Purging Passion For Peace

"My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation. Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be hasty in time of calamity. Cleave to him and do not depart, that you may be honored at the end of your life. Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you be patient. For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him. You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and turn not aside, lest you fall…For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction. Woe to timid hearts and to slack hands, and to the sinner who walks along two ways!…Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and will humble themselves before him. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, but not into the hands of men; for as his majesty is, so also is his mercy." (1)

Tiger Kitten

My tiger heart paces its cage,
Behind the bars of self-control.
From deep within, its passions rage:
Eyeing its prey; blinding my soul.

The trainer, wary of this beast,
Purges passion with whip of prayer.
My heart, humbled unto the least,
Returns my soul to Spirit's care.

My kitten heart purrs with content,
Beneath the Hand that pats with peace.
From deep within, Omnipotent,
Restores my soul when passions cease.

For Mercy's drawn to contrite hearts
Who turn from their instinctive ways.
The Creator, with love imparts,
New harmony beneath His gaze.

The tiger stalks; eyeing its prey.
The kitten purrs; content to stay.





(c) Paul Buis, 2001

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(1) Sirach 2: 1-7,11-12,17-18