This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Mary Grace Melcher, OCD.
Benediction
The hand that blesses me is pierced
And with the Cross—I’m signed.
Now shall I doubt that blessings come
Cross-shaped, in His design?
He hewed and humbled me with pain,
With darkness held my eye.
Yet by His own sweet law He bound
Himself to raise me high.
And everything I counted gain
I’ve reappraise as loss.
His cleansing benediction
Is hidden in His Cross.
Sr. Mary Grace Melcher, OCD, is a cloistered Carmelite nun at the Carmelite Monastery of Terre Haute, Indiana. She has been a member there since 1981. In addition to writing icons, she is also author of Intercessions for Mass. The book, inspired by her daily contemplation and meditation on the Scriptures, offers deeply meaningful prayers of the faithful for every day of the year. Please visit her monastery Website and gift shop.
