Unable to Grasp God's Essence

Happy New Year!

2012-01-11T15:10:00.001-05:00

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us:

and establish thou the work of our hands upon us;

yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

(Psalm 90:17 KJV)

Autumn Beauty

2011-11-12T22:38:00.002-05:00


Sunlight on Virginia Creeper

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

- Stanley Horowitz

Made in Wisdom

2011-10-26T22:14:00.001-04:00

Squirrel Nibbling on Mushroom

(Click to view full size.)

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all!

(Psalm 104:24)

Orchids and Light

2011-10-22T22:06:00.001-04:00

Orchids in Different Light

The artist Evelyn Dunbar has said:

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.

Your special light is not quite like anyone else's light. When our particular light is a true light, it flows from and participates in the light of God.

In an essay called, "The Light Within," the Quaker Thomas R. Kelly writes:

Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within that illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the human face. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And He is within us all. (A Testament of Devotion)

Fractal Mandala

2011-10-02T22:36:00.000-04:00

Mandala on Number Seven

(Fractal created with Mandelbulber, highly edited in PhotoShop)

I am departing from photography here to transform a Mandelbulber fractal into a sort of rose window mandala. In the Bible the number seven (as in the seven petals of this rose window), is generally symbolic of completion.

And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2-3)

For other mandalas, see:

"Urban Mandalas"

and on this blog, "Hubcap Mandalas."

Hawks in My Life

2011-08-23T21:58:00.004-04:00

(Click to view full size.)

There have been hawks in my life the past couple of years. This one was recently outside my window, sometimes watching me, sometimes ignoring me. For others:

Dignity and a Splashing Hawk

A Visitation of Hawks

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all!
(Psalm 104:24 )

Nighttime Interior

2011-08-07T22:29:00.000-04:00

Playing with a simple interior scene...

Nor the Moon by Night

2011-07-17T22:26:00.001-04:00

Full Moon with Cloud Halo

(Click photo to view full size)

The Lord is your keeper;
   the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
   he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
   your going out and your coming in
   from this time on and for evermore.

Psalm 91:5-8

To See Heaven in a Wildflower

2011-06-26T22:07:00.008-04:00

Dune Flower

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"

Sunlight on Dried Flowers in Pencil Holder

Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me

2011-05-20T14:32:00.007-04:00

The Orton effect gives a sense of depth and richness to a still photograph. This video was created using the Orton effect on stills, and enhanced with animation. Be sure to watch it full-screen and in high definition if your connection allows.

Mega Moon Rising

2011-03-19T22:15:00.008-04:00

Mega Moon March 19
(Click on image to view full size.)

Because of our dense tree cover, we drove out to Paynes Prairie to view the super moon rise, which was indeed spectacular. (And yes, this was the actual color.) As it turned out, many others had the same idea, and the highway was lined with cars.

Full Moon at Perigee

The colors are changing and the shape appears less flattened as the moon rises and the sky darkens.

Dreaming of the World

2011-03-04T15:52:00.006-05:00

Atelier Ten Tails Dreaming
(Click image to view full size.)

An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world.
(George Santayana)

Digitally edited photo of the gable of Atelier Ten Tails in Cedar Key, Florida.

Chicago Sunset

2011-03-01T23:07:00.004-05:00

Chicago Looking Northwest from Cenacle

Sunset looking north from the roof of the Cenacle Retreat House in Chicago -- looking away from the skyline. I have always wondered if the intense colors of the Chicago sunsets are due to pollution in the air. In any case, they are splendid and worth the chill of the rooftop.

Who Are You, O Mystery of Mysteries?

2011-01-03T20:59:00.006-05:00

"We are within the mystery past all grasp, which God is..." (Karl Rahner)

(View Cybernun's latest video, which combines poetry, animation, photography, and video clips.)

Full Moon Through Trees

2010-11-29T21:36:00.003-05:00

Full Moon Through Trees and Spanish Moss
(Click on photo to view full size, which shows more detail and with more clarity.)

This is a composite photo made with a little help from NASA and Photoshop. It captures, however, the eerie quality in our yard when the full moon shines through the heavy tree-cover.

