Poets & Saints

ScriptureJob 33:4 (NRSV)  The spirit of God has made me,  and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.RefrainGod of breath and nearness,  you are closer than our next inhale.QuoteBrother Lawrence of the Resurrection  *The Practice of the Presence of God*  “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God: those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive; it is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because God would have us.

Scripture  Lamentations 3:31–33 (NRSVUE, abridged)  For the Lord will not reject forever.  Although he causes grief,  he will have compassion  according to the abundance of his steadfast love;  for he does not willingly afflict  or grieve anyone.Refrain  I return again and again.Quote / Prose  Jon Kabat-Zinn  “Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully  in each moment to being present;  inviting ourselves to interface  with this moment in full awareness.  We do this by returning again and again  to the anchor of the breath,  no matter how many times the mind wanders.”

Scripture  Psalm 23:4 (NRSVUE)  Even though I walk through the darkest valley,  I fear no evil;  for you are with me;  your rod and your staff—  they comfort me.Refrain  I stay with what is.Quote / Prose  Pema Chödrön, from *When Things Fall Apart*  “To stay present with pain and not run away from it  is the key to awakening.  When we stop struggling against what we feel,  we begin to find freedom  right where we are.”

Scripture  1 Corinthians 6:19 (NRSVUE, abridged)  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,  which you have from God…  and that you are not your own?Refrain  God meets me in my body.Quote / Prose  Bessel van der Kolk“The body keeps the score:  if the memory of trauma is encoded in the viscera,  in heartbreaking and gut-wrenching sensations,  in autoimmune disorders and skeletal and muscular problems,  then talking about it may not be enough.  The body must feel safe again.”

Scripture  Psalm 46:10 (NRSVUE)  “Be still, and know that I am God.”Refrain  I notice without fixing.Quote / Prose  Jon Kabat-Zinn, from *Wherever You Go, There You Are*  “Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives.  It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness  of each moment.  We also gain immediate access  to our own powerful inner resources  for insight, transformation,  and healing.”

Scripture  Genesis 2:7 (NRSVUE)  Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,  and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;  and the man became a living being.Refrain  I return to the breath.Quote / Poem  George Herbert“Teach me, my God and King,  In all things Thee to see;  And what I do in anything,  To do it as for Thee.  A servant with this clause  Makes drudgery divine.”

Scripture  Matthew 2:12 (NRSVUE)  And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,  they left for their own country  by another road.Refrain  I walk by the light I have been given.Quote / Poem  Teresa of Ávila  “Let nothing disturb you,  Let nothing frighten you,  All things are passing away:  God never changes.  Patience obtains all things.  Whoever has God lacks nothing;  God alone suffices.”

Scripture  Psalm 139:1–5 (NRSVUE, abridged)  O Lord, you have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up;  you discern my thoughts from far away.  You search out my path and my lying down,  and are acquainted with all my ways.  Even before a word is on my tongue,  O Lord, you know it completely.Refrain  I am seen and known by God.Quote / Poem  George Herbert“Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,  Guilty of dust and sin.  But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack  From my first entrance in,  Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,  If I lacked anything.”

Scripture  Luke 24:30–31 (NRSVUE, abridged)  When he was at the table with them,  he took bread, blessed and broke it,  and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him…  and he vanished from their sight.Refrain  My eyes are opening.Quote / Poem  Emily Dickinson  “The Soul should always stand ajar,  That if the Heaven inquire,  He will not be obliged to wait,  Or shy of troubling her.  Depart, before the Host has slid  The bolt unto the Door—  Then will the Soul return her trust  Without distrust or more.”