SILENT WORSHIP

A candle worships by itself

On its own, alone:

It needs no idols to give it purpose;

Its light need not begrace any icon or picture;

It flickers in the wind that blows unseen.

Silent and alone, it is consumed;

Not for tomorrow or any time

Other than this moment:

So it worships…everything that is now!

It consumes itself amidst the seen

And unseen elements of life,

To give glory

Both to creation and Creator:

Its death gives light and life,

Warmth and comfort;

It does not live or die in vain;

It gives everything that it is;

But it must  take

Everything that it touches.

 

Yes, it worships this moment;

Alone and in silence;

Never speaking

But always worshiping.

When it does communicate

It speaks of love and peace

And joy and goodness.

It says I will take you with me

If you come close to me;

We can worship together

This moment;

 

Give your self to me.

We shall light the world

For a brief moment;

And we shall worship our God

As we are consumed for a common good.

2014.01.12.0100 ©

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SILENT MEETING

I rarely miss the silence,

Even though I appreciate it

When it comes to me;

I rarely seek it out;

I never run to it

As I do to music or

To the sound of another’s voice.

 

This speaks simply to my soul:

About its wants, its needs, its loves,

Its handicaps and its deficits.

That I would choose not to be consumed

By the fire of the silence

Permits my soul to be consumed

By the flames of the senses.

 

True silence is solitude;

It is darkness;

It is stillness;

It is peace;

It is giving liberty to all God’s creation;

It is releasing my hold on everything;

It is almost accepting death

As when all my powers would cease

Except that I find life around me still;

 

It is there in that life without me

Where my soul eternal life meets.

2014.01.12.2100 ©