FRAGILITY OF LIFE

In Memory of the Departure of beloved priest and friend, FATHER MICHAEL KELLY, who has gone Ahead on December 31, 2008 into the Presence of God to receive his reward and to intercede for us.
In our human view, you left us too suddenly and too soon, at age 53, in the prime of your service for God. We will always love you and pray for you. We accept the "Tap on the Shoulder" of your Departure to remind us to live in the present moment, in a state of grace, and to draw us closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Leona Choy


MY REQUEST

Leona Choy

"God, I demand a canvas big enough
on which to paint all my ambitions.
Make it a durable piece of cloth.
Provide me with a spacious studio.
I require a complete spectrum of colors.
And I must have quality oil paints.
Plenty of time is essential
to accomplish my life's masterpiece."

God provided me instead
a fragile easel,
a small palette of primary water colors,
and confined me in a cramped room
without a sure promise
that I'd even have
threescore and ten years
in which to emblazon my dreams
on a miniature, disposable canvas.

"That isn't fair, God!" I complained.

God replied:
"My Beloved Son, in only thirty-three years
in an obscure corner
of a postage stamp size country
confined to an oppressed land
among hostile people
and misunderstanding friends
without media blitz
reconciled heaven and earth
interpreted Eternity to man
and declared, 'IT IS FINISHED!'"

I fell prostrate at His feet
ashamed of my impertinence.

"Your majesty!
Lord of my days! Accept my praise
for whatever time and space You grant me
in Your sovereign wisdom.
Help me understand
Your perfect plan for mortal man
and for me.
Show me how to accept joyfully yet soberly
both my limitations and opportunities.
So teach me to number my days
that I may apply my heart
unto wisdom
and learn to paint by their number.”

*******
"Teach us to number our days and recognize
how few they are; help us to spend them
as we should." Psalm 90:12




TAP ON THE SHOULDER

Leona Choy

God tapped me on the shoulder.
Busy, distracted, I postponed:
"Wait a minute."
Time slipped by.

Detoured by trivial, temporal tasks
I deferred: "Later."
Time dashed by.

I mistook activity
disguised as urgency
and called it priority.
But it was not of the essence
of Eternity.
I put God off again:
"Another time." But
Time flew by.

Dismayed with life's futility
distraught by mundane toil
distressed by swiftly fleeting days
I realized then that
Time was running out.

Finally, God got my attention
by reminding me
of my fragility
my mortality
my humanity
and dispensability.

God still pursues me
relentlessly and lovingly
whether through blessing me generously
or through affliction and adversity
whatever necessary
to keep my heart turned toward
and my eyes focused on
ETERNITY.

*******

# END