© 2012 Thomas W. Cummins
Archive for the ‘Spirituality’ Category
Snow On The Mesa
April 27, 2012
Snow on the mesa
The desert monastery
Lies asleep below
A Hike at a Bluff’s Edge
April 24, 2012
An apparent pause
Pulls the trail to the bluff’s edge
Ancient, carved limestone
Overlooking the river winding far below
Loose gravel invites a peek
Beauty fills with fleeting terror
In my throat
A metallic tingle holds me still
Behind and away the path descends
Through deep forest ravines
A lone woodpecker’s distant tap
Reveals a welcoming and comforting silence
© 2012 Thomas W. Cummins
A Prophecy For Humankind
April 10, 2012April 10, 2012
Back in the 60s I came across a quote from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and I have tried to find it off and on ever since. In today’s readings in Give Us This Day, there it was following a small bio acknowledging the date of Father Teilhard’s death in 1955. It reads,
The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
I can’t imagine his being alive today, what he would be thinking, what he would be praying for, how he would assess the strength of the prevailing wind against his vision, his hope for all of us.
Perhaps when we realize the futility of what we want over and against our ordained stewardship to and for each other and all creation, things will begin to change.
Standing there long enough …
March 11, 2012At dawn on this daylight savings Sunday morning, it was so quiet outside. I came around the corner of the garage and headed down the driveway. Both papers were already there, of course, since I got up at least an hour later than usual following an evening of bridge.
As I approached the street, something drew my eyes upward away from my objective, my only objective, of retrieving the New York Times and the Post-Dispatch. The sky was incredible: a gold orange-ish pink accented with brilliant, sharp horizontal slashes of light, the sun wanting to emerge from the bright yellow spot stuck behind a tree across the street. I found myself just standing there.
Standing there long enough, mentally released from my task, the calls of early morning birds spoke softly yet failed to disturb the stillness.
Standing there long enough, my eye caught movement in a rosy-grey layer of clouds, a fog too high to interfere with the sunrise event.
Standing there long enough, my skin announced a slight, cool breeze. Announced because I had been ignoring the gentle caress until I allowed myself a moment of solitude.
What drew my eyes upward? Why did I decide to stand at the end of the drive? Seeing, hearing, feeling. Is there something which all too infrequently says, “Hey, stop and be still.” Or is it not infrequent? Is that call always there?
Reflection of His mercy
December 18, 2010Seven offenders and I spent 45 minutes yesterday sharing what the following Merton quote means in our lives.
The solitary life is a life in which we cast our care upon the Lord and delight only in the help that comes from Him. Whatever He does is our joy. We reproduce His goodness in us by our gratitude. (Or – our gratitude is the reflection of His mercy. It is what makes us like Him.) – Thomas Merton
In a dim light... 