Sweet dreams - sleepless nights

Your luxury somehow gets in the way of your senses.
But I am sorrowful even on minor things.
For sin is an estrangement from God.

How should I bear God, in a state of loss?

For you, sleep is satisfying, and you lay down on both sides.
Sweet are the dreams that mirror the day's events.
You drink, you dice, you clutch, you flirt, you laugh.

For me, the greater part of life is sleepless.

For pains stab at me even when I lie resting,
and when I do snatch a little sleep, I weep.
And the rude night's appearances frighten me,
the judgement, a judge not well-disposed to me, while I stand
   there trembling;
here a fountain with fire unquenchable boiling;
there, a worm forever gnawing;
in the middle, conscience, an unwritten prosecutor.
...
But God is my support and consolation,
when I am hungry, shivering, and in straits.

Go on, act tough, beat up on me, call me low-born and poor,

stomp and push; you won't be acting tough much longer.

By God I endure all things, and it's to Him I look.

Till Tomorrow

Words support

and words can hit

Words resemble walking sticks

Words surrender

Words betray

Words give hope and love away

Words compel

and words deceive

Your words comfort and yet you leave

Words give all

and words still lack

Bitter words behind your back

Words confirm

and yet deny

Slay your soul with vicious knives

Words to cure

Words to lure

Words through clenched teeth – nothing new

Words of love

and words of hate

Words have put you in the grave

Challenge-words

Wrath-rotten voice

Empty word make empty noise

Words of sorrow

and frustration

due to words alienation

Words restrict

and words retrieve

Words of wisdom, words naive

Words create

and words destroy

Mighty words in mighty voice

Words can judge

and words forgive.

Word of God, do you believe?

Can I be what

I want to be?

Still man of words but man of deeds.

You wait and see,

Just wait and see.

I’ll pray for you , you pray for me.

Source: Botolphs Antiothian Orthodox Church

A Thousand Winds

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.

I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.

I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.


- a poem written by Mary Elizabeth Fry

The embers are now cold ...

Soft breeses, mild sunshine,
spring is still young.
The sudden change to light apparel
brightened my spirit.
But upon awakening from slumber,
I felt the cilly air;
The plum flower withered in my hair.

Where can I call my native land?
Forget - I can not, except in wine
when I drown my care.
Incense was lighted when I went to sleep;
Though the embers are now cold,
the warmth of wine still holds.


Li Qingzhao (1084–c. 1151)

In a minute

A small poem I came across scribbled in one of my diaries from 2005:

I have only just a minute,
Only 60 seconds in it,
Forced upon me - cant refuse it,
Didn't seek it, didn't choose it,
But it's up to me to use it -
Give account if I abuse it:
Just a tiny minute -
But eternity is in it.

Christ is in every poor man

"Care for the poor; 

lighten everyone’s burden; 

comfort the suffering."

I saw a stranger yestreen; 

I put food in the eating place, 
drink in the drinking place, 

music in the listening place, 

and in the name of the Triune 

he blessed myself and my house, 

my cattle and my dear ones, and the lark said in her song 

often, goes the Christ in the stranger's guise.

- The Irish Rune of Hospitality

"It is in the name of Christ that I feed the poor, 

for Christ is in the body of every poor man. -St. Brigid

Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you are. 

The best gifts to give:

To your friend, loyalty;
To your enemy, forgiveness;
To your boss, service;
To a child, a good example;
To your parents, gratitude and devotion;
To your spouse, love and faithfulness;
To all men and women, charity; 
and To God, your life.


“…for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me....”

--- Christ

What is love?

Τι είναι αγάπη;

Δεν είναι συμπόνοια μήτε καλοσύνη.
Στη συμπόνοια είναι δύο, αυτός που πονά κι αυτός που συμπονάει.
Στην καλοσύνη είναι δύο, αυτός που δίνει κι αυτός που δέχεται.
Μα στην αγάπη είναι ένα.
Σμίγουν οι δύο και γίνονται ένα.
Δεν ξεχωρίζουν.
Το εγώ και εσύ αφανίζονται.
Αγαπώ θα πει ΧΑΝΟΜΑΙ.

