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I have not written in a while, and I have not been able to think about what to write about, but I wanted to resurrect this poem. Partly because it seems to be where I am with God and because I long to know about where other people see and experience God. I have been reading a lot of the writing of Medieval Women Mystics in a book called Visions and Longings. I have been really connecting to it as it raises a ton of mixed feelings about God being sufficient for everything and yet being filled with longings and desires in the physical world. There is a poem about God’s love for us and Him being our Lover from Clare of Assisi (who became a nun because of her love for God and her love for Francis of Assisi) to the princess of Bohemia who refused to marry an Emperor because she wanted to be one of the Poor Ladies (the section of nuns that Clare was in). The commitment and sacrifice and passion for God is amazing in a time when women were allowed to do little but marry and have children.
Here is her poem from the letter:
When You have loved [Him], You shall be chaste; when You have touched [Him], You shall become pure; when You have accepted [Him], You shall be a virgin.
Whose power is stronger,
Whose generosity is more abundant,
Whose appearance more beautiful,
Whose love more tender,
Whose courtesy more gracious.
In Whose embrace You are already caught up;
Who has adorned Your breast with precious stones
And has placed priceless pearls in Your ears
and has surrounded You with sparkling gems
as though blossoms of springtime
and placed on Your head a golden crown
as a sign [to all] of Your holiness. |
