Author Archives: Rosalind C Hughes

Palm Sunday 2020

Posted on April 5, 2020

After the psalms have died away and the palm leaves dry and brittle in the dust have crumbled underfoot; after the streets have emptied, crowds drained through doorways, their thunder spent, a stone heart whispers still, Hosanna: saviour, save us.

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Ostriches and jackals

Posted on April 3, 2020

(This Lenten meditation for the daily series from the Diocese of Ohio was composed before our part of the world was turned upside down by COVID-19; but God’s mercy endures forever.) Continue reading →

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Mushroom

Posted on March 31, 2020

Early in the morning, we would wipe our hands with grassy dew, gather field mushrooms sprung up overnight; only the wise old wives knew whether their white canopies shed spores of health, or of the other thing. Featured image: Scottish … Continue reading →

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The question of Lazarus

Posted on March 28, 2020

“Tell me, mortal,
can these dry bones live?”
Lazarus, coughing and blinking
replies, or would
if breath permits, Continue reading →

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Chasing clouds

Posted on March 24, 2020

Not as children naming
animals in a fluffy sky; nor yet
storm chasers, seeking secrets
funnelled from heaven to earth; more
refugees from understanding,
lost in bewilderment, following
clouds across the wilderness
desert dry-mouthed – Continue reading →

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Why did this happen?

Posted on March 22, 2020

When Jesus and his disciples come across a blind man begging, the disciples ask a question that the sages have answered in various ways throughout the ages: why is there suffering in the world? Why do even the unarguably innocent – babies and children – suffer? Why do we live with these questions from birth and throughout our lives, even in the midst of joy, even in the midst of love, even with Jesus walking right next to us? Continue reading →

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The longest Lent

Posted on March 19, 2020

After forty days, he was tempted to give it up: the faith, the fast, the body, lay down among the dry bones. Continue reading →

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