Oil Spill

2010-06-10T12:27:00.005-04:00

Pensacola Beach Before Gulf Oil Spill
Pensacola Beach with its sugar-white sand and turquoise water

The following is a brief letter I sent to the President of the United States:

Dear Mr. President:

Human life – indeed all life on earth – is dependent on the health of our oceans. While it is true that the best and latest technology can reduce the dangers involved in off-shore drilling, it is also true that no technology is fail-safe. Besides that, we can never eliminate the risk of human error, human greed, or simple human sinfulness in any venture, especially one in which huge amounts of money are at stake.

Please… no more off-shore drilling for oil. The risks to all of us are just too great.

Yours truly...

In Memory

2010-05-30T21:54:00.005-04:00

During Memorial Day weekend, small tombstone-shaped markers line 8th Avenue in Gainesville, Florida, in remembrance of our soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Each year there are more, until this year they not only stretch for more than a mile, but are now on both sides of the street.

May they rest in peace, and may God have mercy on us all.

God Loves Everyone

2010-05-06T11:11:00.003-04:00

This photo was taken at a rally held in response to local demonstrations by members of an out-of-town church who seem to believe that God hates nearly everyone except themselves. This "Christian" church even tries to explain away John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

Participants in the rally proclaimed the truth of God's love for the whole world.

In Your Easter Bonnet

2010-04-02T22:45:00.004-04:00

African Crowned Crane at Silver Springs
(Click on image to view full-sized.)

Human finery has nothing to compare with the variety and flamboyance of nature.

Clothed with Light

2010-03-16T12:49:00.005-04:00

This new video from Cybernun uses fractal imagery, video clips, and animated effects to illustrate the Russian Hymn, "God, You Are Clothed with Light."

Watch in full screen mode if your computer and internet connection allow.

Christmas Blessings!

2009-12-16T12:03:00.004-05:00

All Beautiful the March of Days

2009-11-23T21:48:00.004-05:00

Florida Fall Leaves

Leaves are beginning to turn here in North Florida. They will not reach their peak until sometime in December — but note that by "peak" I'm not talking about New England color. The change of seasons is much more subtle here, and if we are not paying attention, the reds of fall can be overpowered by the green that is always with us.

Nevertheless, the leaves remind me of the hymn by Frances W. Wile that begins,

All beautiful the march of days, as seasons come and go;
The Hand that shaped the rose hath wrought the crystal of the snow...

Although it is highly unlikely that we will see "the crystal of the snow," our understated autumn still speaks of the loveliness of God, "from Whose unfathomed law the year in beauty flows."

Gift from a Dragonfly

2009-09-16T21:38:00.004-04:00

Dragonfly on Lantana
(Click on photo to view full size.)

I saw this dragonfly land on a Lantana bush in the back yard and rushed inside for my camera, hoping he (or she?) would stay around. He let me take five pictures before flying off. I felt as if I had been given a precious gift.

Note that we are viewing the flower (the pink floret) through his diaphanous wing.

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
(Psalm 104:24)

Urban Art

2009-09-05T16:09:00.006-04:00

Yellow Garden Shed

See also "Hubcap Mandalas" and "More Urban Mandalas."

The Only Path to Happiness

2009-09-01T22:22:00.008-04:00

According to Saint Therese Couderc, the only way to be happy is to hand oneself over totally to God.

Oh! If people could just understand ahead of time the sweetness and peace that are savored when nothing is held back from the good God! How he communicates himself to the one who seeks him sincerely and has known how to surrender herself. Let them experience it and they will see that here is found the true happiness they are vainly seeking elsewhere.

Watch the video, "To Surrender Oneself," on YouTube, and notice the images of docility to the Spirit of God.

Summer Sky

2009-08-29T22:43:00.004-04:00

Summer Evening Sky
(Click to view full-sized.)

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
(Psalm 108:3-4)

Bouquet of Fabric Remnants

2009-07-31T00:00:00.005-04:00

A Bouquet of Fabric Remnants
(Click photo to view full-sized)

Fill your world with bouquets! Look for the beauty around you and inside you. If you don't have hyacinths or roses, use what life provides.

Lavish in Detail

2009-06-02T22:15:00.008-04:00

Yellow-crowned Night Heron by Intracoastal Waterway

If you click on the photo to view it full sized, you will see the intricacies of the heron's feathers. Then gaze on the edge and the patterns in the huge sycamore leaf which dwarfs the bicycle seat on which it is resting.

