Behold: a universe bursting to life within us
Small gifts for a bustling week
It’s O-Antiphons time! During the 8 days before Christmas, the Church prays each day with one title for Jesus from the prophets. Learn here about the ancient tradition (and wordplay, swoon), including audio clips of chant. And here are creative artistic interpretations of the O-Antiphons by Sr. Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ.
Still turning over this essay from
: It’s no small thing. “I have considered all the facts, and I have decided it is no small thing to love my life with small action verbs right now.”A prayer for the winter solstice this week. And a poem on the same by Dana Gioia.
“Each day we stand before the doors of chronos and kairos. We can enter into the frantic, fast-paced, nonstop rush of consumerist culture, with its endless urgent cries of “buy, buy, buy” and “more, more, more.” Or we can turn and open another door, the quieter way of faith. The door we choose will change our lives.” From my latest column: “Every dawn an Advent, every day a New Year”
A poem I wrote (and read) this week. A song that Mary or Elizabeth could sing:
They needed no gender reveal—
He was all surprise. And yet not.
Planned, prophesied, prepared
Through centuries of suffering,
Of hope that one day, there might be
More than this. And then: suddenlyLet there be light. Let it be with me.
Overshadowed, overwhelmed
Overjoyed and overcome, she runsTo tell another mother
Who would understand, who carried only
Impossible within her, too.If today, would she flip the camera,
Deliver the gift, wait for the shock,
The surprise, squeal, no way!No need.
Holy knows holy, the leap of love
Against skin on skin, on skin on skin.But did you feel that? She must have
Whispered, one heartbeat to another,
Laughter rushing from their lips
Already knowing what no one had to tell: We
Waited forever, our whole lives
For this. Cast down every mighty plan
We thought we were making. Behold:
A universe bursting to life within us.
For my Midwest writing friends: want a beautiful time of retreat to start the New Year? Check out my dear friend Ellie Roscher’s offering at the Episcopal House of Prayer in Collegeville, Jan. 24-26: Root. Nourish. Rise: A Writing and Yoga Retreat.