the source of belovedness

We are swimming in a sea of night
filled with stars
and currents of light

and we are finding our way
out of our limits
following the footprints of love
to freedom

and though we may be
a great physical distance apart,
you are as close as my breath
as near as the beating of my heart…
your touch is as real as my own
for what i feel more powerfully
than anything
is the power of the source…
of the divine power
that creates all things
the source that manifests
and moves in all hearts

the source in which i live and move
and have my being
the source that breathes me
bewilders me
beholds and brings benevolence
and belovedness
to my heart
revealing the infinite faces of life
and beauty
and love that creates
and creates and creates
as we clear the way
to create an open passage
for the beloved

the mystic says
when the beloved
grants us that kiss we long for…
love asks for our life
and for each new life we are given…
and we surrender
them one by one by one

What river have we fallen into
on its way to what vast and infinite sea!

This limited form is but a sigh
swooning
into foreverness
drifting into dreaming
and into the arms of strength
and softness
and endless love

A woman clothed with the sun

A woman clothed with the sun

Mary was the wisest theologian. (She was the Mother of the Word Who is at once the Theology of God and of Men.) God’s Truth entered so deeply into her life as to become Incarnate in her flesh. All Wisdom was centered in her heart, sedes Sapientiae. When the angel came to her at the Annunciation he found her in deepest silence. Few words are recorded of her who gave us the Word. And when she had given Him to the world, what should she do but listen to him? “She kept all these words, treasuring them in her heart?” ” And so, in every way, Mary is the model of contemplatives and the mirror of mystics. Those who love the pure Truth of God instinctively love the simplicity of Mary. She draws them into the heart of her silence and of her humility. She is the virgin of solitude, whom God called His hermit—ana est colamba mea in foraminibus petrae. She hid in the caverns of the rock Saint John of the Cross was just talk ing about. She lived as a hermit in the lofty mysteries of her Son. She lived all the time in the sky, though she walked on the earth and swept floors and made beds and made supper for the carpenters. What was happening in her unimaginably clear soul, in the stainless mirror of her being which God had made to receive His perfect likeness?

When the angel spoke, God awoke in the heart of this girl of Nazareth and moved within her like a giant. He stirred and opened His eyes and her soul saw that in containing Him she contained the world besides. The Annunciation was not so much a vision as an earthquake in which God moved the universe and unsettled the spheres, and the beginning and end of all things came before her in her deepest heart. And far beneath the movement of this silent cataclysm she slept in the infinite tranquility of God, and God was a child curled up who slept in her and her veins were flooded with His wisdom which is night, which is starlight, which is silence. And her whole being was embraced in Him whom she embraced and they became tremendous silence.

by Thomas Merton
From Ascent to Truth

Hear our prayer

O God, who is greater than all words,
beyond all images,
and beyond our comprehension
of all that you are…
hear our prayer.

O God, who awakens our hearts,
moves us to feel
and experience
your love…
hear our prayer.

O God, whose kingdom
is hidden within us,
who dwells in the mystery
of the soul…
hear our prayer.

O God, whose spirit
is infinite
who moves without limits
and knows our every thought…
hear our prayer.

O God, we come before you
with grateful hearts,
loving praise
and a deep surrendering…
hear our prayer.

O God, who creates us all,
grant us peace,
and guide our paths
in all our ways…
hear our prayer.

One moment of divine vision

One Moment of Divine Vision

once we wander
into the hearts
of mystics and lovers
into the divine light

of peaceful souls

or encounter one
who is forever dancing
with the turning earth

we venture into the mystery
of a thousand nights
witness the beauty of a thousand dawns

an eternal moment explodes
and floods all existence
with the beloved

once we awaken
to the birth of stars
fall into the enchanting gaze
of love
disappear in the deep curves
and waves
of that dark hair
releasing the scent
of sweetness
calling us ever more deeply
into the secrets of life

we find we are already hurtling
through the birth canal
into a new existence

where could we go except
to dissolve
into the wonder

of every moment
as the veils fall away
like dancing butterflies
in the wind
one by one by one
to reveal the longing truth
of an inner beauty

aching to be free

when we meet an infinite love
that takes us in
beholding itself in all it sees
seeing wholeness in a single glance
savoring and embracing
all we are becoming
in an adoring gaze
of freedom
we melt into the flames
of vision

once we have been
seen and known in a moment
of soaring
of sensuous surrender
of ascension that vanishes
into a brilliant light
of unity
that permeates the vision
of a new dimension
quite beyond anything
we ever remember knowing
in space or time or place

suddenly
we are carried and sustained
by love

when we open the door
to unbounded love
and behold the unseen beauty
of eyes that know nothing
but love
could we ever diminish

the glory
of the unending grace
of such a love
that sees
beyond every limitation

death cannot exist

in such love
poverty is impossible
in love

that treasures all life

for the beloved
sees us as precious visions
of the richest kind

if we are seen with such love
for even a moment
is there anything in this existence
or any other
that could ever steal
the joy
arising in
our expanding hearts

