Pursued by Truth
| All that I have written appears to me as much straw after the things that have been revealed to me. – St. Thomas Aquinas |
Baby Jesus is coming.
I have built a manger
for him in my soul.
He will have to
snuggle up
against the sharp, cool rocks
of fear,
pride,
vanity,
anger,
and resentment.
I wish I could
remove the rocks,
one by one,
and replace them
with the straw of
faith,
hope,
love.
Thomas Aquinas said
that, in the end,
all of his brilliance
was straw.
Maybe that is better
than the hard
edges of books
edges of books
and sharp,
engraved awards
for Theologian of the Year
Why can’t we understand?
Instead of accomplishments,
dazzling arguments,
sparkling success –
All Baby Jesus wants
is soft, simple straw –
somewhere to lay his head
so his gentle cooing
and loving baby talk
– which we consider too simple
and unsophisticated for us –
can reach through our hearts
to others.
Come, let us lovingly
arrange the rocks of our soul
in preparation for Jesus this Advent
Only He can turn our rocks into straw.
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