Mystic Christ Forums

Conamara Blues

2012-01-20T20:43:38Z

I am just reading the book “Conamara Blues” a collection of poems by John O’Donohue, also author of AnamChara.

Some thought provoking images and delightful poems with nice christian themes. Some other good ones which appeal to me set in the mountains and with mountain and nature themes

A good read, anyone else enjoyed this?

Stations of the Forest

2011-11-16T18:08:16Z

A beautiful and poignant exploration of the fate of the Rainforests. This is one of the best pieces of environmental theology I have ever seen:
http://www.columbans.co.uk/resources/dvd-video/stations-of-the-rainforests/

Reflection for Samhain/All Souls

2011-10-30T19:09:15Z

This is a meditation that focuses on the message we can find in the skeleton of a poplar leaf, I used it in my church last week during our monthly prayer meeting.

As the autumn leaves fall and decay we begin to sense the year passing away, the nights noticeably lengthening and a certain sense of things dying.

When we look at the poplar leaf we see that translucent quality that this time of year is known for. The thin web of veins that remain now that the leaf has lain dead for a full year offers a particular beauty which may give us a sense of the great web that links all life together, that great web that is woven by God Himself and whose beauty we glimpse within this intricate patterning.

If we can find a leaf like this to hold in our hands we will notice its fragile delicacy. Perhaps this might give us a sense of the fragility of life itself, for we ourselves are like this leaf and, as Jesus describes the wildflowers…..‘here today, and gone tomorrow..’

As we hold the leaf we take time to look at the veins revealed that previously were hidden from our eyes. We see the secret veins in the leaf that was once green and opaque. Just so does God hold us in his hands and sees into and through us as others cannot see. And what He sees He loves.

Take time to reflect on the deep, abiding, unconditional love with which God views our true essence. The true essence of ourselves which grows the stronger for allowing in His love and which will remain when all else has faded.

As we hold the leaf in our hands we know that God holds us. And in His hands we are safe.

If we hold up our leaf to the light, perhaps the light from a window or towards the light of a candle, its translucent quality becomes even more obvious. We can remember as we do this that in recognizing God’s love for our inmost being we can allow His Light to fill us. As the candle light passes through the leaf; so too does God’s Light move through us to be reflected into the world.

Relax in the knowledge that God sees and loves what He sees in you, and that in softening to His love you may become a transmitter of His Light even on dark and shortening days.

Amen.

The Turning Year

2011-10-20T21:41:55Z

This is a poem/meditation that I wrote for Harvest and presented in Church. I hoped to combine my love of the changing seasons and the sense of the sacred, along with my understanding that it is Christ Himself who lives and breathes in the beauty that we experience and are part of, whether we notice this or not. Christ comes to us in the simple and the ordinary both from within His Creation and beyond through His great redemptive work.

The Turning Year

October

‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’
Let us consider the beauty and gifts of the changing season. The first frosts turning the leaves golden,red and yellow.
The smell of leaf mold in the air, strange shaped fungus in the damp woods.

November

Scrunching leaves to kick through, remembered from childhood - still available to us today.
The smell of bonfires.
The falling of leaves across the sky.
The bare branches of trees revealed again.

December

Short days and long nights,
The point of Midwinter.
Mistletoe, holly, and perhaps a flurry of snow.
Christmas - that great celebration of the return of the Light,
A baby born, new life in the middle of what seems like death.

January

Ice on puddles,
Deep hard frost bejeweling every stem and twig.
Sub-zero,
A long wait for Spring.

February

Snow,
Deep, crisp, silent, white, crunch.
The possibility of a snowball,
Snowman.
Memories, children’s laughter,
Sledging.

Snowdrops and the first crocus peeping through.

March

Bird song and the building of nests.
Lambs bleating, frisking in the fields.
The return of hopeful sunshine,
Days lengthening.

April

Gentle rain,
Daffodils, primroses,
An increasing burst of life.

May

A riot of colour, shapes and fragrances,
Hedges covered in white blossom.

June

Days lengthening to a mid-point,
Roses.
The feel of real warmth in the air.
Fields of green wheat moving towards ripeness.

July

Summer blending one day with another.
The smell of cut grass,
The smell of new mown hay,
Memories, hay carts,
The beginning of harvest.

August

Stubble in the fields,
Blackberries, red berries and hops in the hedgerow.
Home grown tomatoes.
A dusty, mellow warmth.

September

Tell tale spiders webs covered in dew that let us know that the season is changing and autumn returns.
We welcome the abundance of fruit and berries, looking forward to harvest.

The year has turned, we have come full circle. We are one year older, we are aware of changes within our lives.
We breathe deeply and accept life’s natural patterns, thanking God that in Christ we have access to the still point,the key, the corner stone, the very fountain and foundation of life. Jesus, the Alpha, the Omega, through whom we are made, to whom we return, through whom all creation finds fulfillment.

Praise God for this great mystery.

Amen.

a mystic on Holy Island

2011-08-18T09:59:08Z

I’ve recently been asked where to go on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Some suggestions from me here - what would you add?

• go to morning eucharist in the island parish church
• spend time in the parish church with the wooden statue of Cuthbert’s monks carrying his coffin
• visit St Cuthbert’s island at low tide (below the parish church)
• walk round the east/northeast shore of the island
• spend time bird-watching from the hide at the lake on the east side
• visit the book shop at the Open Gate retreat (Community of Aidan and Hilda)
• be in the garden for prayer near to Open Gate (see pic attached)
• and give attention to the small things…

The spiritual purpose of Marriage

2011-05-03T10:55:37Z

I like this quote from the Bishop of London’s sermon for the Royal Wedding.

A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

You can find the full text here.

It is good to be reminded of that from time to time ...