Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times
of trouble?
Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up
your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Psalm 10:1,12
When I look around
at this world,
so fractured and divided,
I am often discouraged
and often confused.
The strong oppress the weak
while the rich ignore the poor.
Violence supplants reason,
and fear overpowers love.
And all the while
the good and the true
are twisted by imitations
and slanted by lies.
I struggle
to see your hand at work,
but I am blinded
by your invisibility.
I strain
to hear your voice ring out
but I am deafened
by your silence.
Where are you, Lord?
Lord, where have you gone?
My longing for you,
grown stronger these days,
has made your absence
harder to accept and
more painful to endure.
Yet, in the depths of my anguish,
I do sense your quiet presence
and your presence too in
the anguish of all.
You are not making noise.
You are not making miracles
You are making love
by suffering with your own.
And in that reality
all will come to freedom;
in that truth,
all will come to peace.
by Dennis Ference
© 2000 Liguori Publications
Taken from Psalm Prayers for Seniors by Dennis Ference. Available from Liguori Publications, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Itunes, and other ebook sources.
Merging Traffic 
Oh Dennis. ..yes…There are times it would be easier to think that He is not here…but then we stop and realize that God did not create the pain and mayhem we see in the world…no! What He did create is free will, and forgiveness. One can only hope that we, as a people, begin to see the error of our ways so that we can get on with the business of love and forgiveness! Have a wonderful weekend Dennis! ❤
And a wonderful weekend to you, full of love and forgiveness. Peace! –Dennis
I like your phrase” God, you are making love”….I have an image of God taking the dust of earth, spiting on it, molding it and creating a human from the mud.
A wonderful image!
the psalms, even now, an inexhaustible source of inspiration!
For sure!
Words fail me, but I’m grateful they didn’t fail you. “blinded by your invisibility”, “deafened by your silence”, “You are not making noise, You are not making miracles, You are making love…” – achingly beautiful – Thank you.
Your comment made me very glad I posted this. Thank you. Peace. –Dennis
I don’t buy
the old man in the sky.
I believe in harmony,
peace, love, and compassion.
I believe in a collective spirit;
everything together is perfection.
Your poem is very well done. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing. Peace, love and compassion to you! –Dennis
Harmony, peace, love, and compassion are what we have been designed and created for. But, nobody is going to appreciate these finer human qualities without experiencing a need for them. That old man in the sky is who or what you are, at least in essence.
Thank you for that perspective. It is an extremely important one in any discussion of “us and God.”
As always, you say it so well. Just started following your blog, but I look forward to seeing what you have to say next. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
As a fellow grandparent, I thought you might enjoy a look at my last blog, not inactive but still accessible at
http://www.dhferenceblog.wordpress.com/ It was called The Making of a Popsidoodle ~ The Art and Spirituality of Grandeparenting. I see from your blog that you recognize the special blessing that is grandparenthood.
Blessings and peace and thanks for your comment. –Dennis
Thanks I will check it out!
O God, be gentle with your creatures:
Keep them from despair,
Give them courage,
Deliver them from evil.
Amen.