Let me begin by apologizing for those animated butterflies leaping around at the beginning of my last post. I didn't know they were animated or they would probably not have been chosen to adorn my site. I am not ordinarily into things jumping around on my screen. It reminds me too much of my own somewhat disordered life. I run too much, move too much. I am longing for quiet places and caves these days.
On the other hand we sang a song to honor Mechtild of Magdeburg (1207-1294) this morning at mass and I was so moved by the images of her passion, love and exuberance. She was a medieval mystic and in her book, The Flowing Light of Divinity she describes her visions of God. Ofcourse the leaping comes out of the stillness. That exuberance for God flows out of time spent BEING with God. The words we sang this morning were written by Marietta Crahan, OSB and in singing them I decided that perhaps the dancing butterflies from my last post were not so harmful after all.
I cannot dance unless you lead, With eager heart, for you I long.
With holy abandon I would leap,
But Lord you must intone the song.
Then I shall leap into your love,
from love to knowledge, if you will,
From knowledge into pure delight
Then, Lord, to circle higher still.
To be your partner in this dance,
Is this too much, Lord, to be true
for one who has no love in her
Unless she first is moved by you?
A fish in water does not drown,
No bird will plummet from the air.
In God my nature is at home,
My dance of praise is everywhere.
O Jesus, joy of loving hearts,
Be now our song for endless days.
We honor Mechtild's mystic dream,
And long to share her dance of praise.
I am grateful for these words that made my heart leap this morning at dawn. From all this leaping the stillness will arrive. I honor everything in you, dear reader, that is exuberant and passionate and wise, even if it is still sleeping.
