spring's wonder.

Before summer begins officially (that is, the northern hemisphere summer solstice), I must give thanks for the gift that spring was this year.

Thank You,
Giver of All Life
who alone
brings new
seasons
to pass.

I remember when I returned to the Büs in mid-April, after having spent the end of Holy Week and beginning of Easter in Spain, Portugal, and France, it was like I was returning to another world. Spring had exploded. There was no other word to describe the color and blooms and blossoms that greeted me from every corner of the earth. Lent had ended. Spring had come. Easter was here. Glory be.

It felt like this:

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.
-- Rainer Maria Rilke

mmmm. hmmmmmm.
most recklessly.

Who better to quote from than Rilke? I have fallen more deeply in love with him the past few months.; Living in Europa makes his words come to life all the more. Standing in places that inspired him are sacred. I get to journey with him here. I keep hearing about more and more people who studied Deutsch just so that they could read/translate Rilke. That's what he does to people.

I like this too.
a lot.

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
-- Rainer Maria Rilke

thanks be.

hands open to the world

“Prayer is first and foremost listening.... People who pray stand with their hands open to the world. They know that God will show [God's self] in the nature that surrounds them, in the people they meet, in the situations they run into. They trust that the world holds God’s secret within it, and they expect that secret to be shown to them.”

-- Henri Nouwen

-- (Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings, "Prayer", p. 34-35)

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As we pray...
we stand with our hands open to the world.
Trusting that You will show Yourself
in the nature that surrounds us,
in the people that we meet,
and in the situations we encounter.

We come with the expectation
to hear from You, and
we come with the desire
to be shaped in this season.
Help us to listen to Your voice
in new ways today and
throughout this season of Lent.

It is through You that
we learn to listen with
hands open to the world.

And it is through the One who
was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days,
the One who remained faithful to You,
the One whose life, death, and resurrection
marks this Lenten journey towards the cross,
...it is in this name, Jesus Christ, that we pray.

amen.

lent is upon us...

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday... Morgen ist Aschermittwoch.

First, I gotta' say, I had the best of intentions to collect thoughts/prayers/questions that would follow the journey through the Church calendar this year, beginning of course with Advent, but that didn't happen for one reason or another.

So now Lent is upon us, and really, this is still a fitting time to begin sharing the journey. A new season. Lent means "spring". And there are a few small signs -- little reminders of spring's inevitable return -- popping up around this new place that I'm calling "home" for the next six months. Little yellow buds are curiously poking their heads through the patch of soil that I pass each day on my walk to and from work -- and when I walk by, I just smile to myself. Literally. I can't help but smile when I see the new growth each day. It's like this little secret I share with the earth... something to treasure when the signs of winter are much more obvious than those of spring. Even when the snow comes, and it does grace us a few days each week, those little buds (pun intended) keep at it.

And Lent, too, is about growth.
A commitment to growth, even? Yes, I suppose so.

So let us journey together... and grow into spring.

Please share your thoughts on here too... let's make it a true dialogue for the next 40 days.