
By WEENA SALVADOR MEILY
AWIT
1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Eph 5:8-14
Jn 9:1-41
POETRY-REFLECTIONS FOR TODAY’S READINGS
Weaving my random thoughts into one
Tapestry,
as my heart seeks new ways of sketching life,
and my mind, boggled as it is,
and my soul, messy as it may seem…
I am now
growing older, getting wiser, gravitating towards more changes
lifting burdens no more, for my bones ache and my knees shake,
leading life to a more loving encounter.
And yet, my body dances in the wake of words, wonderfully wrote,
In the music of tides rushing in, as the moon pulls its weight in all of
ocean water lapping…
I hear a beating, a drumming of sounds of the Good News,
the feet of the Son Of God in the midst of a crowd,
In solitude and yet,
In communion with all and the One-With-No-Name;
The Healer approaches the One-Needing-Healing,
the One-Needing-Sight,
for more than sight, vision,
an Epiphany of sorts; a revelation of the Healer
to the One-Who-Wakens to a life renewed.
This is who we are, the One-Needing-Vision
A blurring of sight
The passing of dark night
The soul in murky waters
Deep into the muddy bed.
This is who we are, the One-Needing-Healing
from spiritual blindness of indifference,
ingratitude,
apathy…
To seek fresh new vision for
my elders,
the helpless creatures,
the homeless, the street people,
care and compassion for my surroundings.
Oh Lord, That I May See!
To seek fresh new vision to
feed the hungry,
quench the thirsty,
clothe the naked,
free those unjustly incarcerated
human rights defenders,
comfort the sick,
mourn with the grieving victims
of senseless killings.
Oh Lord That I may See!
To seek fresh new vision and
work for justice for many in poverty
and farmers’ fight for agrarian reform
for the LGBTQ community,
victims of VAWC
and many suffering PLHIV
Oh Lord That I may See!
To seek fresh new vision about
troubling issues of the day
the horrors of war and human-made disasters
terrifying natural calamities
the dangers and irreversibility of climate change…
Oh Lord, That I May See!
To seek fresh new vision when
blinded from the truth
faced with falsehoods and
confronted with disinformation.
Oh Lord, That I May See!
A Woman’s Other Way of Seeing Psalm 23
by: Weena Salvador Meily
My Beloved is my Partner
I have everything I need.
We rest together after laundry work and ironing, after cooking, after chores of all sorts,
when we are exhausted, SHe rests with me,
gives me the gifts of stillness, silence and solitude,
provides a space for me to restore and
re-create my tired body and wearied soul.
SHe is my guide, so that I may discern my Pilgrim Path
and remain faithful to this.
I may be overcome with deep challenges,
Illness sometimes overpowers me,
But I will not fear.
I may be living alone, a spiritual solitary, wandering this Pilgrim Way,
But I WILL NOT FEAR.
For I Trust my inner Self as you, my Beloved accompany me.
In times of grief and loss
I turn to you for comfort.
You, my Beloved, prepare a feast for me in the presence
Of those who mock me and make fun of me because of
My love for you.
You claim me as yours,
for
Your love for me is Forever!
Oh my Beloved my Life, in my
Aloneness,
You empower and embolden me
To reinvent my life and keep my Womanwisdom
For the good of Creation.
My Beloved’s goodness and kindness follow me
all of my life,
And because I am homeless and old, cold and aching in my bones,
my Beloved
is my home, my hearth, my warmth, my dwelling, my refuge…
And for my Beloved I shall live single-heartedly
Balik-Tanaw is a group blog of Promotion of Church People’s Response. The Lectionary Gospel reflection is an invitation for meditation, contemplation, and action. As we nurture our faith by committing ourselves to journey with the people, we also wish to nourish the perspective coming from the point of view of hope and struggle of the people. It is our constant longing that even as crisis intensifies, the faithful will continue to strengthen their commitment to love God and our neighbor by being one with the people in their dreams and aspirations. The Title of the Lectionary Reflection would be Balik –Tanaw , isang PAGNINILAY . It is about looking back (balik) or revisiting the narratives and stories from the Biblical text and seeing, reading, and reflecting on these with the current context (tanaw).