Catholic Exchange » J. L. Seguin

The Eloquence of Your Love

J. L. Seguin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The eloquence of your blood, Lord Jesus,
Cries out far better than does Abel's bloods,
For in thy pure light the Father sees us,
His promises blossom, His mercy buds.

For your love alone is love submissive,
So for you alone may I live my life,
For you alone Lord give me life to live,
And you alone art perfect sacrifice.

The Father listens to your holy plea.
He ever trusts in Thy blameless ethos,
For you make your speech, Lord, so blamelessly,
With Mary, O Virgin Theotokos!

You alone with God may be called our Mother,
(Eve was unable as Cain killed his brother).

His Spirit Burns within Me

J. L. Seguin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I had a vision of the moon, beautiful and sublime:
Beautiful in that it is so near,
Sublime in that it is so far.
It could have fit neatly on my tongue.
But I was afraid:
It would have burnt through my head.
It glides swiftly North through fixed and immutable clouds,
Yet ever stays before my eyes.
Each immutable cloud passes out of sight as we sail along.
I felt the wind that it struggled against in my soul.
My ears heard deafening silence as it persevered and strove,
Sometimes being illuminated by the clouds,
Sometimes hidden, but always coming through in the end.
Finally it comes to rest when it had conquered all.
Finally I wake up and close shut my eyes.

I no longer feel the cold cement beneath my head.
His Spirit burns within me.

A “Healthy” Valentine’s Day Poem

J. L. Seguin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

There was a saint–his name was Valentine–
Pope Gelasius sainted him with this laud:
"His name is justly reverenced among men,
But his good acts are only known by God."

Now if this is the case with Valentine,
Lost though honorable, unknown yet still true,
Then it must not be quite so out of line,

For me to express how I admire you.

Valentine's love was "healthy, strong; worthwhile"
(The Latin term "valens" denotes as much).
Upon this "able" fellow God did smile,
And upon you, also, I think ‘tis such.

So with this sonnet, I wanted to say,
My dear "worthwhiles"… Happy Valentine's Day!

This Child is Born

J. L. Seguin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The “I Am” has entered here All that is;
“Here” is such a lowly place—Bethlehem.
He comes to do whate’er His Father bids,
To give His loving peace and not condemn.
Yet condemned He was in sinful man’s sight,
Sight that was not good though what is is good,
So God revealed His blazing, radiant light,
So errant man might well have understood,

But now is modern man moved to action,
By the Verbum Dei that doth make Him,
Or is nihil too great an attraction,
For modern man to flee from murderous sin?

This child is born, the Word to be embraced,
Whose meaning’s more than use—our sins erased.