I Love Pentecost...

One of the things I personally love about Pentecost & Shevout

is that I get to celebrate TWO birthdays this week...

my natural birthday and my spiritual birthday!

Chag Shevout/Pentecost Sameach!

ACTS, CHAPTER 2

Sometimes—

when I read my Bible

I imagine myself

there, in the rumpled, dog-eared pages

where and when remarkable things

were happening

For instance—

Oh, I wish I could’ve been

in the room that morning in Jerusalem

on the Day of Pentecost

when an astonishing sound

of rushing wind came from Heaven

and filled the place with the Holy Spirit

wish I could’ve been among

the crowd of bewildered people

clutching garments and belongings

securing food baskets and money bags

amid the sound of whirring wind

wondering what was going on

I would’ve seen with startled eyes

blazing tongues of fire appear

then split and rest above us all

would’ve heard the Galileans

miraculously uttering languages

they did not know

proclaiming good news

to people of every nation

Oh, joy! Euphoria!

I would’ve heard

preposterous ridicule and accusations

that we were drunk with wine

Drunk with wine so early in the morning!

Had I been there, I would’ve seen

Peter stand with his brethren

and quote the prophet Joel

and speak of Jesus

Crucifixion, Resurrection

and call us to repent

and finally, would’ve witnessed

three thousand souls receive salvation

and I would’ve been in that number

Oh! How great that would’ve been

How exciting to imagine

but, I didn’t need to be there

God had other plans—

On another Holy Pentecost

His Spirit came to rest on me

just as surely as it did

on the early believers

in Jerusalem, that day

and just the same as they

I have been changed

forever

Maude Carolan Pych

Special for Memorial Day...

A Poem for Memorial Day

Image credit: wfmj.com

Flashback to 2003...