~ Ν. Καζαντζάκης

O honeycombs chosen by God ...

“Who is going to speak about your struggle, blessed Fathers; 
Who is going to praise worthily the deeds of your asceticism? 
Who is going to praise the temperance of your mind? 
your unceasing prayer 
your sufferings to gain virtue, 
the wearing out of the body,
the struggle against passions, 
the all–night assemblies for prayer, 
the unceasing tears, 
the humility of spirit, 
the victories against demons, 
and all the other gifts? 


O multitude of holy men 
sanctified and desired by God. 


O honeycombs chosen by God, 
who made wax cells, 
full of the sweetest honey 
of quietness in the holes and caves of the earth 
in the Holy Mountain. 


Delight of the Holy Trinity! 
Delight of the Holy Mother of God! 


Pride of Athos, 
source of pride for the world. 


Pray to the Lord that our souls find mercy”. 


Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, by the intercessions of Thy Saints, have mercy on me a sinner. 


Most Holy Mother of God, save me

Follow the path of the martyrs

“Come young athlete of God, keep close to me, keep full of zeal,
bend low your neck in complete obedience,
humble yourself, dead to your own will,
telling all the thoughts of heart and mind
you are already in the arena,
have no fear of desert, have no fear of the pillar,
nor of any other order in the race that is before us, the race to know God
you are the first according to Holy Scripture; you follow the path of the first martyrs”

The blessing of St Symeon ...

To the "lovers" of God:

"Blessed are those who are clothed in light,
for they are wearing the wedding garment.
Their hands and feet shall not be bound,
nor shall they be thrown into everlasting fire. Blessed are those who have kindled the light
in their hearts, who keep it unquenched,
for as they joyfully depart from this life,
they will meet the bridegroom, torch in hand,
as he leads them into the bridal chamber.
Blessed are those who have approached the divine light,
who have entered it and been absorbed by it,
mingled in its brightness, sin has no more power,
they will weep bitter tears no more.
Blessed is the monk, offering his prayers to God,
who sees Him, and is seen near Him,
who feels himself out of time and space,
for he is in God alone, knowing not
if he is in or out of the body;
he hears inneffable words, not to be spoken;
he sees what no eye has seen or ear heard,
nor has it entered the heart of man.
Blessed is he who has seen the Light of the world
formed in himself, for he has conceived Christ
within himself; he will be counted as his mother,
as Christ, in Whom there is no lie, has said". 

A red, red rose ...

I had this poem on the blog and then removed it last night ... but a Celtic friend reposted it and I think this poem wants to remain in my memory thus back on this page it goes:

A Red, Red Rose

O my Luve's like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve's like the melodie

That’s sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I:

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry:

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve

And fare thee weel, a while.

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.

I have much to learn and I begin today

This poem has been borrowed from a photo off Flickr. The author has signed himself anonymously but recognition should be awarded to him. Quote © 2008 by my Nickname ‘Mosche Lopez Pereira or Diego d´Aguilar’ - proud about his Sephardic heritage @ the Residence de Le Petit Chateau  (his family name and address changed to protect his privacy on the internet)




I have much to learn. I begin today . . .

My Elders have all gone to see The Great Spirit.
One great beauty named Erna,
who was married by my German, French, American Grandfather,
I know not much from that union,
I have much to learn.
I begin today . . .

So much has been lost
Will I ever find my way?
Yes, I have, but I have much to learn.
I begin today . . .

I can feel the connection to The Great Spirit
that I share with all my children on earth.
Does it matter that I have missed so much time?
No... I have much to learn.
I begin today . . .

Right now is what my Creator has given me.
I cannot change the past, but can do with today what he guides me to do.
I will do the best I can with what I have.
I will continue to learn and live.

