We are afraid of emptiness. Spinoza speaks about our “horror vacui”, our horrendous fear of vacancy … It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. Emptiness requires a willingness not to be in control, a willingness to let something new and unexpected happen. It requires trust, surrender, and openness to guidance. Continue reading “whole: day 4”
Tag Archives: weakness
Sunday 4
Joy is hidden in compassion. The word compassion literally means ‘to suffer with’. It seems quite unlikely that suffering with another person would bring joy. Yet being with a person in pain, offering simple presence to someone in despair, sharing with a friend times of confusion and uncertainty … such experiences can bring us deepContinue reading “Sunday 4”
I am green
(all images by Kate Kennington Steer) As I mentioned in a previous post for Godspace written in 2016, I have long been fascinated by and inspired by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), not least because despite her struggles with persistent ill health she was a writer, a composer, a scientist, a preacher, a prophetic visionary, andContinue reading “I am green”
furled fire (a Beltaine Birthday Blessing)
Every year I wonder whether to write something to mark Beltaine, the Celtic feast which celebrates a cross-quarter day in the year’s wheel, the end of the dark half of the year and the beginning of its half of light. I celebrate the waxing of the arc the sun’s path makes across the little sliceContinue reading “furled fire (a Beltaine Birthday Blessing)”
psalms for passiontide: Holy Wednesday Psalm 70
I find it fascinating that the Lectionary gives two days for me to contemplate this psalm in Holy Week. What can possibly be so important in it that I need to hear it twice? The subtitle of this psalm reads, ‘To the leader. Of David, for the memorial offering’ and there is an academic theoryContinue reading “psalms for passiontide: Holy Wednesday Psalm 70”
psalms for passiontide: Palm Sunday (Psalm 118.1-2,19-24)
Is this a psalm for a victory parade or a protest march? I can hear the cheerleaders encouraging the onlookers lining the route to join in with the passing refrain: ‘God’s steadfast love endures for ever’. I can hear the warm up act encouraging the marchers’ chants before they set off: “let me hear youContinue reading “psalms for passiontide: Palm Sunday (Psalm 118.1-2,19-24)”
image into ikon 