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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Light a flame


What is this awesome mystery
that is taking place within me?
I can find now words to express it;
my poor hand is unable to capture it
in describing the praise and glory that belong
to the One who is above all praise,
and who transcends every word...
My intellect sees what has happened,
but it cannot explain it.
It can see, and wishes to explain,
but can find no word that will suffice;
for what it sees is invisible and entirely formless,
simple, completely uncompounded,
unbounded in its awesome greatness.
What I have seen is the totality recapitulated as one,
received not in essense but by participation.
Just as if you lit a flame from a flame,
it is the whole flame you receive."
St. Symeon the New Theologian

The above poem from St. Symeon (949-1022) is taken from his "What Is This Awesome Mystery", from Hymns of Divine Love and quoted at the beginning of Richard Rohr's book, Things Hidden: Scripture As Spirituality.

I find it is helpful to recall the "awesome mystery that is taking place within me." We forget what wonderful mysteries each is and how we reflect the mystery of God!

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