“For thy soul be not ashamed to say the truth. For there is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame that bringeth glory.”—Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 6: 24-25 I was young and foolish; vain in the chase and ways of the world who, when things went wrong, perceived great tragedy; and of […]
All Posts By: Byron McCoy
IMPERFECTLY
“The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”—Vincent van Gogh “Are you good at that?” she asked. “Not every day,” he answered, “but, still, I try—even when I fail.” She smiled with compassion in countenance, an empathy for […]
PHIAL OF LIGHT
I was in darkness, alone with thought I’d rather not hold, feeling its shadow close. I sought to divert my mind and came upon a passage. In it, Frodo is in an undesirable place, tempted again to wear the Ring. His hands clutch to the chain where the ring is kept, but he […]
SERPENT’S TONGUE
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that […]
DESIRE
“Don’t you want more in life?” she asked, an irritation in her tone. She paused, looking at him stern, “What do you even want?” “I don’t know,” he answered. “I’m back to a beginning.” “Isn’t it a little late for that?” He was thirty-three. “No clue, but why waste effort […]
VOCATIONS
A vocation is not always a profession. Our purpose and life passion may not be what pays bills or puts food on our table, and that’s alright. Purpose and vocation are not a focus for immanent needs but on something more that stirs our souls and raises sense and connection to a Higher. […]
SHADOWS
I was a little boy, scared of the dark, that failed in being brave. No more than four or five, I remember the monsters and images over walls in room—shadows cast by silver light of rising moon. I went to my father, asking to be saved and comforted in my fears. He returned […]
SPECTERS VANISH
“What is necessary to cause these specters to vanish? Light. Light in floods. Not a single bat can resist the dawn.”—Victor Hugo, Les Miserables He read alone in the shadows of the room beneath chairside lampstand and single candle burning at a distance. He read a book of God, fate, and Destinies and […]
REASON WHY
“Now I am glad: not because you were made sorrowful; but because you were made sorrowful unto penance. For you were made sorrowful according to God, that you might suffer damage by us in nothing. For the sorrow that is according to God worketh penance, steadfast unto salvation; but the sorrow of the world […]
SKY-WRITE
“…this is not the only time nature has reflected the feelings in my heart; I have noticed it often during my life. When I cried, the heavens were full of tears, and when I was happy, the sky was a cloudless blue.”–St Therese of Lisieux, “The Story of a Soul” _____ _____ “…there is always […]