Grace is a person, and you know of Whom I speak ;-)
Tobias, yes.
And I see that you're feline now. When our cat-hating dog goes to dog heaven, I want to return to being owned by a cat.
Dear Fr Tobias,
I am Fr James Mulligan, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Auckland in New Zealand.
May I please have your permission to reproduce your poem "Loaves and Fishes - a poem for grace" that you wrote in 2007? I am about to publish a Book of Reflections on the Sunday readings for Year A, entitled "Mulligan's Musings". I have acknowledged your authorship and I would be grateful to write, "used with the author's permission". I would be very grateful!
Please contact me on father.mulligan@gmail.com, at your earliest convenience.
I trust that this request will meet with a favourable response.
Many Thanks,
Fr. James Mulligan
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