Ornaments of hope: Resurrection songs

These Lenten reflections began with the stir of bird songs, in a place untouched by words. It only seems fitting as this season comes near to a close to end with a song that captures some of this sense of wonder and longing, but also, this sense of belatedness. For most of this season, I've felt late to the table, distracted, not with Christ in the way I wanted. Still, he was with me, showing me the way to Love. 

(Please, if you like, let the song play while you scroll through these images - it's really more lovely this way).

* * * * *

"Belatedly I loved thee, 

O Beauty so ancient and so new, 

belatedly I loved thee. 

For see, thou wast within and I was without,

 and I sought thee out there. 

Unlovely, I rushed heedlessly among the lovely things thou hast made.

Thou wast with me, but I was not with thee. 

These things kept me far from thee; 

even though they were not at all unless they were in thee.

Thou didst call and cry aloud, and didst force open my deafness.

Thou didst gleam and shine, and didst chase away my blindness.

Thou didst breathe fragrant odors and I drew in my breath;

and now I pant for thee.

I tasted, and now I hunger and thirst.

Thou didst touch me,

and I burned for thy peace."

~ Augustine of Hippo, Confessions

 

 

 

It's not Easter yet; and still, Easter hope dawns every morning we awake with breath in our lungs, does it not?    - - - -

       To force open deafness,

           to chase away blindness,

               to awaken hunger and thirst,

                   to breath its fragrance on us.

To put resurrection songs within our bones, light as feathers, carrying us free on the wind.

* * * * *

This is my unofficial blog series for Lent, "Ornaments of hope," where I want to learn to sing like the birds and hang these songs as 'ornaments' on the trees.  I don't know how often I will write, but I'm committed to writing out this forty day journey in some way.  And you? I know you're on your own journey, and I'd love to hear about that. But if you resonate with any of this, I hope to see you around here this Lenten season. Singing with the birds and hanging our ornaments of hope as we journey from darkness to light. Maybe we'll even form a choir.

Ornament 1
Ornament 2
Ornament 3
Ornament 4 

Ornament 5 

Ornament 6