…without the First-born no-one is able to approach Being, for he alone is capable of it. (Saint Ephraim the Syrian, Hymns of the Nativity) Do we forget who we are? Clamouring for prizes, for profit, for land, The spaces we contest constrain us. Who was Herod when he feared a baby? Who was the babyContinue reading “Damascus Road Prayers: Advent 4”
Category Archives: Devotional
20 Contemplations #6: At Creation
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3) First birdsong and flight; new heavens groaning; These things we cannot see. They precede Sight, consciousness. All we know, he exceeds: The Face behind the flame and the foaming. Nothing made without Him: He moves across AstronomyContinue reading “20 Contemplations #6: At Creation”
20 Contemplations #5: Rhythm of the Three
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:18) “I and the Father are one.” Such mystery Finds no answer in biology. Why Not “I and my mother”? One for a time, Yet divided at birth, distinct in history. No, “I andContinue reading “20 Contemplations #5: Rhythm of the Three”
20 Contemplations #4: Magnify
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. (Luke 1:29) Magnify, soul. Let mind expand; let heart Take in what cannot be contained. Discern, Yet know the limits of your thoughts. Return Again, again, to faith. Take humble part In grandest story. This isContinue reading “20 Contemplations #4: Magnify”
Damascus Road Prayers: Advent 3
Glory to your coming that restored humankind to life. (Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns of the Nativity) Because of the shadows, we miss our brother’s face, our sister’s gaze. The pace of the crowd moves us forward. If you reached out to touch my garment, I would not feel. This power departs us daily:Continue reading “Damascus Road Prayers: Advent 3”
20 Contemplations #3: Downward Flight
…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant… (Philippians 2:6-7) He wraps Himself in light. He orders stars And plunges to depths unseen since Adam. Watch the flurry of clouds; watch each atom’sContinue reading “20 Contemplations #3: Downward Flight”
20 Contemplations #2: The Colour of Light
He also made the stars. (Genesis 1:16) No twinkle. This is something terrible: Flaming gas, explosive with bright thunder. Scan the night sky, make a wish and wonder; Yet it can destroy galaxies at will. At will, He directs it. See it twinkle Before Him, docile, obedient under His hand. It knows His voice whichContinue reading “20 Contemplations #2: The Colour of Light”
Damascus Road Prayers: Advent 2
…as if He were a seed in our garden, or a small flash of light for our pupil, He shone forth and diffused and filled the earth. (Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns for the Nativity) Days crack like soil. In the parts of the world where summer parches we wait like potholes for the rain.Continue reading “Damascus Road Prayers: Advent 2”
Hidden Grace
Senseless acts of beauty went unnoticed as the runners ran and golfers golfed and my head span. Full of self I stormed upon the beaten earth and missed the shades of microscopic brown and green, the flower hidden in the leaves, the pounding in the runner’s ears, the grace which binds me to these yearsContinue reading “Hidden Grace”
20 Contemplations #1: Colours of the Father
What do you see? He is invisible Yet all creation knows Him. Listen: The birds slow their flight for Him; leaves glisten In all His coloured light. Impossible Strains of symmetry glide through chaos: simple In their dignity, yet rich in vision. Catch the smallest glimpse, the grandest impression: He is more – glorious, indivisible.Continue reading “20 Contemplations #1: Colours of the Father”
The Consolations of Writing 