Only

Speak, oh Lord, be silent not!
     if only a word, a phrase;
A word, my God, is all my plea,
A crumb, a morsel, that is all, and yet
     a feast ‘twould be for me.

As Water

Wrenched from deepest clay and stone
and rescued from Earth’s caverns deep
from darkness: springs, to light have flown
and plunged through rapids steep;
upon these gentle shores alight -
turbid paths have brought them here.
These waters once were dark as night
Their stains removed, now clear;
for Christ has brought them near.

J. P. Antonios

Oh, Heart, Be Not Dismayed

The spring that turns the season and races towards the fall;
the hurt that quells the laughter and
          the joys, however small;
The slowly passing moments and these thoughts unsure, afraid
uncertain of tomorrow:
          relief, this soul has craved
Remember still, my aching heart and all that it has braved,
these but longings for the heav’nly realms;
          oh, Heart, be not dismayed!
          in Christ, be you allayed.

- J. P. Antonios

Comfort

He who fashions roses out
amid the harshest thorns
Has pow’r to make His children sing
with joy, though tired, worn.

Oh Comfort of the weary soul
who speaks soft words of peace,
Bid the blooms of gladness grow,
and thorns, their hurt, to cease.

- J. P. Antonios

Thoughts on Evolution

For evolution to be possible, several things would have to be true. Firstly, changes in chromosome number should not affect organism compatibility for reproduction. Secondly, gene mutations must necessarily be dominant, useful, and compatible with natural selection. Finally, all organisms must be hermaphrodites. The only other possibility that does not preclude evolution is this: two organisms have exactly the same mutation/chromosomal change at the same point in time such that their reproductive cycles match; furthermore those two orgasms must be present together such that mating can occur and offspring be produced. The gene itself must maintain dominance - if it is recessive, it will be wiped out of the pool after less than a few generations of reproduction (granting that this gene does/does not interfere with intercompatibility of mating within the previous species or the ’new’ species created). The probability of all these factors coming together is so slim, that it is far more believable to create in a knowledgeable being outside of nature that would orchestrate such developments such that they would be possible or probable.