Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --
 | God, whose love and joy By Angelus Silesius English version by Stephen Mitchell
God, whose love and joy
 / Photo by The Welsh Poppy / |
| ============ Thought for the Day: Carry your imperfections ============ | Here's your Daily Music selection --  Riffat Sultana Sufi Folk and Love Songs |
Hi Omss -
Sorry about not sending a poem on Monday. I took a sick day... or it took me. But I'm back today with this koan-like couplet by Angelus Silesius.
This couplet has two statements of God's presence that cause the logical mind to do summersaults. First, God "can't come to visit you/ unless you aren't there." And, the second, we have to ask, how can God "whose love and joy / are present everywhere," "visit" anywhere since a visit implies God isn't already there?
Think for a moment what Angelus Silesius is saying in these few words. God "can't come to visit" unless "you," the ego, the me-self is no longer present. The ego identity, though normally assumed to be the fundamental sense of one's self, can, through spiritual practice and deep surrender, fall away. When there is no longer any "you" there, the radiant, loving, blissful presence of the Divine is perceived everywhere, even where "you" once were. This is what it means for God to "come to visit you"... but it won't happen "unless you aren't there"!
==
Angelus Silesius is the monastic name of Johannes Scheffler. Johannes Scheffler was born into a noble Polish Lutheran family. He received a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Padua and became a physician.
As a young man he was drawn to the writings of the German mystic Jacob Boehme. Scheffler's growing mysticism didn't sit well with the dogmatic forms of German Lutheranism of the time and, in 1653, he converted to Catholicism. He took the name Angelus, adding the surname Silesius, meaning "from Silesia."
During this time, Selisius was briefly named physician to Emperor Ferdinand III, but he soon renounced his profession and, in 1661, he was ordained a priest and retired to monastic life in Breslau. He gave his family fortune away to charities.
He published two books of poetry: The Soul's Spiritual Delight and The Cherubic Pilgrim. Several of his poems are today used as religious hymns in both Catholic and Protestant churches.
Angelus Silesius was often engaged in public controversy with both the Lutheran Church he had left and also with his adopted Catholic faith. His poetry hinted at a quietest mysticism which asserts that the soul, when it attains deep quiet, can experience God directly -- a notion neither institution has been too fond of.
Have a beautiful day!
Ivan
Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary...
... Find the Poetry Chaikhana on Facebook and Twitter ...
Support the Poetry Chaikhana |
| Donations to the Poetry Chaikhana in any amount are always welcome. Thank you! |  Click here | You can also support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you! | |
| A small amount each month makes a big difference. Become a voluntary Subscriber for just $2/mo. | |||
| Help the Poetry Chaikhana reach more people. Become a Supporter for just $10/mo. |
|
Poetry Chaikhana Home Poetry Chaikhana |
Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.
============
Plain Text: If you have any difficulty reading this HTML formatted email, please let me know and I can send you plain text emails instead.
Friday Only: If you want to receive only one poem email each week, reply to this email and change the Subject to "Friday Only".
Canceling: If you wish to stop receiving this Daily Poem email from the Poetry Chaikhana, simply reply to this email and change the Subject to "Cancel".
