I have been reading Robert Morneau lately and today thought I would mention some of his books and then share a poem he has on joy and a prayer from his book A New Heart: Eleven Qualities of Holiness written in 2008 and published by Orbis. The eleven virtues are elaborated below and the first four are to be found in Markings by Dag Hammarskjold; Bishop Morneau added the other seven to make this prayer:
Give me a pure heart that I may see Thee,
a humble heart, that I may hear Thee,
a heart of love, that I may serve Thee,
a heart of faith, that I may abide in Thee,
a heart of courage, that I may follow Thee,
a heart of joy, that I may sing with Thee,
a heart of praise, that I may adore Thee,
a heart of gratitude, that I may thank Thee,
a heart of kindness, that I may emulate Thee,
a heart of hospitality, that I may welcome Thee,
a heart of hope, that I may trust in Thee.
His book develops each as eleven qualities of holiness with a week's worth of reflections for each. Here is the poem that begins the reflection week on joy:
Joy
It's like the wind
blowing now here, now there,
wherever people care,
where the right thing is done
in the right way.
It's like sunshine,
falling on every flower, every atom
so that petals open and expand
and every atom dances, doing handstands.
It's like an infant's smile,
tickled into laughter,
hugged into life,
wrapped in the warmth of a grandma's arms.
Joy is like, well, like
a love letter carried next to the heart.
Other books by Robert Morneau are listed on the side under Spiritual Reading; he writes simply and clearly and from experience. The books I have in front of me now are Paths to Prayer; Growing in Joy: 31 Meditations for a life in abundance; Spiritual Direction: Principles and Practices. I think an earlier blog talked of other books by the Auxiliary Bishop of Green Bay Wisconsin.
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