Summer 2014 / For James Foley and his Mother

A Modern Crucifixion.  Glory and Shame. 

Another son is dead.

It happens to be a high profile case,
a murder, almost broadcast world-wide,
but we all know about it,
a martyrdom, it turns out, some say.

A true humanitarian, a man
of prayer and photography,
beloved by scores
is gone

...his mother a saint,
of steadfast vigils and rosaries,
of community involvement and charity.

I heard her speak
and I recognized her.
She was strong.
She was loving.
She was graceful.
She was carried by an invisible force.
With it,
she comforted the whole world.
She turned evil to good.
The shame became glory. 

She, too, will never be the same.
When she stops bleeding,
and comforting,
eventually,
she will still bear the scars.
May the tormentors hide their faces,
and repent in dust and ashes.
Their glory is nothing but shame.

Psalm 130:4
"But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared."
Soli Deo Gloria