AN ALLEGORY FOR SIN - LUKE 5:12-15, Mk 1;40, Mt. 8:2

The leper limped his way
before the Lord,

He was a mass of putrefying flesh,

Revolting and disgusting.

A choking, reeking stench emanates.

Sickened to my stomach,

I almost retch and shudder,

As I look away.

My reaction is,

Bereft of love,

Bereft of charity.

I hear a gasp,

The crowd dumbfounded,

Is aghast at the approach,

Of the wretched man,

Who dropping to the ground,

Begins to cry,

 “Lord, if You will,

You can make me clean.”

His distress aroused 

Compassion,
In the tender heart of God

Where mercy overflows.

The leper dared to hope,
When he beheld the Lord

And God in turn did touch

The seething mass of dying flesh

And said “I will. Be healed!”

,

Forthwith he’s whole again,

But just his body.
Not his soul.

The miracle 
Is incomplete,

Until he stands before a priest,

Who will declare him free 
Of the disease.

This will seal the work

God has begun.

I too did reek of sin,

And leprous was my soul,

Until I fell upon my knees,

And I confessed,

“Bless me father, I have sinned.”

Mercy overflowed,

God healed me and restored

All I had lost.

Absolved in Jesus’ Name

My soul is clean again,

My Lord has made me whole.

-Myra D'Souza 
March 07, 2018

BARTIMAEUS AND I -- Mark 10:46-52

 How often we are daunted,

How easily we’re cowed,

We step aside when bullied,

By a peevish, Godless crowd.

We squander opportunities,

By yielding cravenly,

To fear so oft’ unfounded,

Through sheer timidity.

Not so was Bartimaeus,

A beggar who was blind,

Who longed for an encounter,

With the Physician, Jesus Christ.

With lively faith he raised his voice,

Above the scolding crowd,

He would not let them badger him,

His spirit was unbowed.

“Be merciful”, he shouted,

“Son of David pity me”,

The more they tried to quiet him,

The louder grew his plea.

 “Call the man,” said Jesus

He’d heard the beggar’s cry,

Anyone who calls on Him,

He never will deny.

He threw aside his cloak at once,

And at God’s feet He fell.

“What do you want of Me,” said Christ,

“My blindness Lord dispel.”

I too was blind when sin had cast,

It’s ugly blight on me,

I cried aloud like Bartimaeus, 

Now praise God I see.

Myra D’Souza / 30^th April 2012

The Woman at the Well - John 4:4-42

Beneath the blazing noonday sun,
The road baked in the heat,
The woman felt as if live coals,
Burned through her sandaled feet.
Moving at a hurried pace,
She walked up to the well,
To fill her jar with water,
Poor jaded city belle.

The place was in Samaria,
The city was Sychar,
Where she encountered Jesus,
A Jew who said to her,
“Give me a drink of water.”She looked askance and said,
“Jews do not ask Samaritans
To share their drink or bread.”
“Come drink the living water,
Flowing out from me.”“You possess no bucket Sir,
And this well is deep.”“This water cannot satisfy,
New thirsts tomorrow brings,
The water of eternal life,
Wells into gushing springs.”
“Sir, let me have this water,
So I won’t thirst again,
Never will I have to face,
Disgrace and guilt and pain.”“Go home and call your husband,
Then come back to me.”“I do not have a spouse,” she said,
“You are right,” said He.

“You have had five husbands,
And the man who lives with you,
Has not wed you in marriage,
So what you’ve said is true.”

She changed the subject saying,
"Tell me prophet, why Jews say,
That only in Jerusalem,
Can people go to pray?

We from Samaria,
Have always worshipped here,
This mountain is the place,
That our ancestors held most dear.”
“The hour has come upon us,
When true worship will be seen,
Not on this mountain nor indeed,
In Jerusalem.
You worship what you do not know,
We worship what is true,
For salvation comes to all,
Only from the Jews.”
“I know that the Messiah,
The Christ will brings us peace,
He will heal the broken hearted,
Captives will see release.”“I am He,” said Jesus,
And faith began to stir,
Just then His followers returned,
Tightlipped they glanced at her.

The woman left her water-jar,
There beside the well,
And ran into the city
The people there to tell,
About the Man whom she had met,
Who told her all she' done,
“Come and see,” she urged the men,
“Meet the Anointed One.”
They heard her and responded,
They hurried on their way,
To meet the Lord who long had planned,
To save them on that day.
“You must be hungry Rabbi,
Eat,” the disciples begged.
“I’ve had food to eat that you,
Know nothing of,” He said..

