#jessica-powers — Public Fediverse posts

Quote of the day, 4 January: Jessica Powers

I went into the Christmas cave;
there was no Child upon the straw.
The ox and ass were all I saw.

I sought His stable where He gave
His goodness in the guise of bread.
Emptiness came to me instead.

Filled with my Father’s words, I cried,
“Where have You hid Yourself?” and all
the living answered to my call.

I found Him (and the world is wide)
dear in His warm ubiquity.
Where heart beat, there was Christ for me.

I went back to the Christmas cave,
glad with the gain of everywhere.
And lo! the blessed Child was there.

Then at His feasting board He gave
embrace. He multiplied His good
and fed in me the multitude.

Sister Miriam of the Holy Spirit, o.c.d. (Jessica Powers)

The Hidden Christ (1963)

Powers, J 1999, The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers, Siegfried, R & Morneau, RF (eds.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: A donkey, sheep, and cow surround a trough of hay inside a barn. Image credit: Future Vision (AI generated) / Adobe Stock, Asset ID#: 1766663015.

#Christmas #InfantJesus #JessicaPowers #poetry #SrMiriamOfTheHolySpirit

Quote of the day, 10 July: Jessica Powers

Mother fair above all mothers,
by the scapular we wear
be your own sign of salvation,
which our willing shoulders bear.
Shield us from the foes of darkness,
we are prey they seek to win.
Guard us as your loving children
from the tragedy of sin.

Virgin of the Incarnation,
In the mysteries of grace
God has made his habitation
In our soul’s most secret place.
Toward that bright and inner kingdom
All our words and ways compel,
For the Father, Son and Spirit
In its sacred silence dwell.

Sister Miriam of the Holy Spirit, OCD
(Jessica Powers)

Hymn: Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, sts. 3–4
Hymn at the Office of Readings, Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Catholic Church 1993, Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Rev. and augm.), Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome.

#JessicaPowers #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #poetry #salvation #scapular #SrMiriamOfTheHolySpirit

Quote of the day, 10 April: Jessica Powers

I love Abraham, that old weather-beaten
unwavering nomad; when God called to him,
no tender hand wedged time into his stay.
His faith erupted him into a way
far-off and strange. How many miles are there
from Ur to Haran? Where does Canaan lie,
or slow mysterious Egypt sit and wait?
How could he think his ancient thigh would bear
nations, or how consent that Isaac die,
with never an outcry nor an anguished prayer?
I think, alas, how I manipulate
dates and decisions, pull apart the dark,
dally with doubts here and with counsel there,
take out old maps and stare.
Was there a call at all, my fears remark.
I cry out: Abraham, old nomad you,
are you my father? Come to me in pity.
Mine is a far and lonely journey too.

Sister Miriam of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D. (Jessica Powers)

Abraham (1967; 1984)

Powers, J 1999, The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Abraham serving the angels is an oil on oak panel painted by Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1607–1669) in 1646. In this scene from Genesis 18, Abraham welcomes three mysterious visitors who renew God’s promise of a son. Sarah, standing in the doorway at right, overhears and laughs in disbelief. Image credit: Netherlands Institute for Art History / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Where is God calling you to walk by faith today—without a map, without delay?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#Abraham #faith #JessicaPowers #journey #OldTestament #poetry #readiness #SrMiriamOfTheHolySpirit #vocation

Carmelite poet Jessica Powers rejoices in the beauty that surrounds her: “Land that was desolate, impassable, / is forest now where secrets find their voices. / The desert is inhabited and blooms.”

Read her poem, "And Wilderness Rejoices"
☀️ https://carmelitequotes.blog

#jessicapowers #srmiriamoftheholyspirit #poetry #poem #desert #forest #wilderness #blooms #catholic #carmelite #advent #christmas