REFLECTIONS: JEREMIAH 15:16 – Part V

By Msgr. Bernard Powers

Search

The search was long,
intense.
The hunger was deep,
an agony.

The journey was into the night,
the darkness. 
No answer was given.
No explanation.
Only the emptiness, the dryness, the dark.

            The darkness came quickly.
            Feelings raged.
            Thoughts whirled, snowflakes in December..

            The journey was toward the source.
            If one could only find,
            there would be plenty,
            but there were miles to go.

I listened for the word,
but there was only a piercing silence.
I looked for the word
but only the darkness, emptiness.
I searched for the word,
but only the nothingness.

            The listening, disposed the heart.
            The looking purified the soul.
            The searching freed the spirit.

            God, who prepares the soul for the finding,
            in his owe time,
would  permitted the finding.
            I would search and wait,
            wait for the finding.
                                                 Amen       

Search Continues

Loving Spirit of God,
there is a spirit within me
that makes me search;
that set me on a journey of adventure.
Sometimes I have misplaced something
and there is a need for it.
All demands a searching, a seeking.
Sometimes there is an emptiness within…
an emptiness that needs care.
I start the journey of searching, of seeking,
hoping to find… always the hope.
The need has to be met,
the desire has to be addressed.

Loving Spirit of God,
help me in identifying my need,
to name my hunger,
help me to submit my need to your guidance
and to your grace.

When I am hungry, I am vulnerable.
When I am aware of a need that I can not exactly name,
I am is a very delicate attitude, most vulnerable.
There is a danger of succumbing to pleasure, to gratification.
            Guard me! Guide Me!

Loving Spirit of God,
You know me and You know my needs.
You know my potentials and my weaknesses.
            Guard Me !  Guide Me!

When I am searching,
I am vulnerable.
            Protect me from without. Protect me from within.
            Protect me from myself.
            Help me to find what I need.
                                                              Amen