Liberating Liturgies: Blessed Be (A Guest Post By Lesley-Anne Evans)

Today’s Liberating Liturgy is drawn from the Beatitudes, and comes to us from poet, Lesley-Anne Evans. I know you’ll enjoy it!

Lesley-Anne Evans is Belfast, Northern Ireland born, and suburban Toronto, Ontario raised. She holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, and designed theme parks for Disney and Universal Studios. In 1993, Lesley-Anne relocated to Kelowna, British Columbia, in search of wild things and slow spaces. She lives with her husband of 27 years, three young adult children, and neurotic hound dog.

Lesley-Anne’s poetry is published in Leaf Press, The Antigonish Review, Contemporary Verse 2, One Throne, Quills, LAKE, Ascent, and other publications. She practices cultural philanthropy with her “Pop-Up-Poetry” and street poet circles. Lesley-Anne is a humble advocate for truth and beauty.

——-

Blessed be the unwashed bag lady, shopping cart stacked with tainted treasure

 for she will have her basic needs met.

Blessed be the man standing outside Great Canadian Superstore, hands out, eyes down

 for he will be fed.

Blessed be the sixteen year old abused daughter living with another hard fist calling the shots

for she will be loved.

Blessed be the business man in the new beemer driving home to an empty house 

for he will find enough.

Blessed be the neighbour with the barking dog and all night weekend parties

for she will be shown grace.

Blessed be the cashier with dark eye circles stuffing groceries into righteous cloth bags

for she will be given a kind word.

Blessed be the old woman’s slow crosswalk shuffle during rush hour

for she will receive patience.

Blessed be the smart ass tough guy dealing from his high school locker 

for he will be given a second, third, and fourth chance.

Blessed be the snot nosed kid screaming murder in the grocery cart, and his mother

for they will be seen through eyes of understanding. 

Blessed be the new Canadian struggling with his pronunciation

for he will be a trail blazer for future generations.

Blessed be the middle aged mom breathing deep and hugging her daughter

for she will be a rock in this hard place. 

Blessed are you when you are weak, hurt, without answers, taken for granted, displaced and overlooked because of what you believe and what you are learning. Rejoice and be glad that you are unwrapping peace, empathy, kindness and love. Epiphanies often bright burst from dark places. Extend what you have received to those you meet each day, and the Kingdom of God will come.

—-

If you’re interested in sharing your own Liberating Liturgy, read this blog post, take a look at some of the other liturgies that have been shared so far, and email me at moonsn11@gmail.com