Dear Friends,
This week we have a seasonal theme – that of winter of course. For some it is a time ‘to get through’ in order to reach spring but for others it has a beauty & meaning that is positive & repays reflection. You will see that we have included two pieces by Joyce Rupp. It seems to us that she reflects particularly well on Winter. Our blessing this week is an Irish blessing again but a different one – this week from ‘Sacred Weave’. We hope you find something in today’s selection meaningful, & that if you are finding the winter hard-going, something here will be helpful.
With our love & prayer
Winter’s Cloak
Joyce Rupp
This year I do not want
the dark to leave me.
I need its wrap
of silent stillness,
its cloak
of long lasting embrace.
Too much light
has pulled me away
from the chamber
of gestation.
Let the dawns
come late,
let the sunsets
arrive early,
let the evenings
extend themselves
while I lean into
the abyss of my being.
Let me lie in the cave
of my soul,
for too much light
blinds me,
steals the source
of revelation.
Let me seek solace
in the empty places
of winter’s passage,
those vast dark nights
that never fail to shelter me.
Changing the Landscape
Joyce Rupp
It doesn’t take much
to change the grey drabness
of a bleak winter day,
just an inch or two of snow
upon the lawn and roof.
It doesn’t take much
to change the stony landscape
Of a rankled heart,
just a word or two of kindness
soft upon the discontent.
From The Spirit of Place
by Adrienne Rich
The work of winter starts fermenting in my head
how with the hands of a lover or a midwife
to hold back till the time is right
force nothing, be unforced
accept no giant miracles of growth
by counterfeit light
trust roots, allow the days to shrink
give credence to these slender means
wait without sadness and with grave impatience
here in the north where winter has a meaning
where the heaped colours suddenly go ashen
where nothing is promised
learn what an underground journey
has been, might have to be; speak in a winter code
let fog, sleet, translate; wind, carry them.
A Container of God’s Presence
Macrina Wiederkehr
One of my favourite parts of the day is when I come in from my early morning walk and have a cup of freshly brewed, steaming hot coffee. On cold winter days, I especially like the feel of my favorite coffee mug in my hands and I thoroughly enjoy the sips of liquid that bring welcomed warmth into my body. My coffee mug reminds me that cups are containers designed to hold something refreshing, just as we are containers meant to hold the Divine Presence. Because God dwells within me, I like to think of myself as a mini Ark of the Covenant. God goes with me wherever I go. I carry God into each relationship and experience. A powerful thought, that one.