Dry Sycamore Leaf on Bicycle

Whether in a bird's feathers or a leaf or the double helix of DNA, nature is not parsimonious where detail is concerned.

Lord, how thy wonders are displayed,
where'er I turn my eye,
if I survey the ground I tread,
or gaze upon the sky!
Isaac Watts, "I Sing the Mighty Power of God"

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling!

2009-05-24T23:05:00.004-04:00

Cybernun's new video features Brahms' "How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place" (Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen), from his German Requiem.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Happy are they who dwell in your house,
Ever singing your praise!
(Psalm 84:1-2,4)

Not only the temple, not only the churches are God's dwelling, but all of creation -- and each of us is also the dwelling place of God. "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). How lovely is God's dwelling place!

Dandelion Reaching High

2009-05-17T22:36:00.005-04:00

Dandelion and Clouds

The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds,
and it will not rest until it reaches its goal.
(Sirach 35:21)

Death Swallowed Up in Victory

2009-04-12T23:50:00.005-04:00

Easter Lilies in Sunlight and Shadow

(Click image to view full size.)

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’

1 Corinthians 15:51-54

To Live for Jesus

2009-03-23T12:27:00.006-04:00

The short video, "Jesus Tibi Vivo," features a Latin song based on Romans 14:8,

If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Especially appropriate for this Lenten season is the final scene, where everyone is gathered into the cross.

No Barrier Needed

2009-03-14T22:23:00.004-04:00

Some fences are needed. But we don't need barriers between ourselves and God.

Just as I am, thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be thine, yea thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

"Just as I Am," Charlotte Elliott, 1841

Spring as Lent Begins

2009-02-26T21:50:00.004-05:00

Dogwood and Spanish Moss
(Click to view full size photo.)

LENTEN FLOWERS

Primrose, anemone, bluebell, moss
Grow in the Kingdom of the Cross

And the ash-tree's purple bud
Dresses the spear that sheds his blood.

With the thorns that pierce his brow
Soft encircling petals grow

For in each flower the secret lies
Of the tree that crucifies.

Garden by the water clear
All must die who enter here!

- Kathleen Raine

Winter Beauty

2009-01-31T15:33:00.003-05:00

A north Florida winter has its own beauty, just as every season of life is beautiful in its own way. Here are two pictures taken on Paynes Prairie:

Paynes Prairie in Winter
(click photo to view full size)

November Tapestry

Earlier in the season, the Paynes Prairie vegetation created a rich tapestry.

For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter under heaven.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

May the Year Bring Peace

2009-01-12T21:30:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year!
(Click image to view full size.)

This is a moving-camera light image, edited with PhotoShop to create the blurred, silk-like effect.

The Light Shines in the Darkness

2008-12-20T20:51:00.003-05:00

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

(John 1:1-5)

Holiday Light

2008-12-13T22:18:00.005-05:00

This is not a glass icicle ornament, but a stream of water catching the light.

The larger photograph gives a glimpse of the hand and the glass of water.

Sometimes a light surprises the child of God who sings;
It is the Lord, who rises with healing in His wings:
When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining, to cheer it after rain.

(William Cowper, alt)

Amazing Love, Amazing Grace

2008-12-10T23:39:00.007-05:00

Your Light Will Come

2008-12-06T21:47:00.007-05:00

I have just noticed that the last several posts have to do with light. Now that it is Advent, the theme of light continues, with the feeble lights of the Advent wreath both a prayer and a promise of the eternal Light of God.

Your light will come, Jerusalem;
the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty.

(Responsory, Advent Morning Prayer, The Liturgy of the Hours)

Let Your Light Shine

2008-11-21T19:53:00.003-05:00

As the days get shorter, you might like to view Cybernun's new video, "Let Your Light Shine."

Morning Light

2008-11-07T22:57:00.007-05:00

Sunrise on a Country Highway
(Please click on image to view full size.)

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
(Isaiah 60:1-2)

Radiant Gears

2008-11-05T23:33:00.002-05:00

Radiant Gears
(Click to view full size)

Beauty is everywhere! But we do need to stop and look. What if Moses had not turned aside to gaze at the burning bush?