MY ADOPTED SOLDIER

For Cpl. R. J. Roberts, USMC

America At War In Iraq – March 2003

The message on my computer screen

said click on The Presidential Prayer Team –

the Adopt Our Troops link

and be given a soldier to pray for

until the end of the war

I don't know any soldiers

stationed in Iraq, personally

soldiers who startled us with Shock & Awe

soldiers who endured stinging sand

blazing days and shivery desert nights

Don't know any who engaged in combat

manned planes, copters, and tanks

or risked biological warfare

during that arduous trek to Baghdad

Don't know any at all

so I clicked on the website

…but was unable to access the link

When the morning paper arrived

the front page held a full-color photo

of a British medic

examining a newborn Iraqi baby

cradled in a cardboard box

with the flaps torn off

I placed my hand upon the soldier

Jesus, bring him home, whole

laid my hand upon the infant

O Lord, please have him grow up

safe and strong

in a land free of terror…

At work, later that morning

a co-worker approached my counter

softly singing a hymn

How lovely to hear singing

in times like these, I remarked

My son left Tuesday, she said

Our eyes locked

mother to mother

I'd like to adopt your son, I told her

I'll pray for him every day

until he comes home

He is a Marine, she said

serving in the air delivery platoon

Cpl. R. J. Roberts

He'll be on the ground

distributing supplies in Iraq

I know he'll return

Our pastor prophesied

a few years ago

that R. J. will become a preacher

He's not a preacher yet…

though I suppose

there's a very good chance

he may be preaching right now

When I got home

I fastened a yellow ribbon

to my front porch railing

Maude Carolan

Communion at Home

Photo by Maude
Enhanced by Maria Esteves

CELEBRATING COMMUNION AS WE SHELTER-IN-PLACE

We’re still sheltering-in-place

during the Covid-19 pandemic

and missing, among other things

our church family

in spite of live-stream services

Our pastor announced

we’d celebrate Communion

during a prayer meeting

to be held over a conference call

on Tuesday morning

We’d need to have unleavened bread

and the fruit of the vine

to fully participate

I didn’t have any matzoh in the house

and don’t go into stores these days

so I simply mixed a little flour, water and

olive oil, kneaded it a bit

and rolled it out as thin as I could

I pricked it all over with a fork

and lifted it onto a baking sheet

The oven temperature was so hot

it caused the fire alarm to blare

so I opened windows

and turned on the fan

The flatbread quickly

browned and blistered

I flipped it over

to brown on the other side

In a few moments it was finished

I thought of the Hebrew women

who’d been sheltering-in-place

during another difficult time in history

Thought of them packing up

their unleavened dough

and kneading bowls

preparing for a journey

as their husbands

applied lamb’s blood to the lintels

of their homes, and they waited

for the Angel of Death

to pass over them

I placed a few broken pieces of matzoh

on a special plate depicting a mosaic

of the miracle of the loaves and fishes

and took two tiny olive wood cups

out of the china cabinet, souvenirs

from a Communion service

held at the Garden Tomb

during our pilgrimage there in 2006

Our pastor began the blessing

over the bread

Baruch atah Adonai

Elohainu Melech ha Olam…

We partook of the bread

and the fruit of the vine

in a Communion connecting us

with God and His protection

over His people

spanning millenniums

and millenniums

Maude Carolan Pych

5/14/2020

My Mom is in Heaven...

In Memory of My Dear Mother,

Frances Longo Walsh...

Frances Longo Walsh

Mother Wasn't Fancy, But...

she’d sit at the kitchen table

in her bib-front apron

and cut slits into the radish tops

making them look like

little red roses

and present the tiny beauties

on a plate on the dinner table

Mother wasn’t fancy, but

she’d peel a cucumber

then take a fork

and score the length

all the way around

then slice it into discs

that looked like edible flowers

and toss them into the salad

Mother didn’t fuss with baking, either

but she’d stir some chocolate pudding

in a pot on the stove

layer it alternately

with graham crackers

in a square pan

put it in the refrigerator to set

and call it icebox cake

On Saturday evenings

we’d all be in the parlor

huddled on the sofa

or curled up in the overstuffed chairs

watching television

She’d disappear into the kitchen

and assemble toasted English muffins

with a dollop of tomato sauce

a slice of mozzarella

and perhaps slivers of pepperoni

put it under the broiler

for a few minutes

then present us with a tantalizing platter

of English muffin pizzas

or she’d take store-bought shortcakes

fill them with a scoop of ice cream

top them with strawberries

and maybe a squirt of whipped cream

and voila…

Nothing fancy—

Mother wasn’t a bit fancy

but she certainly had a fancy

for simple family love

Maude Carolan Pych

Let Us Pray...

Now, More Than Ever...Let Us Pray!

Image credit: english.stackexchange.com

WILL I LOVE ENOUGH TO PRAY?

Someone told me you’ve been ailing,

that the medication’s failing

to bring the healing that you seek.

You are scared and you’ve been crying,

you’re afraid that you are dying

and the faith you have is so weak.

I can tell you I sympathize,

even attempt to be quite wise,

cajole you and go on my way,

but the question of the hour

is will I turn my heel and cower

or will I love enough to pray?

A young man has just been sharing

that his wife is overbearing

and he can’t take it anymore.

He said he met a gal somewhere

and they are having an affair,

tossing his vows right out the door!

I may advise him to be strong,

say infidelity is wrong,

bring in a counselor today;

but the question that I ponder

is will I just weep and wonder,

or will I love enough to pray?

A close friend has been criticized

by a neighbor she despises.

Getting even is what she yearns.

She says she hates her in heart,

of forgiveness she’ll have no part.

Oh, how her words of anger burn!

I can attempt to intervene,

may even be the go-between,

tell them there is a better way.

I might speak of sin and leaven,

bellow, "Seventy times seven!"

but will I love enough to pray?

When a situation’s stormy,

I can seek Thee or ignore Thee,

use worldly wisdom come what may...

Though advice may have some merit,

I must look up, not to blur it;

mindful, there is a higher way.

Some will look at me quite oddly,

still, I must try something Godly…

I'll do it…love enough to pray!

Maude Carolan