Thought for the Week: Somewhere on the Journey…

Perhaps today is as good a day as any, to share something I wrote 21 years ago.  My life, as yours undoubtedly, has been shaped by the experiences and the persons who have journeyed with me during such experiences.  A long time ago, I read something about “how will the value of your days be measured” and while I don’t have those words in front of me, I consciously pray each day, that I will share hope, compassion, justice and kindness with all I come in contact with each day.  Admittedly, there are days when living these values are a challenge, and then I have to remind myself that we are all on the journey and some make it easier and some simply don’t!

The following poem is something I wrote right after my first Mission trip, 71 Missions and 21 years ago.  It is something filled with a wide range of emotion, from deep sadness to joy, from a sense of being overwhelmed by need, to a sense of oneness.  And as I share this with you today, I especially want to offer this as a prayer of solace for those struggling with any type of addiction, or suicidal thoughts or broken homes and broken lives.  I offer this to all our graduates, with a gentle reminder that the journey of life must be walked…in moments of great accomplishment and in moments of utter defeat.  And I offer this to each of you- no matter where you are on the path of life,  young or aging, filled with joy or filled with sorrow, in good health or in failing health, grieving the death of someone you loved or celebrating a the birth of a new baby, in moments of despair and in moments of renewed hope.

We are all somewhere on this journey together!

SOMEWHERE ON THE JOURNEY by “me”

Somewhere on the journey,
Somewhere along the way…
My heart was transformed
Into a vessel of loving compassion;
And my hands gentled…
Into miracles of comforting touch.

Somewhere along the way,
Blessed were we…
Somewhere on the Journey.

Somewhere along the way,
My arms cradled babies
Ravaged by disease and poverty;
And my eyes saw God- enfleshed
in the faces of the children.

Somewhere along the way,
Blessed were we…
Somewhere on the Journey.

Somewhere along the way,
Bread was broken,
And tears were shed;
Joy was shared
And life was renewed.

Somewhere along the way,
Blessed were we…
Somewhere on the Journey.

Somewhere along the way,
Fragments of HOPE

GIVEN…
RECEIVED…

Strands of what and who
How and when…
The Where and Why of our lives,

WOVEN INTO HOPE…
Somewhere on the Journey,
Somewhere on the way.

And in the “eucharist” of these moments,
A covenant poured forth…
WE   WOULD   ONCE   AGAIN   BREAK   BREAD   TOGETHER…

Somewhere on the Journey,
Somewhere on the Way….                     (Sr. Debbie Blow, OP)

So… let us take our “walking sticks of hope” and continue the journey!

Sr. Debbie Blow, OP