Seeing Light

2008-10-10T21:34:00.004-04:00

Late Afternoon Sun through Patio Wall
(click to view full size)

From And There Was Light, by Jacques Lusseyran, a French Resistance hero who was accidentally blinded at the age of seven:

It was a great surprise to me to find myself blind, and being blind was not at all as I imagined it.... They told me that to be blind meant not to see. Yet how was I to believe them when I saw! Not at once, I admit.... For at that time I still wanted to use my eyes. I followed their usual path. I looked in the direction where I was in the habit of seeing before the accident, and there was anguish, a lack, something like a void which filled me with what grownups call despair....

...some instinct — I was almost about to say a hand laid on me — made me change course. I began to look more closely, not at things but at a world closer to myself, looking from an inner place to one further within, instead of clinging to the movement of sight toward the world outside.

Immediately, the substance of the universe drew together, redefined and peopled itself anew. I was aware of a radiance emanating from a place I knew nothing about, a place which might as well have been outside me as within. but radiance was there, or, to put it more precisely, light. If was a fact, for light was there.

I felt indescribable relief, and happiness so great it almost made me laugh. Confidence and gratitude came as if a prayer had been answered. I found light and joy at the same moment...

Only Thou

2008-09-16T15:51:00.000-04:00

A video based on an early Hasidic prayer:

Beauty in Simple Things (2)

2008-09-10T17:10:00.008-04:00

One day recently I noticed that the adding machine tape had flowed over, rather gracefully I thought, onto the floor. So I stopped and took a few pictures. Here is one of the photographs, modified with several filters.

Beautiful? That may be stretching it a bit. But who knows? Perhaps one day you may stop to gaze at an ordinary sight, and find it is really a burning bush.

Laudate Dominum

2008-08-15T22:44:00.003-04:00

Cybernun has a new video: a rendition of the sublime Laudate Dominum, from Mozart's Vesperae solennes de confessore. The Latin lyrics are Psalm 117.

That All May Be One

2008-07-25T20:56:00.001-04:00

War, violence, injustice, racism, sexism, unloving divisions among the human family -- all of these deny the truth of our oneness in God.

Beauty in Simple Things

2008-07-16T10:28:00.007-04:00

These are photos of pipes, taken in the Cenacle Retreat House in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York. The house was built in 1926 and will soon make way to a smaller, greener, more efficient building. Although there are obvious beauties in the old building (the stained glass windows, the dark wood doors and moldings, for example), beauty may also be found where we least expect it—wherever we walk during this day, if we have eyes to see.

Granted, the loveliness of exposed pipes is open to discussion, but I suspect you will agree with me, if not that these are beautiful, at least that they are interesting.

Predator Kitty

2008-05-26T22:40:00.008-04:00

Cat Peering

This spring, when the baby squirrels lived in holes in our patio wall (see "Test Everything"), a neighborhood cat had high hopes of catching one. But all he can get in the hole is his nose.

Cat Settling in for the Long Watch

Knowing he can't get at the baby squirrels while they are in the nest, he settles down to wait, on the very slim chance that they will come out while he is there.

Cat Seeing Me Watching Him

Be sure to click on the photo to see the size of his eyes. Is this a guilty look? Or is he accusing me of interfering?

I don't know whether you will find anything inspirational in these pictures, except perhaps the enjoyment of God's creatures — but that is probably inspiration enough.

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
(Psalm 104:24)

Wherever I Go, You Are There

2008-04-12T20:20:00.003-04:00

Cybernun has a new video:

Test Everything

2008-04-10T14:42:00.005-04:00

Baby Squirrel Nibbling Spanish Moss

Baby Squirrel Nibbling Nail

Like human children, the baby squirrels outside my bedroom window seem to put everything in their mouths. A passage from 1 Thessalonians comes to mind:

...test everything;
hold fast to what is good;
abstain from every form of evil. (5:20-21)

I notice that Paul does not say "taste everything," however, which could be more than slightly risky.

Holy Ground

2008-04-05T17:01:00.009-04:00

"Angel" Glimpsed Praying in Woods

(Click image to view full-sized.)

Take off your shoes from your feet,
for the place on which you are standing
is holy ground.
(Exodus 3:5)

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries.
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I See His Blood

2008-03-21T17:02:00.005-04:00

Driftwood Cross
(Click on image to view full-sized.)

