| |
Submit Your Creative Work
The St. Francis Parish Communications Committee of the Parish Council invites you to submit your own creative work–fiction,
nonfiction, poetry, photography, artwork--related to your spiritual journey for possible inclusion in a new feature called,
“From the Pews” that will appear in parish publications.
For reasons of space, we ask that submissions be no longer than 500 words. All work will be reviewed and may be edited by the
Communications Committee for space or clarity.
All submissions must contain a name and contact information and can be sent via:
- eMail:
Send an email to
ComCom@stfrancisparish.com.
Please indicate if you would like to remain anonymous.
- US Mail:
Attn: Communications Committee
St. Francis of Assisi Parish
1066 26th Street
Sacramento, CA 95816
View Submitted Work (Revised: 10/30)
Here are some of the submissions we received from people who attend St. Francis of Assisi Parish.
We will continue to post more submissions in the future.
|
Let the Great Mission burn
I'll step down from this cross
Let my wrists be unbound from leather
Let the wailing begin
And the gold trumpet sound
Let the Saints sing out a new chorus
Let River run free with the flowing of tears
Let the moonlight then welcome my sleep
Let the joy of this day remind me of god
Let me walk a new path in his light.
C. Ladd |
|
The Dance
It is primordial
It joins us as we were joined
once before
Divisions fall away
Illusions disappear
Horizons open up
Memory returns
The Dance
It is primordial
Sue Kenney |
|
"Be still and know that I am God."
With these words You call me out of mindlessness
to walk the trackless hills in search of You.
It is said that "to reach Him whom you do not know
you must go by a way you do not know."
And with the first step your child is lost.
These hills are dark
and I have nothing of my own to guide me
but the light that burns in my heart.
God, You are beyond my knowing, beyond my most clever plans.
But I believe that if my desire to please You is true,
You will make smooth the road before me.
Just as Moses entered the thick darkness in search of You,
so I walk this endless dream towards home.
Beyond the darkness of faith, beyond and behind the clouds,
into the unambiguous light of Your presence.
If I am still, You
will rise mysteriously out of this dream
and like my next breath be upon me, holding me fast.
Deliver me from the burdens of self
and number me among the little children of whom is Heaven.
May the light of your stars shine upon me.
May the rolling thunder pronounce my name.
Lay Your hands upon me, Lord.
Your child awaits.
Gently lay Your hands.
-by Jumping Mouse |
|
Heart Light
My heart reaches towards God
in slow, tentative beats,
its doors creaking gradually & fearfully open.
The yearning to feel is matched by the equal desire
to hide in this soft, dark space,
reveling in unnoticed glory.
Such supposed solitude
(those ubiquitous footsteps . . .)
is safely familiar and deceptively peaceful.
No questions here
to disturb the floating silence;
comfortable darkness blankets all.
My journey, though, continues onward
and love’s bright beams
slip into my chamber, blindingly bright.
My eyes blink through the dazzle,
fearful of this painful glimmering,
yearning for my dusky shell.
Timidly I reach toward a gleaming strand,
so sure my touch will pass right through,
and prove it merely air.
Warmth and light and solid steel
wrap round me tightly
in momentary embrace,
then slip away,
leaving me to wonder
if my senses were in error.
My heart settles, less comfortably,
in darkness once again,
contemplating the lightness of love.
Dana L. Swears |
Jacob's Well
Come here, Precious!
Sit on Jacob's well with me.
Put your head on My Shoulder
and let Me
Give you
a drink.
Life giving water
Washes you clean
Stops the thirst.
Let your Hair down and lean on me
I am a Friend you can wear pajamas with.
I can carry this.
The bright sunlight
Filtering through the shadows of your life
Is Beautiful
And Beauty
comes from My Father.
Let this hold you.
Leave your past in the dust.
Catch My Eyes
And stay in the gaze
Until the fear leaves you
And the trembling stops.
You are not going to drown here
And this is not going to kill Me.
And My Love for you
Is not a joke
At your expense.
A St. Francis Parishioner |
|
The Leper and Brother Francis
This strange little poor man
Embraced me today.
I thought, "He is out of his mind!" His God is so good
That he saw Christ in me. To sores and to stench he was blind.
And,
He did not bother to run from my bell,
which announces "pariah" to all who are well
And,
I have been denying I missed someone's embrace!
And,
I'd almost forgotten a kind human face!
My heart's
Become metal so sores would not kill it
And,
I'd almost forgotten the life that ran through it. Then--
He touched my skin!
He touched my soul!
It had to be God!
Something broken, seen Whole
I forgot the rejection, and most of the pain;
The power of that God-love left me suddenly changed. I trusted,
Reached back, and he did not recoil.
He wasn't pretending, healing like Holy Oil.
I reached for my peers and forgot who I was.
I went from "the Other" to Someone God Loves.
Saw Christ in myself-too good to be true-
And,
wonder of wonders,
I see Christ
In you.
I hope you don't mind a small handshake; you see,
The love inside Francis
is now part of me.
A St. Francis Parishioner |
|
Soaring
I let my prayer soar like incense
up into the sky,
sleepily seeking the One who created me.
I let my prayer burst skywards
like fireworks, desperately reaching
towards the One who nurtures me.
I let my prayer fly like a high-flying bird,
aiming towards the sun
of your created Being.
I let my prayer soar
like the Spirit who inspired it
and it leads me right into your loving arms.
Dana L. Swears |
|
|
|
