I never met the man, but we did live in the same state for a number of years. I guess I was just too young.
I put this short piece from And the Risen Bread on my facebook feed, but not all my readers overlap.
“Miracles” by Daniel Berrigan:
Were I God almighty, I would ordain, rain fall lightly where old men trod, no death in childbirth, neither infant nor mother, ditches firm fenced against the errant blind, aircraft come to ground like any feather.
No mischance, malice, knives.
Tears dried. Would resolve all
flaw and blockage of mind
that makes us mad, sets lives awry.So I pray, under
the sign of the world’s murder, the ruined son;
why are you silent?
feverish as lions
hear us in the world,
caged, devoid of hope.Still, some redress and healing.
The hand of an old woman
turns gospel page;
it flares up gently, the sudden tears of Christ.
Who among us remain silent? Who pace the planet and fret? Who cries with the tears of the Lord?
Memory eternal! He passed through Death on Great and Holy Saturday on the Julian calendar. May he rise with his Savior to life eternal and hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”