I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice—and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.

- Joseph Mary Plunkett

Reflection

2008-03-04T10:47:00.006-05:00

Street Reflection
(Click on image to view full-sized.)

If you look carefully, you'll notice that some of the vegetation visible in the window is actually inside the empty house, having found an opening and flourished there -- and indicating the tenacity of life.

Now we see only reflections in a mirror,
mere riddles,
but then we shall be seeing face to face.
Now I can know only imperfectly;
but then I shall know just as fully
as I am myself known.
(I Corinthians 13:12, New Jerusalem Bible)

God Is Love

2008-01-30T11:27:00.000-05:00

Heart Clouds
(Click on image to view full-sized.)

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. (1 John 4:16b)

If you would like to send this picture as an e-card, visit Vocation Quest Cards.

Shine in Our Darkness

2008-01-23T19:29:00.000-05:00

Light Breaking on Pensacola Bay
(Click on image to view full-sized.)

O God, when all seems to be darkness in me,
may your Light break through,
for you are always here, loving me.

"If I say, "Let only darkness cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you,
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you."
Psalm 139:11-12

God Among Us

2007-12-31T22:06:00.000-05:00

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made
through him,
and without him was not anything made
that was made.
In him was life,
and the life was the light of all people...
The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us,
full of grace and truth.
We have beheld his glory,
glory as of the only Son
from the Father.
(John 1:1-4;14)

In Radiant Beauty

2007-12-22T17:13:00.001-05:00

Basket and Christmas Balls
(Click photo to view full-sized.)

"The Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty."
(from the Liturgy of the Hours)

House of Many Colors

2007-11-23T16:38:00.002-05:00

(Click on photo to view full-sized.)

I haven't been back to this house to see if the owners have chosen to go with a single color. I rather hope not. I am reminded of Joseph, beloved of his father.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. (Genesis 37:3 KJV)

The Rock That Is Higher than I

2007-10-23T23:04:00.000-04:00

Heart and Rock
(Click photo to view full size.)

Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I;
for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.

Let me abide in your tent for ever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings.

Psalm 61:1-4

A Vision of Goodness

2007-10-16T22:50:00.000-04:00

More Urban Mandalas

2007-09-23T17:29:00.001-04:00

"Sanitary Storm Sewer"
(Click on image to view full sized.)

"Warning: Do Not Fill"

Courtyard Rosette in Snow

There is beauty all around us, even in the most utilitarian of objects. For more urban mandalas, see Hubcap Mandalas.

Baby Wrens

2007-08-21T23:03:00.000-04:00

Baby Wrens in Flowerpot
(Click on photo to view full size.)

The mama wren, rather unwisely it seemed to me, made her nest in a flowerpot on the patio. It was wonderful, though, to see the lovely babies. It was also wonderful to watch her approach the pot stealthily, thinking we couldn't see her. Finally, early one morning, a cat found the nest. One baby was killed, but somehow the mother managed to lead the second one to safety.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. (Luke 12:6)

House of God, Gate of Heaven

2007-08-13T16:17:00.000-04:00

God is present, no matter where we are, no matter what is happening. We may cry out with Jacob, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

Peahen on Branch

2007-07-28T22:56:00.001-04:00

(Click to view full-sized photo.)

The peacock was an early Christian symbol of the Resurrection.

Although the peahen is not as showy as her male counterpoint, she has a dignified beauty of her own. (The tuft of stray feathers that seems to be sticking out of her left side actually belongs to her chick, hidden behind her. )

Iced Drink on a Hot Day

2007-07-01T23:41:00.000-04:00

Iced Drink on a Hot Day
(Click image to view full size.)

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Psalm 36:7-9

Boundless Mercy Video

2007-06-24T16:21:00.000-04:00

This is a video reflection on a poem by Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022).

Hubcap Mandalas

2007-06-19T21:17:00.001-04:00

How delighted I was to discover a community garden in Gainesville, with vegetables, flowers, and art. Here are some photos of painted hubcaps, found objects which have become in this setting a contemporary form of mandala.

For a reflection on mandalas and more photos, visit Caught Up in God: Urban Mandalas.

