Peace

Look Who’s in the Hall of Fame

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
My friend Michael Bussey has just been inducted in the YMCA Hall of Fame

At the YMCA there’s a gym and a pool
and some rooms like a hotel to stay.
But there’s also a hall in which hang photographs
that recall VIPs of the day.

It’s a hall where the values of Christ are enshrined
along with a few worthy men
who served like their Savior (with others in mind)
while giving allegiance to Him.

It’s a hall that includes those who stand up for peace
while making (of strangers) new friends.
It’s a hall where the flame of the Y is maintained
and where fame’s but a means to an end.

It’s a hall where my friend Michael Bussey resides
with his humble heart grateful and full.
By the glint in his eye and the look on his face
I can tell it is well with his soul.

Remembering a Pioneer of Peace

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Here I am with Father William Treacy as he prepares to celebrate his 103rd birthday

A pioneer of peace has passed
bequeathing us the timeless task
of sowing seeds of brotherhood
and reaping hearts of love.

He had no children of his own,
but that by which this father’s known
are sons and daughters who reflect
his passion to seek peace.

This theologian, priest and sage
would live to be a ripe old age
and to the end would challenge us
to see all folks as friends.

I toast Bill Treacy’s faith and life.
This one, who never had a wife,
would serve the Bride of Christ with joy
and fill us all with hope.

Peace to his memory!

https://nwcatholic.org/news/northwest-catholic/interfaith-pioneer-father-william-treacy-dies-at-103


Greg’s book,
“Sheltering Grace“
is listed on the
BOOKS menu
at $15.00 from
Lulu Books.

A Tale of Two Mothers

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Remembering Diana and Teresa twenty-five years after their deaths

The mother of William and Harry
and the mother of Calcutta’s poor
were taken too early with much left to do
in a world stained by bloodshed and war.

Both these mothers gave birth to a vision
that remains unfulfilled to this day.
It’s a vision of kindness and mercy
where peace and contentment can play.

It’s a vision that invites us to focus
on what is (as yet) still unseen.
And so every morning, let’s look high and low
to find ways to fulfill what they dreamed.

Editor’s note: Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car crash on August 31, 1997. Mother Teresa died later that same week on September 5, 1997, just ten days after her 87th birthday. The following poem was written shortly after Teresa’s death and republished in 2017.

https://www.seniorlifestyle.org/express/rhymes/remembering-mother-teresa

Marking a Monarch’s Platinum Jubilee

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Your Majesty, your Jubilee
now calls to mind your reign
that’s showered countless Brits with more than tea.
Your subjects curtsy and they bow
with homage in their hearts.
You represent their love of royalty.

“God, Save the Queen”
they proudly sing as palace guards stand tall.
The lyrics of this anthem voice their prayer,
that God would guide your every step
and give to you long life,
that you might sense God’s presence everywhere.

Elizabeth, the world-at-large
now celebrates your rule.
Beyond your realm we recognize your face.
We are not blind to griefs you’ve known
or critics of The Crown.
But through it all, we marvel at your grace.

Your Majesty, we mark your reign
(three-score-and-ten grand years)
as flags fly high and banners are unfurled.
Your Jubilee provides a peek
at that for which we long…
real peace and oneness in our war-torn world.

An Ongoing Gaze

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1922

Enthroned upon a marble chair,
Abe gazes east with somber stare
toward a dome where laws are made
and freedom is defined.

One nation under God remains
divided, bruised by hate and blame
as white headstones in Arlington
remind us what we know…

That freedom never has been free.
That what means most to you and me
was purchased with the blood of those
who died that we might live.

That Lincoln’s dream of unity
 of human rights and dignity
will in God’s time be realized
when peace on earth will reign.

  • Next week marks the centennial of the Lincoln Memorial. Gratefully, Robert Todd Lincoln, the only surviving child of the sixteenth President, was in attendance.