A Gerard Manley Hopkins Moment
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.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)
I apologize for the awkward spacing; some of the lines are not quite right. Windows Live Writer, which I otherwise find exceedingly useful for writing blog posts, has its limitations.
Anyway. I had quite an experience this morning.
People have asked me, “how do you know what God wants?” I’ve asked that question myself. It’s not always easy to know. However much I might sometimes appreciate a well-modulated bass voice booming from the heavens, God is usually more subtle than that.
But there is a way, which has to do with paying attention to how you feel when you reach a conclusion or make a decision. You pay attention to feelings of consolation, feelings of rightness. That’s what happened to me this morning.
It’s my habit to pray and meditate first, then go for a walk. I often reflect further on my prayer as I go. This morning, reflecting on my prayer and on some advice I had received from a friend, I suddenly realized what it is I really want to do with my life.
Holding that realization, I walked headlong into the arms of God. There He was, in a patch of dappled early morning sunshine on the path. I felt His presence all around me, palpably. Joy rose deep within me and spilled over. I felt a holy Yes, and I remembered the first line of that poem, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Dear Julie,
Thank you for sharing this transcendent moment! It allowed me to feel some of your joy. I’ve always loved that GMH poem. It expresses the inexpressible so beautifully that I don’t see how anyone reading it could help but feel a deep longing for God, here fulfilled.
September 11th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Dear Mom–
I read recently that joy is the infallible presence of God. This experience of mine would seem to bear that out. Hours later the joy remains inside me, deep and true. I’m happy to share the experience with you. Thank you for responding.
September 15th, 2009 at 11:15 am
One might wish to be able to bottle such an experience, then sell it for a huge profit to all those who desperately need it - including ourselves just in case the consolation passes and dryness settles in.
I am so happy that God has blessed you with such a keen awareness of His presence. I hope the joy and peace last the rest of your everlasting life.
September 16th, 2009 at 7:31 am
For me what did it, what got me there was not the Hopkins poem, beautiful as it is. It was your “dappled sunshine” that took me instantly to that place. Doubtless GMH helped prepare me. So: what does God want you to do?
November 17th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
You know, I think e.e. cummiongs poem “i thank you god for most this amazing” is cut from similar if not the same cloth. I assume you know it?
i thank you God for most this amazing by E. E. Cummings
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
wich is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
Composer Eric Whitacre has created a stunning choral setting of the text, by the way. Hope you’re doing well. Might we see you Thanksgiving?
Love,
Dom