Boundless Heart

2007-06-15T15:21:00.000-04:00

This is a photograph of Galaxy Cluster 1E 0657-556, used courtesy of NASA. I have shaped it to remind me of the immensity of God's heart, large enough to embrace all of us, no matter who we are or what we have done. I share the photo with you on this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

According to Raïssa Maritain, “…we have, under the action of grace and through the travail of the soul, to leave our bounded heart for the boundless heart of God. This is truly dying to ourselves” (Raïssa’s Journal).

The Blessing of Rain

2007-06-02T23:20:00.000-04:00

Rainy Day from Window
(Click to view photo full size.)

We are giving thanks to God for the desperately needed rain brought by Tropical Storm Barry to our drought-plagued region.

Below is a picture from one of the fiercer storms of 2004.

Rain Against Window

Hyacinths

2007-04-30T23:33:00.000-04:00

Hyacinths
(Click on photo to view full-sized.)

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And of thy store two loaves are left,
Sell one, and with the dole,
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.

- Saadi (medieval Persian poet)
You will find many versions and translations of this poem. This is the version I remember by heart.

Into Light

2007-04-26T22:54:00.001-04:00

Out of darkness
Into light

Glimpse of porch and Alabama River

(Click on image to view full-sized.)

Comfort of the Resurrection

2007-04-04T23:34:00.003-04:00

Dandelion against Blue Sky
(Click photo to view full-sized.)

That Nature Is a Heraclitean Fire
and of the
Comfort of the Resurrection

CLOUD-PUFFBALL, torn tufts, tossed pillows ' flaunt forth, then chevy on an air-
built thoroughfare: heaven-roysterers, in gay-gangs ' they throng; they glitter in marches.
Down roughcast, down dazzling whitewash, ' wherever an elm arches,
Shivelights and shadowtackle in long ' lashes lace, lance, and pair.
Delightfully the bright wind boisterous ' ropes, wrestles, beats earth bare
Of yestertempest’s creases; in pool and rut peel parches
Squandering ooze to squeezed ' dough, crust, dust; stanches, starches
Squadroned masks and manmarks ' treadmire toil there
Footfretted in it. Million-fuelèd, ' nature’s bonfire burns on.
But quench her bonniest, dearest ' to her, her clearest-selvèd spark
Man, how fast his firedint, ' his mark on mind, is gone!
Both are in an unfathomable, all is in an enormous dark
Drowned. O pity and indig ' nation! Manshape, that shone
Sheer off, disseveral, a star, ' death blots black out; nor mark
Is any of him at all so stark
But vastness blurs and time ' beats level. Enough! the Resurrection,
A heart’s-clarion! Away grief’s gasping, ' joyless days, dejection.
Across my foundering deck shone
A beacon, an eternal beam. ' Flesh fade, and mortal trash
Fall to the residuary worm; ' world’s wildfire, leave but ash:
In a flash, at a trumpet crash,
I am all at once what Christ is, ' since he was what I am, and
This Jack, joke, poor potsherd, ' patch, matchwood, immortal diamond,
Is immortal diamond.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

Foolishness of the Cross

2007-04-04T23:34:00.000-04:00

(Click on photo to view full size
and to more easily read the text.)

For God’s foolishness
is wiser than human wisdom,
and God’s weakness
is stronger than human strength.
(1 Corinthians 1:25)

Food for the Journey

2007-03-27T00:31:00.000-04:00

Bread and Grapes
(To view full-sized, click on photo.)

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
(1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NRSV)

Welcoming Spring

2007-03-24T11:42:00.000-04:00

March Flowers at the Thomas Center
(Click photo to view full size.)

My beloved speaks and says to me:
"Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
for lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

Alabama Ruin

2007-03-06T23:23:00.002-05:00

...but the word
of our God
will stand
for ever.

(Isaiah 40:8)

Spirit of the Cenacle Video

2007-03-03T23:07:00.000-05:00

By Way of the Wilderness

2007-02-11T15:54:00.001-05:00

Alabama Clay Road
(To view full size, click on photo.)

God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness...
The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day,
to lead them along the way,
and in a pillar of fire by night,
to give them light,
so that they might travel by day and by night.

(Exodus 13:18,21 NRSV)

Pelican Flying Low

2007-01-26T23:27:00.000-05:00

Pelican Flying Low

(Click on photo to view full size.)

