Michael Harding

Rushing this on a warm evening in Ennis where I'm on stage having a great time with book. But here is a bit of joy for May 16th. Blessings.

In May’s embrace, the world unfurls,A tapestry of blooms and pearls.Mary, goddess, radiant and fair,Your breath is spring’s sweet, fragrant air.The earth awakes, her heart in song,Each petal sways, your grace prolongs.In verdant fields, your spirit gleams,A flowering world of sacred dreams.Lilies bow in reverent praise,Roses blush beneath your gaze.The rivers dance, the skies alight,Your presence gilds the day and night.O Mary, crowned in May’s soft green,Your love is felt, though never seen.The budding world, in joy, confesses—You are the spring, the eternal goddess.From dawn’s first light to twilight’s hue,The earth in bloom pays homage true.Three hundred words could scarce conveyThe glory of your month of May.Yet here we sing, with hearts sincere,Your name resounds through spring’s frontier.The flowering world, in rapture, sways,For Mary, queen of vibrant days.

Actually this is a bonus episode for the First of May. Listen to the music of the most amazing text in the entire gospel.

Mixing ideas about Easter with a Buddhist notion here. How these two traditions dovetail just amazes me all the time. But this is only my take. My imaginal ramblings. Hope you enjoy them. Part Two coming in an hour.

I've never tried to do this before. it always feels beyond my ability to talk about the finer points of theology but here we go. It's the Good Friday moment. And that's the first of three moments. The second is Holy Saturday. The third is Easter Sunday. So in this series of three, I'm dealing with them in sequence. Today I reflect on Good Friday, in the next podcast I will explore the one we rarely think about and that is Holy Saturday, and finally I'll try to share what really belief in Easter means for me. So this is part one of three.

New16 hours agoWell I began with a reflection on Lough Derg where I went last Easter with a friend for holy water, and then I couldn't resist rambling on about some amazing Buddhist history. I hope you like it, mingling dream, fantasy, faith, and two religions as we approach Easter. Let your faith be fun, and a fuel for your imagination. Or maybe that should be let your imagination be fun and a fuel for your faith. Happy weekend !

Maintaining faith in a God gets difficult in the world we live in. We seem to be facing chaos and darkness and suffering everywhere we look. So I'm delighted to share my personal strategy on it, and why I would bother holding on to this thing called faith. I suppose what perplexes me is Evil and the sense that God could hardly wish all this suffering of War Disease and Death to be inflicted on sentient beings. I find that true, and I have no answer. Unless I change the focus and turn my attention to love as it exists in the universe. Then everything changes. 

Yes. Something very different today. (And in a way a little homage to philosophies of "embodiment, " especially that of Merleau-Ponty. )A simple story of how much my concertina matters to me even though I can't play it. I see it as a secret object, used in rituals whereby beautiful sounds come into the world.  The absurdity of developing a relationship with a musical instrument and the theology behind it. Even though I can't play it.If you're not on Patreon, please consider going to Patreon.com and become a paid subscribe to the Michael Harding podcast. Unlimited access to hundreds of reflections for the price of a coffee. Every week. Go on, you can do it !Body

I know it's a few weeks away yet, but there was always two things that defeated me in the Christian tradition. One is the empty tomb. And the other is the heartbroken cry of Jesus as he died. One concerns a belief that defies science. The other is a cry of despair that defies faith. How do I reconcile them. How do they actually contain the real secret of faith.