I Must Stay Home from Mass
Today Father
Photo By: Flickr/ Pacheco
I remembered the blind man’s request
from scripture and homily*
in which the priest admitted,
“It’s not always easy to be a priest.”
Then on FaceBook I saw a picture
and copied it to my wall: “Pray for Priests,”
it said. A Catholic news site quotes the Pope
speaking of certain “difficulties and joys”
priests encounter. I think of strengths
and tenderness needed to hear confessions,
proclaim God’s true word, visit the sick,
seek the unlovely. Today I woke up believing.
I saw a tree of orange outside my window
and wanted Jesus, with my open heart.
Today Father, your words have become my
desire: To see is to seek; to seek is to follow.
*Mark 10: 46-52
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About the Author
A former English teacher, Helen Losse is the author of ten collections of poetry, including A Flower More Enduring (Main Street Rag, 2021). Her poems have been anthologized in Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont, The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume VII: North Carolina, and Kakalak 2014, nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for a Best of the Net award. She is Poetry Editor Emeritus for The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature and a former Associate Poetry Editor for Kentucky Review. She is married and has two grown sons. A Christian her entire life, Helen entered the Catholic Church on Holy Saturday in 2015 to grow closer to Jesus.
Social Media links:
Blog: Windows Toward the World https://helenl.wordpress.com/
FB: https: https://www.facebook.com/HelenLosse/
MSR Bookstore: https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product-tag/helen-losse/