And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’
So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and very winged bird of every kind.
And God saw that it was good.
God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’
(Genesis 1:20-22)

Trust as the Year Begins

2006-12-29T22:47:00.000-05:00

Sunset and Dead Trees

(Click on photo to view full size.)

It is not because of the winter season that the tall trees in the photograph are bare. No, they are dead, still standing in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, a testimony to the fragility and the uncertainly of life on our planet. As the new year opens we find our security, not in governments, wealth, health, or even the solidity of the ground beneath us — but only in our God, who holds us and sustains us, who brings life out of death and good out evil.

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27 RSV)

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T23:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas Tree - moving camera
(Click on photo to view full size.)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-19T18:01:00.000-05:00

The earth has yielded its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.
(Psalm 67:6)

May we not forget or neglect those who benefit little from the bounty of the earth.
May we make wise decisions regarding the stewardship of God's earth, so that the earth may continue to yield its harvest.

Here is a Thanksgiving video using fractal images, visit Thankful.

You Are Light

2006-11-01T22:19:00.000-05:00

Spectrum on Bathroom Wall (enhanced)
(Click on photo to view full-sized.)

For once you were darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.

(Ephesians 5:8)

2006-10-22T21:55:00.000-04:00

In Memoriam

In memory of all the innocent people
killed in the genocide in Darfur

Please visit at least one of these sites:
Faithful America
Searching for Jacob
National Association of Evangelicals
Sojourners

... and don't forget to contact our President and your representatives in Congress.

Light Within

2006-09-29T23:18:00.000-04:00

Click on photograph to view full sized

From Thomas R. Kelly, "The Light Within," A Testament of Devotion:

Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life.

Anniversary of Katrina

2006-08-27T00:20:00.000-04:00

In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
(Psalm 57:1)

Pray for peace

2006-07-20T12:54:00.000-04:00

As violence and war spread in our troubled world, let us both pray for peace and work toward peace.

You might want to join in what has been called the "Universal Prayer for Peace."

Surprising Beauty

2006-07-09T23:23:00.000-04:00

Bark on Sand
(Click on photo to view full sized.)

Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, "Pied Beauty"

Praising God All the Day

2006-06-09T22:03:00.000-04:00

(Click photo to view full sized.)

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
The name of the Lord is to be praised!
(Psalm 113:3)

For suggestions on keeping a prayerful spirit throughout the day, see "Contemplative Practices."

Save the Internet!

2006-05-11T22:27:00.000-04:00

The Time of Singing Has Come

2006-04-24T23:50:00.000-04:00

Magnolia Blossom Opening
(Click to view full size photo.)

Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
for lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
is heard in our land.

(Song of Songs 2:10-12)

Flowery Lent

2006-03-23T22:23:00.000-05:00

Flowers are everywhere. In fact the azaleas and the dogwoods have just about finished blooming. Right now our fringe tree is splendid. The showy abundance doesn't seem quite lenten. However, I am reminded of one of the liturgical prayers that speaks of "the joyful season" of Lent.

Each year, you give us this joyful season
when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery
with mind and heart renewed.
(Lenten Preface)

Starry Night

2006-02-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

Starry Night with Branches
(Click on image to view full size.)

Reading

2006-02-06T23:47:00.000-05:00

Reading Child in Bubble
(Click image to view full size.)

Oh, the heights to which you will go!

Small Pleasures

2006-01-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

Teacup in Sunlight
(Click on image to view full size.)

Fine wine has its place.
But thanks be to God for simple pleasures.

Angels

2006-01-10T23:06:00.000-05:00

Do not neglect to show
hospitality to strangers,
for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares.

(Hebrews 13:2)

(Click on images to
view full size.)

[God] will give his angels
charge of you
to guard you
in all your ways.

(Psalm 91:11)

But the Word of Our God...

2006-01-03T13:30:00.000-05:00

Old Church on Highway 16
(Click on photo to view full-sized.)

"...but the word of our God will stand forever."
Isaiah 40:8

2005-12-27T23:20:00.000-05:00

Winter Sunset
(Click on image to view full-size photo.)

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.
(Genesis 8:22)

God has made everything beautiful in its time...
(Ecclesiastes 3:11)