(a previously written poem, revisited January 24, 2021, feast day of Our Lady of Damascus, Our Lady of Tears, Saint Francis de Sales (above), Blessed Paula Gambara Costa, Saint Xenia of Rome, and Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg.)
By Kindly Light
(through the Hours)
Lead, Kindly Light…
Keep Thou my feet;
I do not ask to see the distant scene;
one step enough for me.
–Saint John Henry Newman
1. Lauds (morning prayer)
They say voices shape a place.
His voice carries in the morning.
No matter the sleepless night or
frantic dream, voice of prayer
now. Anchor. He's
at the benediction:*
We thank you, O Lord,
for bringing us to this day in safety.
Take us by the hand today on Your Good Red Road.
Help us to treat this day with reverence and holiness.
And bless us, O Lord, through the prayers of
Your Saints. Amen.
2. Vespers (evening prayer)
Voice inside now, sun's waning. Day's
mulling. The waters have smoothed a
stone. What was it he said?
Saint Francis de Sales. Something about the
between. God's everywhere. Yet simpler, vaster.
So must look between. He is both our
deepest longing and hard reality. But He'll
show you deeper, where they meet. Between.**
Where the medicine lies. Where didn't look.
Where regret’s a jagged
edge. For that road turned from, Yours.
Road so pure, so gentle, I thought they'd
never want me. And You Lord, so
pure, so gentle, I thought could You
forgive me. But I'm asking. And for that
road again too. If only,
O Lord, would You
show me now?
3. Compline (night prayer)
His voice again, softer at night. Untier
of knots. Evening prayer, he's
at the benediction now:
Lord, watch over us as we sleep.
May Your angels surround and protect us.
May we dream of Your Holiness, and
Of Your Holy Name.
And may we be allowed to reach
another day in safety, to praise
Your Holy Name. Amen.
4. Matins (prayer between night and morning)
Voice inside again.
They say you can pray without ceasing.
Even in sleep.
I sleep but my heart
waketh.***
When the body waketh too, listens,
you can feel the lay of the land. It's the
nature of the between.
Between night and day regroup, repair. Where
the jagged edge, the jump, the scatter,
glare. There the stranger's voice. Pray for
me when stuck here. And I'll pray for
you. Because our only hope is the Shepard.
Know His voice but it gets buried. So to
spindle, to unravel. Where it last
quivered was it in a verse?
A kindness perhaps?
These small stones, must be in here
somewhere. To hold, to turn, over
and over. The ones for rebuilding the Wall.
The ones because they sing. And voices
they say shape a place. And the
place between, there
sounds can narrow
to a single note.
Deepest quiet, never silent.
And tomorrow, God willing, will
dawn another day.
Amen.
*The Hours are an ancient tradition of praying throughout one’s day/night. The benedictions here, at Lauds and Compline, were prayed out loud by Joseph for us during the High Holidays some years ago. His benedictions are formed spontaneously, vary.
**See theme II (in the introduction) of Frances de Sales, Jane de Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction. Paulist Press, New Jersey, 1988.
*** Song of Solomon (Canticles) 5:2