“The field is ripe and ready,
Harvest time is near,
The reaper has received his wage,
Eternal life is here.
The laborers who sow and reap,
Together can rejoice,
In harvesting the merit gained,
Through the saving cross.”
Many from Samaria,
Believed in Him at first,
Because the woman testified,
How He had slaked her thirst.
But once they all met Jesus,
And having heard the Word,
They proclaimed that He was truly,
Savior of the World.

Like the woman at the well,
He knows all you have done,

He nailed your sins upon the cross,
The victory is won.

Myra D’Souza/8th October 2009

THE ADULTERESS - John 8:3-11

While His enemies were plotting,
And scheming for His life,
Our Lord went out to Olivet,
To pray all through the night.

Returning to the temple,

After a night of prayer,

He found a group of people,

Already gathered there.

Sitting down among them,

He began to speak,

Of sacred truths that until then,

Were veiled in mystery.

Suddenly there was discord,

Disquiet filled the air,

The Scribes and Pharisees had dragged,

A woman to the square.

Her hair was tossed and tangled,

Her cheeks glistened with tears,

Her ashen face looked wretched,

Her eyes were wide in fear.

‘Sir’, they said with malice,

‘This woman that you see,

We caught her in the very act,

Of adultery.

By the law of Moses,

This woman stands accused,

To death by stoning as decreed,

Now Master, what say You?’

The evil mask of Satan,

Was stripped and stood unbound,

Bending down Christ wrote their sins,

On the dusty ground.

To end their questioning He said,

With patience wearing thin,

‘The first to cast a stone will be,

The one who has no sin.’

Their sins once cloaked in darkness,

Were brought into the light,

Beginning with the elders,

They shuffled out of sight.

She gazed at Him in wonder,

As He straightened up and said,

‘Where are your accusers?

Have none condemned you yet?’

‘No one Sir,’ she whispered,

‘I stand with You alone,’

‘Nor do I condemn you,

Go and sin no more.’

She felt a rush of gladness,

Peace overflowed her soul,

Life took on new meaning,

Once Jesus made her whole.


 
Myra D’Souza/27.7.2009

THE POWER OF HIS TOUCH – Luke 8:43-48

The road was hot and dusty,
They jostled her around,
She inched her way towards Him,
Almost crawling on the ground.

Her face was pale and sickly,
Her eyes were burning bright,
She’d heard the Master’s message,
His words brought hope and light.

She strained to touch the Savior
Under cover, as He spoke,
She knew she would be healed if only,
She could touch His cloak.

Twelve long years she’d suffered,,
Losing all her wealth,
The doctors could do nothing,
To bring her back to health.

She knew they called Him Master,
Teacher, Healer, Son of God,
With expectant faith and hope,
She came to meet the Lord.

There was a rush of feeling,
She felt infused with grace,
Instantly she felt released,
From death’s dark embrace.

“Who touched Me? I sensed power,
Going out from Me,”
She fell before the Master
And confessed her history.

“Your faith,” He said, “my daughter,
Has healed you, go in peace,”
In the Sacrament of Penance
We attain the same release.



Myra D’Souza / 20.05.2009

I WALKED AWAY - MARK 10:17-22

Walking up to Jesus,

One lovely summer day,

I joined the throng to listen,

To what He had to say.

The children pressed around Him,

He held one on His knee.

Young and old alike were listening

To Him solemnly.

I wanted to be near Him

To never leave His side

So I exclaimed, “Good Master

I seek eternal life”.

He beckoned me and tenderly

Took me by the hand,

“Do all the law requires

Follow God’s commands”.

“I have paid heed to all of them

Since I was but a child”.

He looked at me with love and said,

“This then is my advice.

“There is one thing that you can do,

Sell all you have and then,

Give the money to the poor

And follow Me, my friend”.

I looked at Him and felt a pain

Ripping me apart,

I thought of all the worldly things

That held my foolish heart.

I walked away from Jesus

To where my treasures lay.

I kept my wealth but lost my life

That long, sad summer’s day.

MYRA D’SOUZA / 15.10.2000

THE NOT SO LITTLE MAN Luke 19:1-10

 Zacchaeus heard that Jesus,
Was passing Jericho,
Being short he thought he'd perch himself,
On a sycamore.

Jesus stopped below him,
And looking up he said,
“I’m coming to your house today
Make haste, come down Zacchaeus.”

Jumping swiftly off the tree,
His heart beat joyfully,
He knows me by my name, he thought,
He wants to dine with me.