Maybe someday I will know some things to share,
so sacred rituals are not lost.
A Wisdom keeper someday I may be.
I have much to learn.
I begin today . . .

When, O King Immortal

When, O King Immortal,
Thou didst seek the gloom,
Tasting death in meekness,
Resting in the tomb—
On that dark and woful day,
Hades owned Thy kingly sway.

Victor! now we hail Thee,
Hail Thee Christ our God;
Thou hast burst the barrier
Of Thy dark abode;
On that glad and glorious day,
Hades owned Thy kingly sway.

They who bore the spices
In the early hour,
Heard the salutation
Of the Lord of power,
And His followers, sore and sad,
Found the peace that made them glad.

Hail the King Immortal!
Death by death is slain,
And the weak and fallen
Rise to life again;
On this glad and glorious day
Hades owns the Victor’s sway.

Make haste then and be ready ...

Holy Tuesday
Matthew 22:15-46; 23:1-39; Matthew 24:36-51; 25:1-46; 26:1-2

- Make haste then and be ready -

 

What return can we make
for all this, brethren?

Let us be attentive to ourselves
and not despise his sufferings.


Draw near all of you,
children of the Church,
bought with the precious
and holy blood
of the most pure Master.

Come, let us meditate
on his sufferings with tears,
thinking on fear,
meditating with trembling,
saying to ourselves,

‘Christ our Saviour
for us the impious
was given over to death’.


Learn well, brother,
what it is you hear:
God who is without sin,
Son of the Most High,
for you was given up.


Open your heart,
learn in detail
his sufferings
and say to yourself:

God who is without sin
today was given up,
today was mocked,
today was abused,
today was struck,
today was scourged,
today wore
a crown of thorns,
today was crucified,

HE

the heavenly Lamb.
 

Your heart will tremble,
your soul will shudder.

Shed tears every day
by this meditation
on the Master’s sufferings.

Tears become sweet,
the soul is enlightened
that always meditates
on Christ’s sufferings.

Hattip: Discourse on the Passion of the Savior by St. Ephraim the Syrian from the Preachers Institute.

God's Praises

Only a fool would fail
To praise God in His might
When the tiny mindless birds
Praise Him in their flight.

Confessions of a blind woman ...

by Abbess Xeni of Aegina

People,
hear and pity me,
for this, my situation,

and pray to God for me,
to give my wretched soul salvation.

Believe me, all of you, my brethren, truly I'll explain,

in me is found abundantly the works I now will name.

If you would like to know which virtues I have called my own,

I'll tell you: naked is my soul of good in every form.

Utterly devoid of virtue, sentenced to be damned,

and by every purity most utterly abandoned.

Poverty past bounds is mine, and wounds and ill diseases,

and being lost forever in the folds of death's deep creases.

Severe insentitivity and stupor overcome me,

anger, pride, hard-heartedness and evil have undone me.

To virtue I am cold as ice, but warm to wickedness,

always ready for laughter's lure and for talkativeness.

Instead of being compunctionate I'm totally unfeeling,

instead of weeping constantly, I laugh, the wretched worldling!

But there is something yet, that hides so perfectly these evils.

How long will I so fool the world, though I am like the devils,

with my false piety, fake virtue and hypocrisy?

When the world regards me highly, I rejoice and boast,

but when they criticise me, even kindly, I am sad, and mope.

Whomever of you knows me,

I exhort you to feel piety,

and when reminded of me,

weep for my iniquity.

Beg our God that someday enlightenment He will send me;

and by your prayers, my brethren, I hope that He will save me,

and from my somber wickedness and evil, He will free me.

+

Hattip to Fr. Demetrios Serfes.

Oh God, my Soul laments for You ...

by Abbess Xeni of Aegina (1867-1923).

