The parallelism of the psalms is a key to praying them. Just as the rhythm of music invites us to join in a dance, the rhythm of the psalms invites us to join in a dance, the rhythm of the psalms invites us to step into them with our whole self ... Repetition in prayer is a way of holding God in remembrance. The images of such prayer lodge deep within us and surface at other periods of our life. When we move quickly from one idea to another, it is difficult to let any one thought sink in and deepen within us. By quietly reiterating a theme or image, a psalm calms our restless hearts and gently leads us into a prayerful attitude.
Through science we have created magnificent spacecrafts and telescopes to explore
the night and the light and the half light. We have made visible things that are
invisible to the unaided eye. We have brought the dreamy heavens down to Earth,
held them in the mind's eye. Our explorations have produced a vast archive of
remarkable astronomical images...The riches are too many for choices, the
revelations beautiful and dreadful. Who can look at these images and not be
transformed? The heavens declare God's glory.
There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
and though the body sleeps, the heart will never rest
Shed a little light oh Lord so that we can see
Just a little light oh Lord...
Uphold the Light that your inner light
may illumine fear-filled hearts...
Light comes with each new dawn.
yield to the Light within;
become a chalice of light
for the world!
We did not ask for this room or
this music; we were invited in.
Therefore, because the dark
surrounds us, let us turn our
faces toward the light. Let us
endure hardship to be grateful
for plenty...We did not ask for
this room or this music. But
because we are here, let us
dance.
~ Stephen King and Bridget Carpenter in a poem from 11.22.63
