Living Is Hoping The two priests, Father John Murphy and Father Alexander Dumas, read together The Four Candles’ Colloquium: Four candles were slowly burning in the darkness. The surroundings inspired silence so that you could hear their conversation. The first one said: “I am peace. However, people do not arrive at maintaining me lit. I think I am going out”. Its flame grew low and went completely down. The second one said: “I am faith. It goes without discussing that I am too much. It makes no sense that I remain lit”. When it had finished speaking, a light wind blew it out. The third candle spoke up then and said: “I am love. I have not the strength to remain lit. People leave me aside and do not understand how important I am. They even forget their nearest loved ones”. Without waiting any longer, it went out too. Suddenly, a child enters the room and sees the three candles extinguished. “But what is happening to you? You ought to remain lit until the very end.” And he burst out weeping. At that point, the fourth candle spoke: “Don’t be sad, my little boy. As long as I have my flame we can lit the other candles. I am hope.” His eyes brightly shining, he took the candle of hope and slowly lit the other candles… Hope makes everything possible. As long as there is hope in the future, there is power in the present. When hope will have become a habit in you, you’ll have a joyful spirit at all times. After the reading, Father Dumas was inspired and wrote a poem. 1 Hope is… Light in the dark A flower in the wilderness A healing for the sick person Liberty for a prisoner The birth of a child Emmanuel for the messianic age God’s gift for the world 2 Hope is… Wood for the fire The fire for the chimney The chimney for the cosy family atmosphere The partition for the piano Salt and pepper for taste “Gibelotte” for the tourist at Sorel Caviar for the gourmet 3 Hope is… Rain on a thirsty soil The horse for the plow Wheat for the gleaners The threshing floor for wheat The harvest for the crop The crop for the farmer The praying Daisy Petals to support the harvesters 4 Hope is… The key for the lock The door for letting through The screw for the nut The postage stamp for the envelope Iron for the magnet Teeth to grind The muscled arm for the chimes 5 Hope is… The tree’s bark for the woodpecker Green grass for the grazing goat Fresh water for the thirsty doe The shell’s hatching for the chicks The warm for newly born birds Nectar for the butterfly The azure for the eagle 6 Hope is… The head for the hat The hand for the glove The belt for clothes Sandals for the feet The feet for dancing The body for the soul The soul for the spirit 7 Hope is… The incarnation of the Word for the Father The star in the sky for the Magi The resurrection to new life for Jesus The Holy Spirit of Pentecost for the apostles The Virgin Mary for the stray one Eternity for the immortal soul God for humanity 8 Hope is… Saint Joseph to protect the Holy Family Archangel Saint Michael to defend the Church Mary, Mother of the Church, for the pastors and the faithful (Paul VI) Through Mary and in Mary to find Jesus (Saint Bonaventure) The domestic church for the Homes of adoration The church to gather the faithful The Church to save all races 9 Hope is… The trailer to go camping in nature The camp fire to create an atmosphere of interiority Wind for the sail boat The pedal for the boater The swimmer for the swimming pool The sun for everybody’s joy The trees to allow the birds to nest 10 Hope is… Victory for the sportsman The stove for the cook The comedian for the podium The driver for the bus The speaker for the radio The reader for the book Nazareth’s carpenter to build the kingdom of love 11 Hope is… Salary for the workman A medal for the soldier Promotion for the employee Success for the business man Succeeding for the ambitious man A subvention for the artist A reward for the dressed dog 12 Hope is… The Christmas basket for the isolated poor man The volunteer for the handicapped person A friend for the one who needs to entrust himself Some advise for one who is in doubt The sound of the bell for the annoyed student The shelter for the homeless Light for the blind man 13 Hope is… The doctor for the sick Francis’s kiss to the Leper The transplant for a new life Longevity for the octogenarian The door which opens for the immigrant A rose for friendship The final triumph of love 14 Hope is… A piece of wood for the drowning person The breeze for the exhausted one Rest for the tired man The arrival of the train for the traveller A pregnancy The new Eve to pronounce the “Fiat” The universal priesthood for the serious baptised Christian 15 Hope is… The pulpit to proclaim God’s word Bible reading for the man of faith Silence for the contemplative person The priest for the altar The Daisy (seven praying Petals) for the adopted priest Mary, full of grace: the Father’s chosen one An avalanche of grace for men of goodwill 16 Hope is… A conscience for the upright man The unction of the sick for a dying person R.I.P. for a close friend A visit to the cemetery for deceased parents The coming of God’s reign for all loving hearts The definite victory for Christ Pantocrator The conquest of the Lamb of God for peace 17 Hope is… Man for woman and woman for man Dawn for the day and dust for the night The sidewalk for the pedestrian The path for the walker The mountain for the alpinist The bivouac for creating friendships Clemency for the condemned 18 Hope is… Moonshine for lovers “All I can give you is love” for a sincere heart The diadem for the bride The grail for the destined knight A castle for the lord The triangle as a symbol for the Trinity The trisagion for God trice holy 19 Hope is… 911 for an emergency S.O.S. for a ship in