The 60-Second Sabbath

inclusion

  • Walls

    At duskI come upon the ruinsof an ancient wall.It's graying rocks,lichen-covered and rain-smoothed,rise like disintegrating teethabove the black-eyed Susansand Queen Anne's laceof the field. Whose hands gathered and stacked these stonesand to what purpose?Was I to be kept out?Were you to… Continue reading

  • Embrace!

    Observe how widethe arms of Godopen. Look again:we areGod's arms! Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Homecoming

    My dear brotherstands in the kitchenwith his brand new brideand her three beautiful children,faces the horrid awkwardnessof my fatherwho is rooted in the hallway beyond,where he appears to be glued to the floor,stuck in a morass of religious allegiancedespite the… Continue reading

  • If God Is…

    If God is,than God is so much greaterthan anything we've been taughtor can possibly imagine. If God is then we live in a universeconquered by love. If God is,then (what relief!)we can cease our strivingto convert, to persuade, to change,… Continue reading

  • The Castle

    St. Teresa,Avilan mystic,mystery see-er,observer of God's loftiest grandeurand tiniest marvels,explains that my soulstands as a vast castle,a many-roomed mansion,an extraordinary, multi-storied highrise,gilded and jeweled. Given that–in the marvelously graced mindof this, our outwardly simple sister–my soulholds the essence of my… Continue reading

  • What Dirk Might Know

    Does Dirk understandhe's adopted? Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Journey’s End

    When I finally made it to the kingdom,weary from travel,hungry and eager to bathe,they treated me like royalty. And the next to arrive,also worn, starving and smelly–she, too, was welcomedwith a crown, a scepter and a robe. When bedtime arrived,out… Continue reading

  • Prayer 2

    God of infinity:in the curve of your embrace,within and without time,all-enfolding,expansive:make space for me. How small I must appear.  Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • The Lord’s Prayer, Stanza 2

    We shall relate to youand to one another–with awe,with honor,with respect. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • The Lord’s Prayer, Stanza 1

    Caring Onedwelling in heaven (yes, certainly),but more outstandingly here–between        within        among–you are ours(not mine, not anyone's specifically,but rather thoroughly, completely, all of)ourswithout proviso, clause or exception.  Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All… Continue reading