Three Poems for the Weary Soul

Christ the Morning Star1

Gently
Thou wakest me, 
adrift on seas of mist; 
a firm hand to my healing shoulder, 
a soft touch to my flushed cheek. 
Though I long to remain 
on the empty night—
no stars, no moon, no wind 
to guide me elsewhere—
Thou speakest thus kindly: 
Awake, my friend! 
A new star ascends to light the path 
prepared before thy feet. 
Be not afraid: 
For thee all the day have I prepared.

The Divine Physician2

O sorrowful soul, 
     let the joy of Christ penetrate you 
          while you are yet despondent; 
O weak soul, 
     let the strength of Jesus support you
          while you are yet helpless; 
O miserable sinner, 
    let the Mercy of God overwhelm you
          while you are yet in sin; 
O wretched mortal, 
     let the Lord Jesus Eucharist die for you
          while you are yet a sinner. 


Be still
and remember, O my soul, 
the precious treasure: 
promised, 
     bought,
               bestowed,
through our Hope.3
For by hope shall you attain Him.4

Again thanks to my dad, Jeffrey McPheeters, for his photography. Visit his site to see more beautiful photos or to contact him!

  1. 2 Peter 1:19.
  2. Luke 5:31-32.
  3. Titus 2:13
  4. Romans 8:24-25; St. John of the Cross: The more a soul hopes, the more it attains.

Update on Blog and Post Schedule!

Since I’ve begun this blog while on a break from university, I have become increasingly convinced of the importance of beauty, especially as it is communicated in and through words. Beauty is a wonderful meeting of order and surprise, a mystery which awakens man from sleep and invites him into the dreamworld of a more real reality than he had before known. Without beauty, truth becomes mere information, and virtue becomes legalism; just as beauty without truth or goodness becomes a fanciful delusion, and no longer beauty. And we are in dire need of beauty today.

I want this blog to focus more on beauty, especially as regards literature, so I am doing two things. Firstly, I am narrowing the content here to pertain largely to literature and to the Catholic faith as it relates to beauty. That means my posts will often either be about literature (such as my post on why sorrowful literature is important), about a specific work of literature, my own writing of either poetry or fiction, or an aspect of life and faith which is less catechetical or advisory and rather seeks to evoke the passion and loveliness of the Church (a prime example is, I think, the aforementioned post on sorrowful literature). My intent is that you find here some things that inspire you to ponder, to wonder, and to seek more elsewhere; to move continually further up, and further in! (C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle)

The second item is that I shall be changing my schedule to publish a blog post every other Saturday. This is to allow me more time to write fiction (some of which I hope to share here) and to put greater thought into the other things I write here.

Thank you for reading my blog, and may your day be blessed by God and our Lady!

The Purpose of Art & My Struggle to Write: A Reflexion on J. R. R. Tolkien’s ‘Leaf by Niggle’

Last Sunday I was getting ready to head home from Mass, which takes a little under an hour, and was wondering whether I might listen to an audiobook or pray a Rosary on the way home when a wonderful and providential thought came into my head. I had just finished J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and my audiobook (Tales from the Perilous Realm) included also Leaf by Niggle, which takes less than an hour to listen to. So I started it, shifted into drive, and started my way home on a path of wonder and self-discovery. 

Here I shall not so much review or critique the story, Leaf by Niggle, as much as relate what I gained of it in mind and heart. So if you have read it, you may appreciate my thoughts. If you have not, I have tried to reiterate the story enough so that you could still appreciate what I’ve written, and find good reason to read it yourself without it being summarised here for you. 

Continue reading “The Purpose of Art & My Struggle to Write: A Reflexion on J. R. R. Tolkien’s ‘Leaf by Niggle’”

The Glory of Repentance: Learning Courage and Hope from The Lord of the Rings

The following contains spoilers for those who have neither read nor seen The Lord of the Rings (specifically The Two Towers book, chapter one, or the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring).

Several weeks ago, some friends and I were talking about our favourite books, and the topic turned (as it often does with me) to The Lord of the Rings. Among us weremy friend Mike, and a nine-year-old girl named Beatrix, who has read both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Mike asked her what her favourite part of The Lord of the Rings was, and when she answered that it was the death of Boromir, I said it was the same for me. Mike said, ‘That’s so many people’s favourite part! What is it about that scene that people love so much?’ Bea and I turned to one another, and began to discuss it. I then had the humbling and inspiring experience of learning about Tolkien’s work from a girl less than half my age. We concluded that it was, in short, because of how wonderful was the redemption of Boromir. That he should fall so far, and yet rise so much higher in a few moments, inspires us with courage, hope, and love. 

