The Temple Door

 I was speaking with a friend yesterday and I mentioned that Daniel Ladinsky's book, Love Poems from God included poems attributed to St. Francis.  I expressed my  surprise, saying I did not think of St. Francis as a poet.  She reminded me of his singing to Brother Sun and Sister Moon and other canticles.  

 The poems are lovely, and I am finding them humbling.  Like good conversations, dreams, and prayers, poems can open the doors to our soul. There God is.      

    

NO ONE KNOWS HIS NAME 

  

No one 

knows his name - 

a man who lives on the streets 

and walks around in rags. 

 

Once I saw that man in a dream. 

He and God were constructing 

an extraordinary 

temple.     

 

The poet Rabia suggested that everyone should have a secret name for God.  I have long wrestled with how to address God,  particularly when I am preaching and praying in public.  Yet, the idea of a private name stayed with me, and this morning I woke with that name in my heart.  I am grateful.  Yes, it is a name that has been with me all along. I just never heard it calling.  

  

   

photograph:  San Leandro, February 2021      

    

   

Oh My Soul

 As I was reviewing my photographs yesterday, the one that is attached seemed so appropriate for the poet, Rabia.   Yesterday I was also asked if I would speak with a woman who is ill.  I, of course, agreed.  The woman told me she was Pentecost and asked if I ever spoke in tongues.  No, I responded.  She did not seem to hold that against me, and we had a sweet conversation.  This morning I am reminded that the soul knows many languages, many ways of expressing its sacredness and its love.  

    

In My Soul  

In 

my soul 

there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church 

where I kneel. 

   

Prayer should bring us to an altar where no walls or names exist. 

 

Is there not a region of love where the sovereignty is 

illumined nothing, 

  

where ecstasy gets poured into itself 

and becomes 

lost, 

 

where the wing is fully alive 

but has no mind or 

body?

  

In  

my soul 

there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, 

a church

 

that dissolve, that 

dissolve in God.    

 

Rabia 

Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky   

  

photograph:  San Leandro, February, 2020   

    

Please let me know if you are interested in joining me for Lenten Centering Prayer.  We will have two weekly sessions via Zoom:  Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.   You are welcome to come when you can.   

Released

 This poem by Rabia is a gift for those of us who feel that our creativity is ebbing.   When I first read it, I smiled. I am smiling now.  I believe I am a little freer to love.  I am reminded of Brother Lawrence finding God among the pots and pans of his monastery.  I think of Martha, and want to  say, "I will help. Thank you."  Not to turn away from Jesus, but to pray.    

Daniel Landisky writes that Rabia of Basra (c. 717-801) was born into poverty in ancient Mesopotamia.  Supposedly her father had a dream where the Prophet Muhammad appeard to him and advised him that his daughter would be revered as a saint.  However, she would become separated from her parents, and eventually sold to a brothel.  There she lived and worked until she was 50 when she was given her freedom. She  then devoted her life to meditation and prayer.  It is said she had the ability to heal others. Of her time in the brothel she wrote, "What a place for trials and transformation did my Lover put me, but never once did He look upon me as if I were impure. Dear sisters, all we do in this world, whatever happens, is bringing us closer to God."   

   

Slicing Potatoes  

 

It helps, 

putting my hands on a pot, on a broom, 

in a wash 

pail.   

  

I 

tried painting, 

but it was easier to fly slicing 

potatoes.     

   

Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky   

photograph: San Leandro, January 2021     

   

   

    

If you are interested in taking part in Christian Meditation during Lent, let me know.  Two sessions a week will be offered: Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. Specific details to follow, but if you think one of these might fit your schedule,  you would be most welcome.