“What can I give him, Poor as I am?” Christina Rossetti Today is one of the most important days in the old church calendar, but also one of the most widely forgotten: the feast of Epiphany. Today we remember the wise men visiting Jesus, but we also remember what this represents, that the Gospel hasContinue reading “Epiphany: Heartshine”
Tag Archives: Christina Rossetti
The Language of Flowers: For Christina Rossetti
As an Anglican myself, I have to say that our literary exports don’t get much better than Christina Rossetti. Granted, she’s in formidable company, alongside George Herbert, John Donne, William Cowper, C.S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot and R.S. Thomas (why did you need to have the middle initial S in order to be a successful 20th-centuryContinue reading “The Language of Flowers: For Christina Rossetti”
No Ghosts This Year Concludes, and a Christmas Gift
Well, today is the last day of Advent, and so it is time for me to wrap up my Advent story for the year. If you’ve been following the story so far, you can read the last instalment below. But, if you’re new to this year’s story you can read the rest of it, plusContinue reading “No Ghosts This Year Concludes, and a Christmas Gift”
No Ghosts This Year #4
Dinner had passed with congratulations all round for his sister’s success at her license test and corrections from his grandfather over his reports of the ridiculous song that had been inflicted on Philip in music class that afternoon. “That was ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’!” Pa had said. “Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst. The greatest EnglishContinue reading “No Ghosts This Year #4”
20 Contemplations #19: Sleep, Wake
I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking… (Song of Solomon 5:2a) The world sleeps, but still some wise men gaze out unto the beckoning sky, and some still wake to hear the door pounding, night humm- ing in active grace of years. No doubt, the gentleness of the stars willContinue reading “20 Contemplations #19: Sleep, Wake”
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”
Litany, Rossetti and Cardiphonia-style
In preparing to lead the service at my church this Sunday – looking at Revelation 10-11:14 – I’ve found myself reading some of Christina Rossetti’s devotional commentary on Revelation, Face of the Deep. If you’re looking for a systematic unpacking of a complex book, probably don’t go to Rossetti, but if you want to readContinue reading “Litany, Rossetti and Cardiphonia-style”
From Ashes Part 5: “…all things are wearisome…”
Vanity of vanities, the Preacher saith, All things are vanity. The eye and ear Cannot be filled with what they see and hear. Like early dew, or like the sudden breath Of wind, or like the grass that withereth, Is man… (Christina Rossetti, “The One Certainty”) Some years ago, the greatest comfortContinue reading “From Ashes Part 5: “…all things are wearisome…””
Christina Rossetti: Love Lies Bleeding
Sadly, my month of working with Christina Rossetti’s poetry must come to an end. To finish up the month, here is an essay I have written on her poetry. It is an early draft of a chapter towards a larger book I am writing about the power of writing in the Christian life; this meansContinue reading “Christina Rossetti: Love Lies Bleeding”
Alive (After Christina Rossetti’s “Sleeping At Last”)
One of the last poems that Christina Rossetti wrote (possibly her last; her brother, William Michael, is unclear about this) was the touchingly simple “Sleeping At Last”. Taking the subject of death, which has fascinated many poets from Donne to Dickinson, Rossetti presents death as sleep, a peaceful rest ending pain and beyond which liesContinue reading “Alive (After Christina Rossetti’s “Sleeping At Last”)”
The Consolations of Writing 