I keep discovering poems by the great Mary Oliver that I’m certain I’ve shared with you, only to discover that I haven’t yet. The title of this poem is Logos and I encourage you to read the whole thing.
The extract I quote below is especially relevant to me because, until I was in my late 30s, I was always worried about using my imagination in prayer in case I was getting it “wrong.” The penny finally dropped that, because our imaginations are a gift from God, it doesn’t matter whether or not the imagined scene is 100% “authentic.” Listen to what Mary Oliver has to say:
Imagine him, speaking,
and don’t worry about what is reality,
or what is plain, or what is mysterious.
If you were there, it was all those things.
If you can imagine it, it was all those things.
Read the entire poem.
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That is one of my favorites (oh really – aren’t they all my favorite?) – and really kind of perfect for St. Francis’ feast day! Thank you for bringing us, Poems for Others!
Mary Oliver’s poems are a gift to those of us who have not been gifted to express thoughts and feelings in such a beautiful way. Thanks so much for sharing this today.
I have “chatted” with God from the time I was a young child but until recently I didn’t really consider that “prayer” but I have learned so much recently through Ignatian Spirituality and through PFO. Thank you everyone.
Eat, drink, be happy.
Accept the miracle.
Accept, too, each spoken word
spoken with love.
yep…
Coming here today and finding another treat, a little marvel to sit with and take in. Thank you!
Imagination is what takes you THERE. Close your eyes, just think in color, listen. Sometimes I imagine Him very modern, sitting on my couch as I talk on and on. He always listens and He looks and sounds just the way I want Him to. (and He never asks for the “reader’s digest version” of my tale.)
m.
For me, it all boils down to ‘presence’. If I could only be truly present wherever I am, I am sure He would be there too.
I have no problem imagining myself in a Biblical scene as a passive observer, but I do have a lot of difficulty imagining being an interactive member of the scene. The minute I say or do anything, I’m deviating from the Biblical script, and everyone else must either ignore me or join me in creating a whole different story. Imagining whole new words and actions for people in the Bible feels wrong, a little like seeing a burning bush in the wilderness and going over to prune it.
In particular, I feel very self-conscious about imagining how Jesus would respond to me. Would he treat me with obvious compassion and mercy, as one whose faith has saved him, or would he rebuke me like a pharisee?
Also, would I really know enough to treat Jesus with respect, or would I take him for the deranged leader of some whack-o cult?
I’m with you Jim. I’m not sure I’d be one of those that Jesus saw as one of his natural disciples.
As for praying, I can’t get too deep with it. I don’t get too deep with myself so I think that God wouldn’t expect me to get too deep with Him. Say it as it is I guess. At the end of the day, we are such ridiculously unsophisticated souls when compared to God’s infiniteness (if that is even a word) that whatever we say is never going to be worthy. I suppose you might use the analogy of a baby gurgling making his or her parent smile.
I was reading a Gnostic Gospel recently, “The Gospel of Judas”. In that text, the author spoke of Jesus much in the same way that the Native Americans speak of their medicine men or shamans as having the ability to “shapeshift”. In other words, he had the ability to turn himself into anyone or anything that he desired: a child or a transient, etc. When I think on that, it reminds me that that stranger I pass on the street, one that helps me get something off a high shelf in a store or gives a smile and word of encouragement, could just be Him………………………..shapeshifting. Certainly makes me stop before scolding someone who bumps into me in a crowd! “What if I’m telling Jesus to ‘Watch where you’re going!’ ” ?
Does this poem mean that when I’m talking to myself that I’m praying??? Cuz I talk to myself, alot!!! Guess I have to watch what I say, even to myself!! That’s quite a challenge!!
Wow. I learned an awful lot about prayer in the last two minutes reading these posts.