God be in my head And in my understanding; God be in myne eyes, And in my looking; God be in my mouth And in my speaking; God be in my heart, And in my thynking; God be at my end, And at my departing. The Sarum Missal (11th century English origin)
Small Mind & I
I have a small mind. It is accustomed to working with concepts, to solving and fixing. It is satisfied with its questions, and proud of its answers. It becomes uncomfortable when placed in a container of silence. It perceives the possibility of demotion, and begins to fuss and fidget. It shows itself to be an insecure child, the amnesiac offspring of a secular world. In defence of my small mind, and to give it its due, it has generated much beauty, sculpted words, crafted sounds, refined spaces. It ensures that I have cleaned my teeth and paid the bills. I am glad of its companionship, and grateful for its service. After much strife, we have reached a conclusion: we are on the same team, my small mind and I. So now, engaged in the patient art of not-expecting, we sit together in quietness, without activity or movement, and slowly learn what we were not taught. We meet ourselves as we are: a singular lens, an awareness, an emptying vessel opening itself to the breath of creation.
Fire of the spirit
Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures,
spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures,
glow of charity, lights of clarity, taste
of sweetness to sinners, be with us and hear us.
Composer of all things, light of all the risen,
key of salvation, release from the dark prison,
hope of all unions, scope of chastities, joy
in the glory, strong honour, be with us and hear us.
Amen.
Hildegard Von Bingen.
Magnificat
The Canticle of Mary
Magnificat anima mea Dominum;
Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo,
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae;
ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus,
Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in bracchio suo;
Dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel, puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae,
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in saecula.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,: sicut erat in principio,
Et nunc, et semper: et in Saecula saeculorum.
Amen
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his humble servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed,
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear Him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
Cursed and yet free
I say now quite frankly to friend and to foe, the end is upon us, the tide it ebbs low. As insipid weakness breaks open the cracks, in dreamland and daylight we see what we lack. The bare brittle ego, the nation, the tribe, the scared, cornered beast with claws out to survive. In this polarised climate of love, hate and quirks, each shall be given in line with their works. For labourers chosen and heeding the call, a place of great balance comes after their fall. The beam of divinity cuts to the bone, shatters their selves and collapses their homes. Bloodied they rise from the dust with a cry, to continue the gauntlet of arrows and lies, where the star and the pebble, the brook and the tree, guide them to touching the One found in three. As souls born of light, here in darkness they see the template of paradise, cursed and yet free. For N.K.
Being a walking question mark 