Ah Holy Jesus

Played at the Ash Wednesday service I attended, just piano... hauntingly beautiful. Here's a version on YouTube I enjoy:

Ah, Holy Jesus

And Lent begins...

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

Rebirth

stars flashing through our hearts

A poem for today, Ash Wednesday:

REBIRTH

Corridors of the soul! The soul that is like a young woman!

You clear light

and the brief history

and the joy of a new life . . .

Oh turn and be born again, and walk the road,

and find once more the lost path!

And turn and feel in our own hand

the warmth of the good hand

of our mother . . . And walk through life in dreams

out of love of the hand that leads us.

* * *

In our soul everything

moves guided by a mysterious hand:

ununderstandable, not speaking,

we know nothing of our own souls.

The deepest words

of the wise men teach us

the same as the whistle of the wind when it blows,

or the sound of the water when it is flowing.

ANTONIO MACHADO

translated by Robert Bly

Invitation to Poetry: From Dust to Dust

ChristineValters Paintner writes: "Lent begins this week. During the imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday service some of us will hear the words “from dust you came and to dust you shall return.” The ashes are a tangible reminder of our temporal bodies. I love this beginning to the season of conversion and re-ordering of priorities. The reminder of our mortality is meant to confront us with the preciousness of our days and demands that we ask how we want to spend our time. “Return to me with your whole heart,” says the prophet Joel in the opening scripture for this service. Return, renew your commitment, begin again. This week’s Poetry Party is an invitation to explore through poetic imagery the reality of our shared limits and what stirs in us in response. How does the awareness of Ash Wednesday shape your commitment for the Lenten season ahead?"

image by Christine

There are many beautiful responses to her post. This is mine:
like dust on molten canvas,
I am. Now
my heart returns to You