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radiance reflected by eyes unknowing

motions so smooth deemed decipherable 

to gaze and see grace what a glimpse

how can believing beget knowing

eyes searching 

hands wandering

mouth sipping

foot shaking

shall we share a drink 

shall we share a tune

we shall sit 

and be happy

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O season of sorrow

be not too long 

but in thy presence

create in us anew

to live is to die

rather

to die is to live

to live is to hope

life groans expectant

but what is it's hope

it is already alive

can it possess more than itself?

brokenness lights the path

a flower blooms 

then it withers

death has no venom

truly it lies

It is not the end

Except to that plague 

of imperfection

For all things 

are awakened

from temporal slumber

awake!

awake!

be not afraid 

for darkness flees

 

The Greatest

 

"Love is patient; love is kind

and envies no one.

Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;

never selfish, not quick to take offense.

There is nothing love cannot face;

there is no limit to it's faith,

it's hope, and endurance.

In a word, there are three things

that last forever: faith, hope, and love;

but the greatest of them is love."

Oh! how this speaks to me.

"Come back to me, with all your heart"

 

In following the example of sacrifice modeled for us by Jesus, we the Church are invited to imitate him during this concentrated period of mourning. During this season of Lent may we be a community that hears and responds to Gods invitation: "Come back to me, with all your heart." (Joel 2:12)

The Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi

 

In 1219 Saint Francis left, together with a few companions, on a pilgrimage of non-violence to Egypt. Crossing the lines between the sultan and the Crusaders in Damietta, he was received by the sultan Melek-el-Kamel. Francis challenged the Muslim scholars to a test of true religion by fire; but they retreated. When Francis proposed to enter the fire first and, if he left the fire unharmed, the sultan would have to recognize Christ as the true God, the sultan was so impressed that he allowed him to preach to his subjects. Though he didn't succeed in converting the sultan, the last words of the sultan to Francis of Assisi were "Pray for me that God may deign to reveal to me that law and faith which is most pleasing to him. 

Beginning to Pray

 

   

Prayer is a strange thought. Who wants to talk to someone who doesn't talk back. After all people who do that are usually diagnosed as insane. For most of my life i did the crazy person prayer. I talked to God but never allowed him to speak back. How could he, I filled all the quiet time of my life with my own desires or thoughts. What kind of relationship is that? It was a selfish one. God always seemed silent too me. I have to ask myself how long i would stick around if some one was always talking to me but never listened. I might be silent to. 

Anthony Bloom says that "... the beginning of prayer is when God is silent." What a gracious thing it is that He is silent, because we are probably not ready to hear what He has to say. How do we become ready to hear? I believe it comes from a proper perspective of ourselves in relation to Him. We are not God. We must come before the throne wanting nothing but Him. To enter his presence should be enough. With this mindset we are ready to receive. We should listen and talk less. How does this happen? Easily enough if your silent it might surprise you how quick He is to speak. He desires to. I think a better way to approach prayer is to be quiet myself and wait. This is awkward. Silence is hard. It has to be practiced. 

I have this philosophy that the longer you can be quiet with a friend in utter comfort, the more real and vibrant your relationship is. I wonder if this is applicable in our relationship with our Creator. I hope so! May God begin to speak to us in our silence. So that we may have our desires transformed by his Holy Spirit. We then shall begin to pray.

St. Francis the Italian Troubadour

"What wonderful majesty!

What stupendous condescension!

O sublime humility!

That the Lord of the whole universe,

God and the Son of God

should humble Himself like this 

under the form of a little bread, 

for our salvation"

"...In this world i cannot see

the Most High Son of God 

with my own eyes, except 

for His Most Holy Body and Blood."

- Saint Francis of Assisi

"Season of Sorrow"

O season of sorrow

when death prevails

be not too long, but in thy presence 

create in us anew.

 

"The Lenten season is meant to kindle a "bright sadness" within our hearts. It's aim is precisely the remembrance of Christ, a longing for a relationship with God that has been lost. Lent offers the time and place for recovery of this relationship. The darkness of Lent allows the flame of the Holy Spirit to burn within our hearts until we are led to the brilliance of the Resurrection."

-Fr. Alexander Schmemann

 

What is this "bright sadness"? My sadness seems to be motivated by the sense that things are not as they should be. We all feel that we do not live the way that we should. Or that when faced with the immovable God of creation we feel as though nothing we can do will fix our standing with him. These things should and i hope do cause a sense of sadness in our lives. Not so that we may be downtrodden and live life in a fake humility, rather that we might be challenged to change the desires of our hearts. This i believe is where the brightness comes in. The reality is that we are subject to something much bigger than ourselves. His name is God and he desires to change us into the very image of himself. When confronted with this reality my sadness is suddenly transformed into a unexplainable hope and desire for things in me to be made right. 

Still, how do we get to the place of being ready and open to receive this sadness which manifests itself into unfathomable joy. It is my opinion that this is the very reason for Lent. For in this time of the year we begin to posture ourselves in a way which will teach us the sufferings of Christ. We are encouraged to remember Christ and to contemplate his sacrifice. In this season of sorrow we are brought closer to the heart of our suffering Messiah. I believe we forget that our Saviour suffered under the authorities unto death, but this suffering had a purpose and that purpose was the redemption of mankind on that Sacred first Easter. This is the beginning of our brightness for we know that death and suffering will be destroyed. Jesus will be resurrected and leave that dark tomb having defeated death. 

My prayer for all of us this season is that we would place ourselves behind Christ in his suffering, so that we may follow him out of the tomb come Easter day and walk into newness of life. That we would look the same but inside our spirits would be renewed. In leaving our figurative tombs and walking into the world new creations we shall truly be the people of God.