COULD YOU EMBRACE THAT?
I said to God, "Let me love you."
And He replied, "Which part?'
"All of you, all of you," I said.
"Dear," God spoke, "you are as a mouse wanting to impregnate
a tiger who is not even in heat. It is a feat way
beyond your courage and strength.
You would run from me
if I removed my
mask."
I said to God again,
"Beloved I need to love you- every aspect, every pore."
And this time God said,
"There is a hideous blemish on my body,
though it is such an infinitesimal part of my Being-
could you kiss that if it were revealed?"
"I will try, Lord, I will try."
And then God said,
"That blemish is all the hatred and
cruelty in this world."
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274; p. 136)
HOW DID THE ROSE?
How
did the rose
ever open its heart
and give to this world
all of its beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light against its being,
otherwise we all remain too
frightened.
Hafiz (1320-1389; p.161)
A PEASANT BEFORE A KING
If I did not understand
the glory and sufferings of the human heart,
I would not speak before its
holiness.
Like a peasant called before a great king,
when all of His court is assembled-
that is how I stand before
every woman
and man.
How is it that God seeks our counsel
whenever a voice or face
asks of us?
What a sweet divine game
He plays.
I stand with humility before every creature
when they call me into their court,
because of your holiness, my dears.
St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380; p. 207)
