When the Words Aren't There
It has been a while since I’ve gone this long without posting something. But I’ve come to accept (albeit still reluctantly) that sometimes the words just aren’t there. There’s a lot of reasons for the last few weeks and it hasn’t been for lack of writing. I’ve written quite a few things but none of them just felt right to post and still don’t. So in the midst of ... well... everything... here is first a prayer / blessing that I read in A Swiftly Titlting Planet that is attributed to St Patrick and then some photos that have really been a gift to my spirit over these last 11 days or so. (They have been a gift to my spirit, but dang has it been cold).
First the prayer / blessing. It is called the Rune of St Patrick and I have been returning to it time and again as I have prayed about those standing up and speaking out these last few days especially, including my clergy colleagues in Minneapolis along with the 50,000+ others who marched in the subzero temps…
The Rune of St. Patrick. // “The Faedh Fiada” // “The Cry of the Deer.”
At Tara to-day in this fateful hour,
I place all Heaven with its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And the fire with all the strength it hath,
And the lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the winds with their swiftness along their path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the earth with its starkness,
All these I place,
By God’s almighty help and grace,
Between myself and the powers of darkness.1
Amen.
And the photos..
These first two were from Tuesday morning…There was something about the geese on the lake keeping that area of water from freezing that spoke to me and then seeing the “cross” against the sunrise on the way home…
These remaining ones were from Thursday morning and the absolutely magnificent sunrise. They are in order from when I arrived until Scout and I got back in the car. The progression of the colors was magnificient.
And of course… Scout…
Grace, Peace, Love, Hope, and Joy,
Ed
L’Engle, Madeleine. The Wrinkle in Time Quintet: Books 1-5 (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet) (p. 238). Kindle Edition.
Beautiful how that prayer from the quintet anchors you when your own words vanish. Those ancient rhythms carry weight that our modern prose cant match - theres something about invoking specific elements (snow, lightning, fire) that grounds prayer in reality instead of abstraction. I've been returning to the Celtic daily office lately for similiar reasons - sometimes we need borrowed words to find our way back.
I wish I had the ability to dye fabric yardage to resemble your stunning photos. The sunrise panorama is beautiful beyond all words.