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creation, morning, presence, silence, spring, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours
We had tornado warnings last evening but only got torrential rains that seem to have washed away layers of distress and moved us finally into a glorious taste of spring. I thank God for windows this morning! The first blast of beauty that met me was the flowering cherry tree in the west corner that was glorious seen from above (the second floor). Downstairs there was a congregation of colorful birds on the newly washed deck – more variety than we have ever had! In addition to the ever-present yellow of the finches we have a second appearance of Baltimore orioles and, for the first time, a contingent of rose-breasted grosbeaks. They all know where the party is and it is a delight to watch them as they find breakfast, dancing and singing this early in the day to give me courage.
I sit here in the sun, feeling the gentleness of the breeze and imaging Thomas Merton on the tiny porch of his hermitage on mornings just like this one. The leaves on the trees still sparkle with the remnants of the rain as I turn to his words for a way to express praise of this wonderland of creation.
The most wonderful moment of the day is that when creation in its innocence asks permission to “be” once again, as it did on the first morning that ever was…There are drops of dew that show like sapphires in the grass as soon as the morning sun appears, and leaves stir behind the hushed flight of an escaping dove…Today, Father, this blue sky lauds you…The distant blue hills praise you, together with the sweet-smelling air that is full of brilliant light…I too, Father, praise you, with all these my brothers, and they give voice to my own heart and to my own silence. We are all one silence, and a diversity of voices…Here I am. In me the world is present, and you are present. I am a link in the chain of light and of presence…(Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours)
For today, a post as short as yesterday’s entry was long. From J. Philip Newell, a prayer:
I believe that I understand at this moment what Thomas Merton wrote at dawn on a day a half-century ago about waking up. It is totally silent inside my house; everyone is sleeping still or again. (The coffee is made so someone was up before sunrise.) Outside is a different story. The mourning doves punctuate the conversation that is constant and loud – some would say cacophonous – among all the other birds large and small. And through it all the rooster reigns, splitting the silence with a voice that carries to the river and back again calling us all to wakefulness. “It is like the first morning of the world,” Merton writes, “when Adam, at the sweet voice of Wisdom, awoke from nonentity and knew her…” Only in silence, I think, is it possible to have such an experience. And so I will dress and go into the day, carrying with me the pure sounds of praise in the natural world, hoping to know the wakefulness that is available to me this day.
Synonyms for constantly: continuously, persistently, always, again and again, frequently, repeatedly, over and over…(You get the picture, yes?)
6:37AM: Very dark outside. Very cold in my bedroom. A day to hunker down under a mountain of blankets, one might say. But I’m awake and moving with thoughts of gratitude for the promise of two days of work that is not burdensome. Rather I look forward to the creativity of planning with my “Wisdom Team” for the events that help us and those who participate in these retreats to go deeper into life in the Spirit. The work is greater than anything we could conjure ourselves and it is always a joy and privilege to see where it takes us. Today is a new beginning and I find myself singing silently a familiar chant:
Here is one more prayer of praise from Macrina Wiederkehr, the text I will pray this morning with my colleagues as we gather for another day together.
We haven’t had much morning sunshine lately but the light of dawn does come early now. As a first task this morning I felt the need to make a list of things to remember – contacts that are overdue from email, calls that I haven’t returned, “homework” for upcoming events…The last entry is something that generally only occurs to me with the morning sun: I must wash my bedroom window. How much more needful it appears when the sun shines! What a difference a little Windex and elbow grease would make.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 