Writings

Christ weeps with those that mourn the loss of a loved one. He gently speaks: “Beloved, in the night when you cannot sleep, I will wait with you for the morning. When you cannot eat, I will fast with you. We suffer together. I am the first love that holds you within my heart. I will never leave you. I am Hope. I am the Resurrection.”

Few poets have written more beautifully about our place in the natural world than Mary Oliver. Her poetry quietly whispers: “observe, pay attention, be connected.” And, if we follow these instructions, whether we are harvesting berries, sitting under a tree with loved ones, or hiking in the woods – we begin to realize our connection to all living things.

I hope you will join me in continuing to slow down as I share six poems and brief reflections on them for the next three months. … We are all children of God and we belong to one another. Let us break down the many walls that divide us and enter into the beautiful together.

It is about an encounter. It is about reading slowly, sometimes even aloud, listening and pausing to reflect on a word or a phrase that captures you. It is about letting the text work on you rather than you working on the text.

What about the coronavirus though? What if instead of an enemy, it is a mirror reflecting back to us the real enemy? No, it can’t do so consciously, but what if it is serving as a mirror nonetheless?