The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod? Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs-- Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
‘God’s Grandeur’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins
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Image: Depiction of the Holy Spirit as a dove, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in the apse of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, c. 1660
Photo credit: Dnalor 01, Wikimedia Commons, licence CC-BY-SA 3.0
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In St Mary’s prayer cycle for May 2020, today we pray that all who have authority and power may use it for good.
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If you would like to contribute to these reflections, please do email Katherine Cox at kvcox-therapy@gmail.com
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