When those around saw Jesus,
Had sought him from the crowd,
They murmured, “He has gone as guest,
Into a sinner’s house.”

His life till then was full of sin,
Rich through ill-gotten means,
A tax collector scorned by all,
Especially Pharisees.

“Half of all I own I’ll give,
To the poor” he said,
“Those I have defrauded,
Will receive four times the share.”

“The Son of Man”, said Jesus,
“Comes to seek and save the lost,
The blind, the lame, the destitute
The prostitute, outcast”.

Zacchaeus once a little man
In spirit and in height.
Stood taller than the crowd once he,
Encountered Jesus Christ.

Myra D’souza 16.11.99

THE LEPER ­(Matthew 8:1-4) (Mark 1:40-45) (Luke 5:12-16)

Deep in the shadows hidden from view,

Just a little apart from the crowd,

Stood a man drinking in every word that issued,

Forth from the mouth of the Lord.

 He forgot for a while the dreaded disease,

That ravaged his body and soul,

Christ stood close to him, faith trembled within,

Dare he ask that he be made whole?

Watching amazed as the sick were being healed,

Awestruck at the power of God,

Limping out of the shadows to Jesus, he said,

“If You will, You can heal me my Lord.”

The crowd watched in horror, 

The leper approached

And sank to the ground on his knees,

Jesus stretched out His hand 

And touching the man said,

“I will it, my friend, be clean”.

I too was a leper, defiled by my sins,

Untouchable spiritually,

Deeply ashamed and riddled with guilt,

Was there hope for a sinner like me?

Then I saw my Saviour with arms open wide,

On the beam of a cross they were nailed,

On Calvary’s hill the blood that was spilled,

Was the price that He willingly paid.

MYRA D’SOUZA / 13.9.99

TRUE GIVING

When I’m called to be a giver,
Do I pause to count the cost?
Do I hesitate, procrastinate,
Until the moment’s lost?

When I’m called to be a giver,
Do I weigh the pros and cons,
Will I regret tomorrow,
Today’s benevolence?

When I’m called to be a giver,
Do I give of my excess?
Or like the poor widow,
Give all that I possess?

When I’m called to be a giver,
May I never count the cost
Of tender loving, giving,
Just as the Master taught.

Myra D’souza/1.12.1998

THE CRIPPLE LK 13:10-13

The Lord was in the synagogue,
One holy Sabbath day,
When He saw a crippled woman,
Enter in to pray.

Bound by an evil spirit,
Bent double eighteen years,
She lived a sad and lonely life,
Nobody cared for her.

On that memorable morning,
Of that sabbath long ago,
She heard the Master call her,
As she walked in through the door

He laid His hands upon her,
She stood up straight and tall,
Eyes brimming over tears of joy,
She praised the Living God.

I too was like that woman,
Crippled by my sins,
Until my Saviour touched me,
And healed me from within.

He drew me out of darkness,
Into His radiant light,
The Lord calls me beloved,
I call Him my delight..



Myra D’souza/26.10.98

PRAYER FOR TODAY - Eph 3:14-19

Abba Father in heaven,

As I come in Your Presence today,

And fall on my knees before You,

Grant me this petition I pray.

From the wealth of Your glory in heaven,

Dear Father, I ask that You give,

Me power through Your Holy Spirit,

To be strong as long as I live.

I ask not for strength in my body

But strength in my inner self.

And of You My Lord and My Savior,

I have a favor to ask of as well.

In faith, I ask You, Lord Jesus,

To make Your home in my heart,

Then will my roots and foundation

Be deeply embedded in love.

So I, along with Your people,

Have the power to understand,

The breadth, length, the height, the depth of,

The wonderful love of my Lord.

Yes, my Lord and my Savior,

May I know and be filled with Your love,

A love that can never be fully known,

And so have the nature of God. 

Eph 3:14-19 

Myra D’Souza / 14.2.1998

BLIND HYPOCRITE MAT 7:1-5

Who appointed you as judge,
My friend I’d like to know,
Let he alone who has no sin,
Be first to cast a stone.
Who said you, who’ve lost your sight,
Being blinded by a log,
Can see fit to pick the speck,
That’s in your brother’s eye.

Christ alone is able
To free us from our guilt.
For He makes pure atonement,
Since all of us have sinned.
We’re all born in concupiscence,
Because of Adam’s fall.
His Blood alone can cleanse us,
And redeem us all.

MYRA D’SOUZA /22.6.98