Exhaling

Unity, but not solitude.

In the very Heart of Absolute Being, community of mutual self-gift and fruitfulness.

Father is only Father if there is Son.

Son is only Son if there is Father.

Father, looking at His Image, His Idea; Son beholding Father with love

a self-communication bears Fruit which is also the Breath of the Son, breathed on friends.

The Spirit is the is the Breath on which the Word is sung eternally.

The Word of Love.

I will open my mouth and let You sing through me.

Love others through me.

“Andrew Rublev painted this icon not only to share the fruits of his own meditation on the mystery of the Holy Trinity but also to offer his fellow monks a way to keep their hearts centered in God while living in the midst of political unrest. The more we look at this holy image with the eyes of faith, the more we come to realize that it is painted not as a lovely decoration for a convent church, nor as a helpful explanation of a difficult doctrine, but as a holy place to enter and stay within. As we place ourselves in front of the icon in prayer, we come to experience a gentle invitation to participate in the intimate conversation that is taking place among the three divine angels and to join them around the table. The movement from the Father toward the Son and the movement of both Son and Spirit toward the Father become a movement in which the one who prays is lifted up and held secure. . . .

“Through the contemplation of this icon we come to see with our inner eyes that all engagements in this world can bear fruit only when they take place within this divine circle. The words of the psalm, “The sparrow has found its home at last. . . . Happy are those who live in your house” (Ps 84: 3,4) are given new depth and new breadth; they become words revealing the possibility of being in thee world without being of it. We can be involved in struggles for justice and in actions for peace. We can be part of the ambiguities of family and community life. We can study, teach, write and hold a regular job. We can do all of this without ever having to leave the house of love. . . . Rublev’s icon gives us a glimpse of the house of perfect love”

-Henri Nouwen

Be inspired to take up this beaded weapon.

(I tried to post this yesterday, but … uncooperative computer!)

In the silence of our night

You whisper syllables of light…

Lord, make us Easter people. Transform us by Your Light, Your Light which rises out of our very darkness.

To avoid repeating myself, I’ll refer you here .

The Voice of the Word is silent.

The Light of the World burns in darkness.

All is found in emptiness.

Poured out utterly for Love, we at last possess All.