Hidden in Silence

Precious secrets
are hidden
in the depth of silence

Visit often
entering into the quiet
rhythm of the heart

Let it guide you
into the sacred silence
of the soul

There is a sea
that opens its shores
to your longing

Let the gentle waves
carry you
toward the light

Let silence surround you
and soothe
your worried mind

Beyond time and place
beyond names
there is a sweet soundless love

Open your heart
and let the scent of roses
surround the moment

The silence has gentle arms
to help you
remember love

Silent Presence in the Soul

Oh arresting silence,
welcoming quiet of the dawn,
peace of the setting sun,
hidden light in the night
waiting to break free
of the shadows
and reveal your Presence
to all who wait for you,
who listen for the steps
of the beloved,
unheard,
yet felt in the longing
of a lover’s heart.

You come as light
pouring through the openings
of the stars,
as light sliding from
the face of the moon,
glistening from raindrops,
shining forth
in the eyes of love,
as a sigh
in the quiet breath
of divine wind,
and you come to rest
in the silence of the soul.

Nothing that exists
can intervene or bar the way
to prevent your coming.
You are undetected
and protected
by the Love you create
that surrounds you,
invisible and infinite and imminent,
you reach for those
who long for you
and hold them to your heart.

Only you can break the bonds
and free whatever binds us,
when we dare to long
for what is unseen
and unknown,
cradled in the soul
where you wait for us
to cry out for you.

Blessed silence,
spiraling sweetness that saves us,
and lifts us
into your saving love.
Hidden in the songs
and chimes and music
that soothe the restless soul,
you prepare us for stillness
that shakes loose
everything
but your love.

Welcome, beloved one.
Welcome into my heart and
into my soul,
the hiding place,
where you dwell
as the sacred essence
of peace
and quiet love.

Beloved One

Beloved One,

Knowing you exist in a realm of life
that never ends
draws me into a thrilling rush
of excitement
that quiets the noise
of my restless mind.

Remembrance of you arouses
the energy of loving
and floods my heart with sweetness
that has brought me to life
in a new way every night
and every morning
as the beauty
of the dawn lights the way
with the colors
of our togetherness.

I feel the intimacy of closeness,
and experience,
the holy touch that sparks
a connection between
what is seen
and what is not seen.

Life itself
is a declaration of hope,
and the existence
of all life
inspires faith.

The miracle that comes
as a fountain of joy
beyond all else,
flows from the lips of love
expanding my heart
to create.

Feeling your listening presence,
your open heart,
and seeing the luminous
face of the wondrous
expressions
blossoming from seeds
of light is enough.

I reach into the gentle darkness
of the unseen,
feeling you take my hands,
drawing me
into the circle of your arms,
spiraling in the momentum
of the turning world,
and i gratefully
disappear
into your heart.

Did you create me out of your heart,
or did I create you out of mine?
Or did we emerge
from a common soul?

What sparks a flame to form
and follow
a burning trail,
only to leap apart
to set loose
this endless longing?

Following a burning path
inspires the leap
into a cooling sea of flames
that sizzle and steam
and continue
to create.

Love is a different kind
of burning
that changes us
and makes us shine
like gold.

The strongest bond in my life
is beyond genetics
and legality,
beyond time and place,
and words are the soundings
taken from
the ocean floor
of life’s deepest truth.

Life is not created
from the illusions of the sky,
but in the longing of the heart
and in the sanctuary
of the soul.

O dear one

O dear one

i am forever speaking
to your heart in ways
that reach beyond all else
to lift us in the encircling light
of love
flowing between us

i know you hear my voice
and feel the glow
of my presence
as i bask in yours
for we are already united
in the deepest way

we have flown beyond words
soared into the silences of lovers
who share the breath
of the beloved
entwined in unspeakable beauty
and quiet bliss
ever rising in the spirit
of our joy

you search the sky
seeking a personal word
when all the time
i am nestled in the softness
of your heart
whispering of my love
for you

my love know no bounds
in the freedom
of my state
i breathe the scent of flowers
from your face and hands
and drift in the light
from your eyes

I feel what you feel
and touch what you touch
and my lips
know the taste of yours
I pour myself
out like wine to anoint you

we are life-givers
joy-bringers
light-bearers and lovers
leaving a wake
of healing energy
wherever we go

we are never apart
intertwined in love’s embrace
now messengers
of all that is possible
in the arms
of a beloved

sweetness begins and ends
our days and nights
and each new dawn covers
the garden with
the precious dew of our
tears of joy

your love has called me
to new life
and mine has linked
you with eternity
in an invisible chain
that can never
be broken

we are in God’s care
and blessing
joined in the intimacy
of divine love
permeating
our hearts and souls

centuries of longing
and prayers
have granted our
desiring
in a union
only God can grant

the Beloved