distress Mayday for a failing airplane The buoy to navigate The radar for the controller Peace in times of war The jamboree for the boy scouts 20 Hope is… Forgiveness for the sinner The shepherd for the lost sheep The Father for the prodigal son Calvary’s Cross to save humanity Reconciliation for far away brothers Heaven for the believer Alleluia for the angels 21 Hope is… The gospel for the conversion of the world The Eucharist for the universal fraternity Divine revelation for an elected people God’s infinite love for his creatures The God-Man, true God, for the redemption The light of the nations for the whole earth Divine dynamism for a cosmos in mutation 22 Hope is… The broomstick for Harry Potter Barak Obama in December 2008 The voice for singing Sound for the hearing Improvisation for the experienced musician The pen “to write a word” Inspiration for the poet Dedication – I dedicate this poem to Mrs. Ginette Charland Houde, who died on January 9, 2009. She has organised three of my Daisies. Besides, indirectly, she led me promote the Daisy Movement on the Internet since January 2003. Francis de Ruijte Once the poem had been written, Father Murphy starts translating it, first in English, then in German and Italian. The two priests do their concerts more and more before an international public. They compose the melody together. They draw their inspiration from the Gregorian chant, the dorian modus, and from the recitative. The title line of the stanza “Hope is…” is chanted on an antiphon taken from a gregorian antiphon. The other seven lines of the stanzas are recited and developed according to their length, the language or improvisation. They often sing, Father Dumas the first line, Father Murphy the second one, and together the third one. At other times, one of the two singers sings an entire stanza of seven lines. This allows him to improvise at his heart’s content. Father Dumas accompanies himself on the guitar and Father Murphy at the piano. When one of them improvises the other one follows him and supports him on his instrument. Sometimes Father Murphy moves from his low base voice to a high pitch modulating “yodel-a-e-e yodel-a-o-o”. The audience finds it a very pleasing surprise. Afterwards, whenever he improvises again, the people ask themselves if he is going to repeat this stunt. And Father Dumas lances “cuckoo cuckoo”, with the same kind or result. This performance seems to be spontaneous – and it is so in part – but it is also much prepared and practised. In analysing the poem, Father Murphy observes that twenty-two stanzas can be divided into four categories: “evidences”, 6 + 1 stanzas; “persons”, 6 stanzas; “relationships”, 3 stanzas; “spirituality”, 6 stanzas, divided into three. But we are dealing with poetry and not with mathematics. Father Murpy comments his fellow priest’s poetry. He notes that it has the characteristics to pass from ordinary reality to spirituality. This poem is a typical example of it: 55 of the 154 lines, or 35.7 percent, belong to this domain. First, there are six complete stanzas (27.27 percent) that can be summed up as follows: Stanza 7: salvation history: from Jesus’ incarnation to his resurrection, mentioning also eternal life stanza 8: from Saint Joseph to the universal Church stanza 15: from the Bible to grace stanza 16: life’s end; it is doubtlessly the most serious text of the poem stanza 20: from forgiveness to the angels, mentioning the images of the lost sheep and the prodigal son stanza 21: from the gospel to the cosmos in mutation Moreover, there is a short mention in 13 lines, counting for another 8.4 percent for spirituality. God in general is mentioned in 9 lines. God the Father is mentioned in 3 lines. Jesus is mentioned in 12 lines. The Blessed Virgin Mary is mentioned in 5 lines. A single mention goes to: the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, Saint Joseph, Saint Francis of Assisi, the Archangel Saint Michael, the angels, the grail. The Daisies are mentioned twice. Father Murphy wrote in his commentary: “This list shows already the orientation of the author’s spirituality. On the other hand, it is not correct to draw a general conclusion merely from one poem”. That is why he compares this poem to other ones of the same author. Besides, he compares it also with other texts. For instance, concerning God the Father, he refers to Holy Margaret Bourgeois (liturgical feast on January 12), who had a special devotion to God the Father. For the title “Mary, Mother of the Church”, he reminds that Pope Paul VI has officially proclaimed it on November 21, 1964, in his speech when he closed the third session of the Second Vatican Council. The first author know of having used this title seems to be Bishop Berengaud, who died in 1125 (cf. Patrologia Latina of Migne, volume 17). In this way, this 21st century poem is linked to the theology of the first millenary as well as to pontifical documents. Finally, he compares the poem’s theme to biblical texts like the following. Psalm 130 (129), 5: I wait for Yahweh; I rely on his promise. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: 13 We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again, And that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. John 14:1-4: 1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am going now to prepare a place for you, 3 And after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going. The commentary ends with an anecdote. An author has said that a poem consists of ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. Are you curious to know the percentages of this poem? After twenty-four hours of inspiration, I needed thirty days to reflect and to organize it. Francis de Ruijte, Sorel-Tracy, February 2009.