Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from You.”

Chaos and order: they seem separated at times by only the slightest barrier. Walking in any big city one is impressed by remarkable order and regularity: from block to block the red and green traffic lights function to control cars and surging crowds pretty well despite the rare outlaw. A breath away is chaos: a power failure and the traffic lights give way to confusion, or something scares all these people and there is panic.

The men wrapped in cardboard and gunny sacks sleeping in doorways at night suggest all is not well. Homeless people sleep in doorways steps away from opulent hotels. Order, health and sanity, prosperity are all limited, fragile. We are torn between thankfulness for the order and health there is and the chaos and suffering that are equally evident. Perhaps we can be more aware of the things that are right, take them less for granted, while being alert to opportunities to right what is wrong, to cooperate with efforts to heal and mend the broken and hurting elements in our world.

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

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