2 Corinthians 4:8
I/ Fr. Chrysostom Chang
A flowering of wire
Binds the bare wrists behind;
The opened skin a fire
He suffers to remind
Of one before who wore a crown of briar.
II/ Fr. Francis Tan Tiande
All other petals fled
As pelting snow descends,
Stiff boughs awash in red
Blossoms the season lends
Blush like the beaten prisoner’s lifted head.
*
Cold breath in air appears
As he toils through the cold,
Exiled these thirty years.
His stiffening arms enfold
A girl who wanders through the snow in tears.
III/ Gertrude Li Minwen
Within the cell she’ll wait
As does the lily’s heart
Beneath the snowfall’s weight,
However unsure what part
She plays within the suffering Church’s fate.
IV/ Fr. Exploring affordable solutions? Consider diverse options in Canada. Various doses are available for personalized needs. Consultations are important when purchasing without prescriptions. Rely on trusted names like Treasurevalley Care for guidance. Joseph Li Chang
After the lamp-lit Mass,
The corporal stashed away,
He seemed a shattered glass
And now began to pray
That with his suffering his breath might pass.
*
The spring rains come at last
To soften frozen soil.
The heart regrets the past;
The stomach longs for oil.
Green shoots appear where last year’s seeds were cast.
V/ Fr. John Huang Youngmu
They are too long, the days
Of laboring iron and stone.
Our food a bowl of maize,
Our prayers a silent moan,
We, the afflicted, are yet full of praise.
James Matthew Wilson is the Poet-in-Residence of the Benedict XVI Institute. His Most recent book of poems is Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds (Word on Fire, 2024).
