Saturday, April 25, 2015

Not only shall we praise His grace divine,
But we praise Him through that grace divine.
Repent, rejoice, and reconcile to our God
Our wills that once, but no more, gone astray.
Bless His name that blessed us with His blood,
Come we to the waters and the way.
When drops from the sacrament cup
Fall from my lips to my fingers
I love the coolness and smoothness
Sanctified to my soul--
The cool of night and
Stillness of the grove
When Jesus the Christ
Saved me.

Did the drops from His face
Sound in the dark against His hands?
My heart may turn
with the daily turning of the earth,
but, Lord, I will ever turn to Thee.

Perfect stillness
I have not achieved,
so, Lord, I will ever turn to Thee.

The choices to return
From my turnings on the earth-
O Lord, may I ever turn to Thee.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Everyone once, once only. Just once and no more.
And we also once. Never again. But this having been
once,  although only once, to have been of the earth,
seems irrevocable.

                                            --Rilke, Duino Elegies