Saturday, December 21, 2013

Mary - heavy with her burden


In prayer these past few weeks, the image that has come to me and embedded itself in my heart is that of Our Lady, heavy with child, treading the stony path to Bethlehem from Nazareth, full of hope, of anticipation, of joy.

Then I came across this poem by Claudel.
Mary -- heavy with her burden, having conceived
of the Holy Spirit --
Withdrew far from the sight of men, in the depths
of the underground oratory,
Like the dove in the Canticle that flies away
to the cleft in the rock.
She does not move, she says not a word she adores.
She is interior to the world, for her God is no longer outside.
He is her work and her son and her darling and
the fruit of her womb! 

Marie, lourde de son fardeau, ayant conçu de l'Esprit Saint,
S'est retirée loin de la vue des hommes au fond de l'oratoire souterrain,
Comme la colombe du Cantique qui se coule au trou de la muraille. 
Elle ne bouge pas, elle ne dit pas un mot, elle adore.
Elle est intérieure au monde, Dieu pour elle n'est plu au dehors,
Il est son œuvre et son fils et son petit et le fruit des ses entrailles! 

Paul Claudel, Hymne au Sacré-Cœur. 

(Quoted in that amazing commentary, "Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word" by Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis) 

1 comment:

Annfran said...

Mary's silence speaks volumes.