A soul, of lamentations worthy, sorrows and is sighing,

and with a loud and fervent voice, the name of God is crying,

and saying, my God save me now, my God, have mercy on me,

O God, You've seen my darkness now, so shed Your light upon me,

my God, don't turn away from me, but quickly hear my pleading,

enlighten my soul's eyes, O God, with spiritual leading;

because they have been blinded from the sins within my depths.

O wretched self, I cannot see;

my God, I lose my steps.

Miserable me, I cannot see,

my God, where I am going,

or where I stand, or that I am a stranger, passed my knowing.

Many clouds and mists my soul in darkness shroud and cover,

and without measure I embitter You, my sweetest Savior.

O wretch, within I feel upheaval, mourning pierced my side,

for Your All-Holy Spirit, Lord, to me must be denied;

my soul must weep eternally her poverty of grace,

and without ceasing to lament in tears that woeful place.

I must avenge myself for all the pain sin makes me suffer,

and with the rivers of my tears, my deep repentance offer;

the tender earth to which I will return, with weeping drench,

to cleanse and flood away the traces of my sins' foul stench.

I am no longer worthy, Lord, to hope in Your compassion,

I'm worthy only of hell-fire, and suffering damnation.

But you,

my refuge is in You,

my God and my Salvation...

 

+

Hattip to Fr. Demetrios Serfes.

Do not say that it is impossible

For Pantelis:

Do not say that it is impossible to receive the Spirit of God.
Do not say that it is possible to be made whole without Him.
Do not say that one can possess Him without knowing it.
Do not say that God does not manifest Himself to man.
Do not say that men cannot perceive the divine light, or that it is impossible in this age!

Never is it found to be impossible, my friends.

On the contrary, it is entirely possible when one desires it.

-- St Symeon the New Theologian, Hymn 27.

The beauty of it all

By what boundless mercy, my Savior,
have you allowed me to become a member of your body?
Me, the unclean, the defiled, the prodigal.

How is it that you have clothed me
in the brilliant garment,
radiant with the splendor of immortality,
that turns all my members into light?

Your body, immaculate and divine,
is all radiant with the fire of your divinity,
with which it is ineffably joined and combined.
This is the gift you have given me, my God:
that this mortal and shabby frame
has become one with your immaculate body
and that my blood has mingled
with your blood.

I know, too,
that I have been made one with your divinity
and have become your own most pure body,
a brilliant member, transparently lucid,
luminous and holy.

I see the beauty of it all, I can gaze on the radiance.
I have become a reflection of the light of your grace.

- St Symeon the New Theologian from The Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul's Ascent from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives, Translated by John Anthony McGuckin.

In the midst of that night ...

In the midst of that night, in my darkness,

I saw the awesome sight of Christ
opening the heavens for me.

And he bent down to me and showed himself to me
with the Father and the Holy Spirit
in the thrice holy light --
a single light in three, and a threefold light in one,
for they are altogether light,
and the three are but one light,.

And he illumined my soul
more radiantly than the sun,
and he lit up my mind,
which had until then been in darkness.

Never before had my mind seen such things.
I was blind, you should know it, and I saw nothing.

That was why this strange wonder
was so astonishing to me,
when Christ, as it were, opened the eye of my mind,
when he gave me sight, as it were,
and it was him that I saw.

He is Light within Light, who appears
to those who contemplate him,
and contemplatives see him in light --
see him, that is, in the light of the Spirit...

And now, as if from far off,
I still see that unseeable beauty,
that unapproachable light, that unbearable glory.
My mind is completely astounded.

I tremble with fear.

Is this a small taste from the abyss,
which like a drop of water
serves to make all water known
in all its qualities and aspects?...
I found him, the One whom I had seen from afar,
the one whom Stephen saw
when the heavens opened,
and later whose vision blinded Paul.

Truly, he was as a fire in the center of my heart.
I was outside myself, broken down, lost to myself,
and unable to bear the unendurable brightness of that glory.

And so, I turned
and fled into the night of the senses.

--St Symeon the New Theologian, Hymns of Divine Love.