Continue reading “The Glory of Repentance: Learning Courage and Hope from The Lord of the Rings”

Sharing Sorrow: Why We Read Sad Literature

The other night some friends and I were discussing sorrowful literature—why we read it and so often cherish it. Even if a book is mostly not sad, the parts of it that inspired sorrow in us remain in our minds, provoking a continued and deep reflexion in us, and very often they hold a special place in our hearts. Such scenes as the funeral in the beginning of The Two Towers (in The Fellowship of the Ring film version), the death near the end of Anne of Green Gables, and the final depressive spiral and death in Anna Karenina—if we’ve read these, we remember them with particular intensity, not just as a once intense feeling, but as a deep and solemn experience. I ventured to ask my friends why we seek this out, and here I reflect on some of what I have learned.

Continue reading “Sharing Sorrow: Why We Read Sad Literature”

Faith through Friendship and Communion

Happy feast day! In honour of today’s Feast of the Queenship of Mary, here follows a reflexion on the Mass and Holy Communion based on a vision of the Mass given to Sister Lucia, one of the visionaries of Fatima, on June 13, 1929. The description from her memoir, and the picture of the painting of the vision (above), I obtained from Holy Family School of Faith’s website.

Continue reading “Faith through Friendship and Communion”

In the Garden of the Soul

Due to travelling and a wedding, I was not able to write a blog post last week. The question is, what were you doing instead of reading my blog? There are many more excellent things to do, and I pray that this blog does indeed inspire you to go and do them: to read a good book, enjoy a beautiful sunset, spend time before the Eucharist, meditate with the Rosary, and engage in good conversation. So I am truly glad you are here, and reading what I, presently—though for you two days ago—am writing for you. And I have something different for you this week: As I asked you what you did instead of reading my blog, I shall share what I did instead of writing it.

Continue reading “In the Garden of the Soul”

O Star, O Flame, O Mighty Wind

Here follows a poem I wrote over two years ago, inspired by the following passage from the Diary of St. Faustina. I have edited the poem only a little, and left it in its simplicity, for I knew almost as little then of poetry as I do now.

April 4, 1937. Low Sunday; that is, the Feast of Mercy. In the morning, after Holy Communion, my soul was immersed in the Godhead. I was united to the Three Divine Persons in such a way that when I was united to Jesus, I was simultaneously united to the Father and to the Holy Spirit. My soul was flooded with joy beyond understanding, and the Lord gave me to experience the whole ocean and abyss of His fathomless mercy. Oh, if only souls would want to understand how much God loves them! All comparisons, even if they were the most tender and the most vehement, are but a mere shadow when set against the reality.

When I was united to the Lord, I came to know how many souls are glorifying God’s mercy.

Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, paragraph 1073
O Trinity, O Love, 
You are the greatest of lights, 
encompassing the whole universe; 
You shine as a thousand stars, 
shimmer as a thousand seas. 
Yet also are You a fire, 
passionate, roaring, consuming, 
inescapable, untamable; 
Your Heart ignites the hearts of men, 
giving Life to souls who dwell in Death. 
Still also are You, O Love, a storm, 
almighty, incomprehensible; 
inspiring dread in the great, 
and awe in the weak; 
greater than the skies,
more awesome than the seas; 
at Your Love all men weep, 
all hearts quake, 
                   all souls cry out, 
all the world bends its knee: 
For You, 
O Light of Lights,
O Consuming Fire, 
O Mighty Tempest, 
Did Yourself pour out 
in gentle compassion, 
to heal the wretched, 
to abide in the dead, 
for the life of the world.

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave.

1 Kings 19:11-13

Though we speak much we cannot reach the end,

    and the sum of our words is: “He is the all.”

Sirach 43:27

Filial Piety as Devotion & Self-Sacrifice in the Film Tokyo Story

In one of my university classes we viewed the film Tokyo Story,1 which presents Noriko, one of the protagonists, as an admirable woman who lives out the virtue of filial piety to the parents of her deceased husband. Although my family tried to impress such ideals upon me in accordance with the Christian worldview, I did not have a deep belief in filial piety and deference to one’s parents. But as I’ve matured and grown in character, I’ve come to a better understanding of not only obedience to authorities, especially parents, but of special devotion to them. Noriko’s story and her display of the Japanese understanding of filial piety helped me see this virtue in a new light. 

Continue reading “Filial Piety as Devotion & Self-Sacrifice in the Film Tokyo Story”