At the Mount of Beatitudes

Mount of Beatitudes, Israel
Image credit: wikimapia.org

BLESSED AT THE MOUNT OF BEATITUDES

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

At the Mount of Beatitudes

Wayne^[1] suggests we each find

a quiet spot to spend

time alone with God

so I stroll along a pathway

surrounding the church

built in the name of

the Lord’s great message

to the multitudes

In a few moments I hear baa baaing

and follow the sound to the top of a hill

with sheep and a shepherd in view below

I sit on a low wall

to watch and carefully listen

for the voice of my Shepherd

amid plaintive bleating

I, too, am one of His sheep

I, too, have things to tell him

and don’t want to miss

anything He might have to say

This is communion—

a lamb with her Shepherd

I bask awhile in sweet serenity

aware of a holy presence

as the sheep graze

and the shepherd, like Jesus

carefully tends his flock

Afterward, we pilgrims come together—

No one else heard the sheep

No one saw the shepherd

The interlude was for me alone

a gift from my God—

a simple blessing

to one little lamb He loves

Maude Carolan Pych

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[1] Wayne Monbleau—Pilgrimage leader and host of “Let’s Talk About Jesus”radio program.