Category Archives: prayer

A vain and foolish thing

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

Vain and foolish, one would not think that with no animal spirit, nor soul, no mind of its own, but an idle thing could inspire such passion, such pain, such tearing, such rending of hearts, of lives apart; only with … Continue reading →

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Solid ground

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

Constant God, You are the one fixed point in a universe that never stops moving; expanding, exploding, orbiting, spinning on its axis; the very earth beneath our feet shifts and shrugs, magma boils beneath the surface, fluid. No wonder we … Continue reading →

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more than watchmen for the morning

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

In the silence before the dawn,
in the fearful shadows that embalm
the edges of sleep, each sound
is amplified: Continue reading →

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Unmiracle

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

A miracle is, by definition, unlikely to happen. When our daughter was ten, I lost her in the woods. She was ten, and actively honing her skills in defiance, contrariness, and flouncing. It was our first visit after moving away, … Continue reading →

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Reverence

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

Yesterday I knelt at an array of unlit candles reading the morning prayer before the noonday sun. “Test me, O Lord, and try me; examine my heart and my mind.” “Do not snatch me away with the wicked and evildoers, … Continue reading →

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Scarred

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

Love came upon me like a wound, got under my skin and stretched me out until something must give; drew me in, knit together ragged. Long acquaintance dulls sensation, the red seal fades to a silver thread; the abiding sign … Continue reading →

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Good Friday 2015: Bury me at the crossroads

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

I nail my sins to the cross, not because I blame God, or believe that Jesus should bear my guilt. I have often heard myself cry “crucify,” but this is not that. This is some strange, new hope that comes … Continue reading →

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Killing God

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

Reduced to absurdity, the burning bush caught flame and I, caught in the inferno, perished, though its leaves still furl. There is no moderation to divine love; It is all or nothing; and giving all, it takes all consuming. Reduced … Continue reading →

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Prayer drought

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

A reflection for the Lenten collection of the Diocese of Ohio. From the day’s readings: “Jesus was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who was mute spoke, and the crowds were … Continue reading →

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Transfiguration

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Rosalind C Hughes

thunderous light falling crushing sight and sound, revealing in the core of being darkness split by the silver of a sharp-edged mirror sliver, cracked images dancing; resplendent shards

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