Warning
Anna Mae Marheineke RSCJ

Be careful, Lord, this year.
We may not let you in.
We fear
the color of your skin,
your poverty,
and do not wholly trust
your speech, whose ambiguity can irritate
those who want things
black or white, not gray.
Peace and the sword must
not cohabitate
any more than may
the wolf and lamb,
the hawk and dove
relate in love.
So state
your platform well before
you come knocking
at our door.
The scar
of sin sits deep
in church and state,
and inconsolable Rachels weep lost sons, sons lost in war,
in drugs, in alcohol and crime, in misplaced dreams.
O bid all time
stand still
among our petty human schemes. And if you dare and will,
step quietly again
into our hearts. Their pain
will be familiar.
Now you will know
how far
and where to go.

Prayer

God of the Journey, in our journey through life we feel out of place at times and at other times we know we are at home. We pray with compassion and a deep yearning for justice for each and every person who is forced to flee their homeland. May each find welcoming people and places free from terror, fear and mistrust and may our restless hearts find our true home in your love. (ABM)

"Be careful, Lord, this year. We may not let you in."
Alwy Fadhel, Psychosis. Coffee on paper (2012). Created at Villawood Detention Centre.

The Refugee Art Project conducted regular art workshops with people in the Villawood detention centre and with refugees in the community, from which art exhibitions are held and publications made. The Project seeks to facilitate the art and self-expression of asylum seekers and refugees and to present it as a challenge to the Australian community. More than 500 artworks have been exhibited.

"His yoke is easy" (Matthew 11.30) from Messiah by GF Handel, in a 1979 performance by the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir, Toronto, directed by Ivars Taurins.