The Wind and Fire of Pentecost by Fr. Edward o.p.

Dear Fr. Edward,

Thank you
for the breathing of this Pentecost.
Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)    
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domdonald.org.uk 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Fr. Edward
To: Donald
Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013, 23:13
Subject: More lines

Dear Donald,

A poem for tomorrow and a poem for next Sunday!

Blessings from

fr Edward 

--
Father Edward Booth O.P.

Iceland.

The Wind and Fire of Pentecost

The wind and the fire were more than terrestrial:

they disturbed nothing, burnt nothing.

The wind was mighty but damaged the house not at all;

the fire did not burn those on whose heads it settled.

The fire was more firelike than fire

and the wind more windlike than wind.

For fire is dangerous when not limited

especially when its tongues come to dance in the grate,

and the wind shares more of the power of the Spirit than still air.

The fire's ultimate source was light itself:

it could burn, but here it illuminated powerfully mind and heart,

sealing those in Spirit on whom it appeared.

Wind needs a moveable object to show its power,

but this wind was rushing and powerful,

signifying the great force of its source,

yet it moved nothing.

How it had hovered, bird-like, protectively over creation:

merekapheth: protectingly, shieldingly,

transforming creation to homeliness -

all for its two viewers and their stock.

But they were too impatient, too self-aware  

when the Creator himself said,

"Do not experiment with what you contemplate;

possess it by knowledge and

savour it in your mind¨!

Real fire is warming, nature's wind is cooling:

elemental presences for

elemental people.

The angels had fire and invisible wind within themselves

marking the limits of allowed experience.

The pair wanted the warmth of the fire and the cool of the wind.

They wanted the fire as protection and warmth

for what it suggested of homeliness,

a place of rest and remission from their waking hours.

Their spiritual progeny returned at Pentecost

to make the world homely under the Spirit and found the Earth not too cold:

"See it, regard it; it will always remain with you ... !"

The protection of fire and its ambiance returned with the freshness of Spirit

from deep sources as soul-meant and indifferent.

Oh, keep those eyes sharp!

Put your skin in the wind -

to stimulate the blood vessels without ordering the times

but more to keep mind and senses awake to their Source.

Do not seek to possess them

but savour their presence,

and be savoured yourselves

from the great range of gifts

accompanying the Messiah

both manly-wise and womanly-wise.

Accept those gifts to play on your mind and heart

and ascend to the peak of a new Creation:

the gifts of the Lord are given without repentance! (Rom 11,29)

Fr. Edward O.P.

Stykkishólmur

For the Eve of Pentecost 2013