In the tender compassion of our God
The Dawn from on high shall break in
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death
And to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78-79
O Lord,
We see the wreckage of nations and the ruin of cities, and the cries of children are part of this darkness to which Luke speaks in the news today. It is the last thing we want to dwell on, to confront. The news is filled with the shadow of death, deceit, corruption, and horrendous greed and suffering.
And yet, You are our guide, a lamp, the Dawn coursing over the morning
landscape to our footpath, lighting our next step. The scripture takes us out of
darkness into the way of peace. What revelations have you laid out for us in this
path of peace? Where in the news this week can we hear your voice?
May our ears hear.
It is the nun bringing tender compassion.
It is the duckling plunging earnestly into the world.
It is Christ knocking on the door of our minds and intellect as we plunge and
probe the universe seeking the light that is breaking in upon us.
The Global Sisters Report: Sister Rose Kuhn of the Sisters, Servants of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary holds a child at an immigrant center in Mexico, just south of McAllen, Texas, USA. She ministers and keeps a weekly vigil at the Harlingen immigration court. It is a universal experience to hold and tend a child. In some places not so universal, in courtrooms, detention centers, or as your home is being raided. Some children need soothing, some want to cuddle; for others, it brings them the dear life of human contact when they would otherwise have increasing fear and terror. Hold us, dear Jesus, as we hold others.
The Cornell Ornithology site* showcases the Wood Duck whose range is Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and the USA. It nests in trees near water. After hatching, her ducklings must jump down from the nest tree, her distant call the only guidance to her and water. The ducklings have been known to jump from heights of over 50 feet, landing without injury.
O Lord, we are pulled in many directions; anxiety that drains, parents’ voices which can soothe or harshly warn. O Lord, you care for those who care. May we step onto the path and care for those who care for the elderly, the infirm, the young, the seemingly ever so vulnerable. Give us also confidence that we can leap, take the next small step, leaving our fear behind, stepping into courage, clarity and strength. Be our light, O Jesus. You are calling us.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope** launched on the 30th of August 2026
from the John F Kennedy Space Center, USA, is spreading its wings. International
partners on this endeavor include space agencies from France, the European Union,
Japan and the Max Planck Astronomy Institute in Germany.
Solar panels, communications, a 3-minute mid-course correction burn on September 1…”Antenna” – “check!”…” Sunshade” – “check”…” Coronagraph Instrument” – “activated!” Like the Wood Duck’s nest, the Telescope too will find her home, reaching LaGrange 2, a Sun-Earth orbit after approximately 100 days. In that distant position she will orbit with the Earth around the Sun, beginning her critical investigations on the very cosmology of the universe, of light and life. ***
Holy Spirit, as we watch the heavens and the earth from our instruments and machines. What great wonder and gratitude we take in, in this world we live upon. We do indeed need “ground support.” Newly placed NASA stations in White Sands, New Mexico, USA, the Misasa station in Japan, and the European Space Agency New Norcia station in Australia will support the monitoring and communications as the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope uses a specialized camera 100 times more powerful than the Hubble, studying dark energy, exoplanets, the chronology of the universe, and primordial black holes.
The Roman Telescope carries a commemorative plaque that holds a memory card containing 1,350,144 names submitted by the global public. We are as the stars in the heavens, the tender ones shining, seen and unseen, held in some great whirling mystery glowing in the darkness, calm, steady, bound in your love.
AMEN.
*https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck
**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Grace_Roman_Space_Telescope
***https://science.nasa.gov/resource/what-is-a-lagrange-point/