Lent: Week 1, Day 2: The Call of Beauty

Beauty saves. Beauty heals. Beauty motivates. Beauty unites. Beauty returns us to our origins, and here lies the ultimate act of saving, of healing, of overcoming dualism. Beauty allows us to forget the pain and dwell on the joy.

~Matthew Fox, The Mystic Vision by Andrew Harvey & Ann Baring

One of my favorite poems is, Last Night When I was Sleeping by Antonio Machado. It speaks to me of what happens inside my heart when I meditate on beauty. Read this poem as a *Lectio Divina. Watch/Listen to the video or read the poem a few times throughout the remainder of this week being attentive to which words or phrases speak to you? Linger with the words or images that touch your heart and feed your soul? What does the poem call forth in you? How does it speak to you of the Holy? Journal on your experience.

Video: Last Night When I Was Sleeping by Antonio Machado

Last Night, As I Was Sleeping by Antonion Machado

(English version by Ivan M. Granger)

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that a spring was breaking

out in my heart.

I said: Along which secret aqueduct,

Oh water, are you coming to me,

water of a new life

that I have never drunk?

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that I had a beehive

here inside my heart.

And the golden bees

were making white combs

and sweet honey

from my old failures.

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that a fiery sun was giving

light inside my heart.

It was fiery because I felt

warmth as from a hearth,

and sun because it gave light

and brought tears to my eyes.

Last night as I slept,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that it was God I had

here inside my heart.

Song: Alleluia, Stephanie Martin

Resource

*If you are unfamiliar with the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina, here is a helpful description of the process and the four steps in reading scripture or poetry.