'Deep in the dark, I hear the feet of God;
He walks the world, He puts His holy hand
on every sleeper...
Benedictions on each one -
then passes on, but ah! whene'er He meets
a watcher waiting for Him, He is glad..
He rests His hand upon the watcher's brow
but more than that, He leaves His very Breath
upon the watcher's soul; and more than this:
He stays for holy hours where watchers pray;
and more than that, He oft times lifts the veils
that hide the visions of the worlds unseen.
The brightest sanctities of highest souls
have blossomed into beauty in the dark.'
(written by 'A Religious,' LISTENING TO THE INDWELLING PRESENCE, Pellegrini, Sydney, 1940, p. 42)
Painting: Kruseman Maagden, Wise and Foolish Virgins
This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz
Beautiful!! I've never seen this poem before - thank you for putting it up. The painting is wonderful too!
ReplyDeleteMary, the poem is from a little book (cited in the post) that, as far as I know, is out of print. The author, who goes only by the name 'A Religious,' wrote several marvelous volumes about prayer, and she (or he?) often mixes poetry in with prose. This book is on loan to me at present (thank you, CW!), and I've quoted it several times in the last weeks.
DeleteAnd I love the painting - glad you liked it also. Thank you, Mary!
Nancy, exquisite..both poem and picture! I want to be a watcher for sure, especially since I just returned from my beautiful silent retreat, from which I drove the two hours home with both joyful spirit and heavy heart, as I felt Heaven slipping away with every mile.
ReplyDeleteYet, I am so blessed. My sweet husband had steaks and marinated veggies waiting for the grill. But, I will miss the "cloister" for awhile..until the world seeps back into my soul again...
I wonder how many "watchers" God finds waiting for Him?
Love you...thanks for linking up to my post. Will respond to your comment shortly :)
Thank you, Patricia. I will be watching your blog for news of your retreat, if and when you feel like sharing any of it. I know you spent it "watching" !
DeleteLate at night in the dark is when most of the world's sins occur. It's a struggle for me to snatch the opportunity to pray when I wake up in the middle of the night--instead of flicking on the TV. But it's the perfect time! Because where sin abounds, grace abounds even more! A beautiful poem--and a beautiful painting to go with it--are inspirations to overcome the flesh at 3:00 am and be a "watcher"--but not a watcher of World News Now!
ReplyDeleteJamie, thank you for your striking thoughts. I visited your blog and was struck also by your words on thorns. 'For the heavenly pilgrim, comfort is a thorn.' Oh, don't I know it, except that usually I don't. This thought will, I hope, stick in my mind (no pun intended!) and make me a watcher as well.. for our Lord.
DeleteI think when we awake at night it is the Holy Souls asking for prayers...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Annmarie... I don't think I'd ever thought of this!
DeleteNancy this is so beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteThe wonderful painting reminds me to keep my vigil for the coming of my beloved Bridegroom.
The wonderful words..reach deep within me.
I wish I too could read this book, and am so thankful for the lovely things you share from it.
God bless you..Trish
Thank you, Trish. I am so grateful to be able to read this book - and since it's out of print, I am especially glad to be able to share it so we can all benefit from it!
DeleteNancy,
ReplyDeleteYou have posted so many wonderful quotes from "Listening to the Indwelling Presence". It sounds like a real treasure of a book. I found a copy to buy from Abe Books but it is very expensive. An e-version would be wonderful! Unfortunately I can't find one of those. Wouldn't it be great if someone with a bit of time and a copy of the book, scanned it and put it online so we all could share? In the meantime, I am glad we can share the book through your posts.
One of my very favourite books is Treading the Winepress with Christ in His Passion by Stephenson. This book is also out of print and so hard to get. I keep checking for e-copies but so far, no one has made one.
God bless!
PS Thank you for always supplying the paintings' names and the artists. I like to look them up!
Sue, it IS a treasure of a book, as is the Living Pyx of Jesus by the same author. 'Living Pyx' was sent to me by a friend. She had rescued it from some who were throwing it (and other older, classic Catholic titles) into the TRASH, having judged it as 'irrelevant for today's readers.' I've quoted 'Living Pyx' a number of times on the Cloistered Heart blog, as it is such an obvious 'fit.' Some of us have actually looked into seeing if that could be privately printed, but the copyrights are not old enough to have expired on any of this author's volumes - thus we can quote parts of them as long as we cite the originals, but we can't reprint the whole things, as far as anyone can tell ? I would assume this applies to e-books as well, but if anyone knows any more about this, there is apparently interest in this author's works.
Delete'Listening to the Indwelling Presence' has so much wisdom that I think I'll go on an increased treasure hunt while I have this still on loan.
So look for more gems... 'coming soon to a blog near you!' :)