The Clallery

  After the angel Gabriel had announced to Virgin Mary that she was pregnant with Our Lord Jesus, Mary went from Galilee to Judea to visit her relative Elizabeth, soon to be the mother of John the Baptist. Mary entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ’“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’” (Luke 1:41-45) Then Mary praised God in joy that her soul magnified the Lord for the blessing of all nations “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). “Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he ...

 

  The boat once was covered with dirty stains, being plunged under a wave and then surfaced. All the stains were washed away, and the oars were lost! The inside of her hull was purged, ready to be filled with God’s Word. Without any oars, the boat is being chartered celestially in faith down the windy coastlines, across the stormy seas, up the streams, across serene lakes, while witnessing God’s almightiness on “making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland”. Along with other boats of different colours and shapes, she sails in and towards the Kingdom of God!  ~ Clara, The Clallery

  The buzzing bee is about to work; the idling bee is at work. How much pollen have you collected? How much pollen are you collecting? How much more pollen are you going to collect? How much pollen have you been producing? How much pollen are you producing? How much more pollen are you going to produce? The flowers are blooming; the idling flowers are at work. ~ Clara, The Clallery

 

 

  Looking at our drawing of an aeroplane and a hang glider, I asked the child who painted this with me, “Do you think the aeroplane is faster or the hang glider is faster?” The child said, “Of course, the hand glider is faster! The aeroplane is too heavy with so many inside it.” I smiled, internalizing the logic of a powerful man-made jet engine and the gentleness of the uplifting wind, then the song “It’s a long road to freedom” by Medical Mission Sisters came to my mind. I ponder on the lyrics “walk in love with the wind on your wing” with an image of a soaring eagle found in “Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. ” ~ Clara, The Clallery   “It’s a long road to freedom” by Medical Mission Sisters ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txK5ZazkJBU ) It's a long road to freedom, a...

  wet, moist, cool, refreshing...  ~ Clara, The Clallery

  May you always recognize the presence of our Triune God in the shade or under the sun. Being here & now under the blessing of His grace and mercy ~ Clara, The Clallery "Whenever I am, at home, in a hotel, in a train, plane or airport, I would not feel irritated, restless, and desirous of being somewhere else or doing something else. I would know that here and now is what counts and is important because it is God himself who wants me at this time and in this place."  ~ Henri Nouwen, The Genesee Diary (New York: Doubleday, 1981), 77