by Christopher Ziegler
Mary loves a chaste heart—
But so often have I struggled.
A wandering mind begets temptation.
When I remove my eye from Mary,
I begin to believe I can trust myself.
Soon the cravings of sin slither from the
shadows...
My memory is stained by lurid images.
These visions of lust have their own power
To bend the heart.
My urges disturb me.
They conjure uninvited thoughts.
These thoughts are not gentle.
They are not compassionate.
They are unworthy of Mary.
When I remember the love she has shown me
I am filled with shame.
The way out of temptation is humility.
Brought low by weakness,
I bow my head, clasp my hands
And call on the name of Mary.
I am bathed in peace and regain control.
I can tell her grace is at work
By the swelling of my heart.
She has proven once again
How much she cares for me
And how much I need her care.
Without her strength of grace
I would already be dead
And my life lost forever.
Yes—Mary loves a chaste heart.
But, even more than this,She loves a sinner in need.
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| Poet Christopher Ziegler can be found on Twitter @CZWriting |
Did you enjoy this poem, Mr. Ziegler has written two others on the Blessed Mother:
Thank You and The Hardest Thing
Thank You and The Hardest Thing
I love this poem. If only all sinners and addicts would trust in Mary.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome to re-publish with credit to Christ's Faithful Witness if you wish. God bless you Kathy.
Delete#Reasons to Believe in Jesus
ReplyDeleteReasons to believe Jesus is alive in a new life with God can be found in quotes from two prominent atheists and a biology textbook.
> Thus the passion of man is the reverse of that of Christ, for man loses himself as man in order that God may be born. But the idea of God is contradictory and we lose ourselves in vain. Man is a useless passion. (Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology, New York: Washington Square Press, p. 784)
> Among the traditional candidates for comprehensive understanding of the relation of mind to the physical world, I believe the weight of evidence favors some from of neutral monism over the traditional alternatives of materialism, idealism, and dualism. (Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, location 69 of 1831)
> And certain properties of the human brain distinguish our species from all other animals. The human brain is, after all, the only known collection of matter that tries to understand itself. To most biologists, the brain and the mind are one and the same; understand how the brain is organized and how it works, and we’ll understand such mindful functions as abstract thought and feelings. Some philosophers are less comfortable with this mechanistic view of mind, finding Descartes’ concept of a mind-body duality more attractive. (Neil Campbell, Biology, 4th edition, p. 776 )
Sartre speaks of the "passion of man," not the passion of Christians. He is acknowledging that all religions east and west believe there is a transcendental reality and that perfect fulfillment comes from being united with this reality after we die. He then defines this passion with a reference to Christian doctrine which means he is acknowledging the historical reasons for believing in Jesus. He does not deny God exists. He is only saying the concept of God is contradictory. He then admits that since life ends in the grave, it has no meaning.
From the title of the book, you can see that Nagel understands that humans are embodied sprits and that the humans soul is spiritual. He says, however, that dualism and idealism are "traditional" alternatives to materialism. Dualism and idealism are just bright ideas from Descartes and Berkeley. The traditional alternative to materialism is monism. According to Thomas Aquinas unity is the transcendental property of being. Campbell does not even grasp the concept of monism. The only theories he grasps are dualism and materialism.
If all atheists were like Sartre, it would be an obstacle to faith. An important reason to believe in Jesus is that practically all atheists are like Nagel and Campbell, not like Sartre.
by David Roemer
347-417-4703
http://www.newevangelization.info
David Roemer
http://www.newevangelization.info
Christopher, you're a good son of Mama Mary! I'm moved by your honesty! God bless....you're an inspiration to feeble mortals such as me. Will read the other two as soon as time permits.
ReplyDelete