
On November 25 I used a quote from the book A God in the House, edited by Ilya Kaminsky and Katherine Towler. The book is a collection of interviews with nineteen American poets about spirituality and the craft of writing. Today I would like to share with you a few more quotes from this enriching book.

1- “The world is at once fallen and holy, both at the same time.” Carolyn Forche, p. 3.

2- “The holy has to do not with an isolated feeling, but with an act of involving yourself with other people.” Gerald Stern, p. 29.
3- Kazim Ali hesitated to think of himself as a “religious poet” because “I’m not certain about too many things. Fanny Howe writes in an essay titled ‘Doubt’ that doubt can be a really fruitful, powerful, spiritual place, and it’s a place of active seeking.” p. 33.
4- “Art’s role in the contemprary world may well be precisely to be un-useful, to appreciate the role of uselessness in our lives. You cannot eat a painting. You can’t do anything except stand before it, know the world differently, and walk away changed. That’s what a painting can do, a poem can do. Art halts the mind’s unthinking plummet and lets you see the experience as a new whole.” Jane Hirshfield, p. 60.
5- “Hope is not as comfortable as certainty.” Eleanor Ross Taylor
6- “We are living in a porous universe, and that sounds to me like a universe who wants, if I can put it in a child-like way, to love us.” Jean Valentine, p. 76.

7- “Writing is a struggle for what you don’t understand… Once I understand everything, I won’t be able to write.” Grace Paley, p. 101.
8- Alicia Ostriker likes poets like John Donne, George Herbert, Gerard Manley Hopkins: “poets who grasp the most powerful spiritual truths. The divine all around us, and the divine within us, and within everything–every atom.” She quotes Hopkins: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God” and Paul Eluard who wrote: “There is another world, but it is in this one.” p. 139. At the end, she talks about our desire to build a better world, and she quotes from the Talmud: “It is not incumbent on you to finish the task. Neither are you free to give it up.” p. 148.

9- Joy Harjo, a popular Native American poet and musician, was raised a Baptist, but she eventually made the decision “to stay clear of any organized religion.” She explains why: “From my study of history, theology, and metaphysics, especially from the perspective of an indigenous person in this country, I understand that organized religion is responsible for dismantling and destroying indigenous cultures all over the western hemisphere. This is still happening within our tribal nations. Factions from organized religions are behind nearly every armed conflict presently going on in the world.” p. 205.
10- “I think the imagination represents the health in us, and that any creative activity is a form of health and a symptom of it.” … And “The further inside one goes, the more one finds everybody.” Eleaneor Wilner, p. 218, 219.
11- “One practices faith at the very moment when you really don’t believe anything.” Julius Lester, p. 229
12- “The spiritual is here in the palpable, physical world around us.”Gregory Orr, p. 272

13- Let me conclude this reflection with an excerpt from a review of this book by Philip Zaleski, editor of the annual Best Spiritual Writing volumes: “An incandescent collection of essays, superbly edited, radiant with wisdom, demonstrating the great truth that all poetry, all art, all human endeavor finds it fulfillment in service to something higher than itself… Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, unaffiliated, non-religious: the contributors…unite in awe before the mystery of being. This is a noble and life-giving book.”
For reflection:
Is there any quote that jumped out at you? Why?
Is there a particular poem or work of art that has had a powerful, positive impact on your life? How? Would you like to share the title and author of that poem or work of art with us below?
In a world where we can be suspicious of, fearful of, or even antagonistic toward people of other faith traditions, isn’t it good to know that we can often find commonality in poetry and art? What other “things” can remove barriers between “us” and “them”? Have you ever experienced this in your life?
The editors of this book say that what poetry and faith share in common is a sense of awe, of wonder. As Christians, we believe that our sense of wonder can actually lead us to faith in God and can be a support of our faith throughout our life. (I know wonder has been a major support for my faith!) Here is Brian Doerksen’s beautiful song “Creation Calls.” I’ve used it before on this blog–but not this particular version by TheCatLady J. I chose it because of her use of exquisite nature pictures. It’s hard for me to choose my favorite picture. Is it the humans on the shore being dwarfed by those immense waves… those giant trees… that face of the baby giraffe… the huge eye of the ostrich… the monkey using the big leaf for his umbrella… that baby hedgehog…? Let me know if you had a favorite picture from this video. I’d be interested!
I invite you to comment on today’s bog below–on the quotes, the pictures, the reflective questions, or the video. We all love to read what you have to say!
23 Responses
Thank you for sharing the quotes and the wonderful video of nature and spirit. I always feel closer to God when I’m in nature. This day, it seems mighty important to focus on the good, the beautiful, the true in one another and all around us and within us. Thank you
Thanks for the inspiration. I really like #11. On this day of transitions, it is the best that I can do.
This was a lovely reminder of hope and beauty on what is a very difficult day.
I totally agree about it being a difficult day.
“Hope is not as comfortable as certainty.” Eleanor Ross Taylor
I hadn’t thought about hope that way, and it’s true. I intend to share this quote/reflection with others I pray with.
Thank you.
Good morning, thank you for the beautiful poetry and calming video. My favorite poem is “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer. My pop memorized and recited it to me, it is about even a tree praising God. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
I’m of the same mind as all the others who have shared. The nature pictures are all God’s presence to me. Thank you Melanie❤️🙏🏻😊
I find God in Nature, but today I’m feeling like the bird huddled at the feeder being blasted by the snow. I want to believe, but it’s hard right now.
The monkey using the leaf as an umbrella was my favorite. I can’t explain why. It just touched me the most. Thank you for another inspiring Monday morning blog.
Love the quotes you shared, Sister Melannie, epecially:
“Hope is not as comfortable as certainty.” No wonder Christianity is not meant to be comfortable!
I loved the song and so many of the photos that I couldn’t pick just one. My favorites were the new born’s cry at birth, representing new life, the mighty oak tree, representing strength, the adorable giraffe and monkey because I love watching both at the zoo. They make me smile.
God Bless you for the blessings of your blogs. I enjoy Monday’s finding the in my inbox.
I was struck by #9 – there’s always a piece of me that feels guilty for being Catholic when I read about what the church of its day did to Indigenous peoples — not just in the US but throughout the world. It certainly doesn’t make me want to leave the church or abandon religion but it is food for thought and prayers. Thank you for all the thought-provoking quotes.
Patt I share your pain over our long history of the mistreatment of indigenous people. The extreme poverty, addiction and crime that currently exists is shameful. I taught on the Pine Ridge Reservation for 16 years. Once such a wonderful culture with rich traditions has been stripped of their pride.
Jesus dismantled other religions too.
Thank you Sr Melannie for today’s thought provoking quotes and beautiful song. I have enjoyed reading and musing on poetry since I was 14 years old and a friend of my mom’s gave me “The Prophet” by Kahil Gibran. I reread it often and always get new insights. My favorites are: On Teaching and About Children – the two passions of my life. I will get the book you quoted and read it. Thanks for the suggestion!
God bless you and all of us!
Good afternoon, Sr. Melannie…
Good afternoon, all…
Happy Martin Luther King day!
Here are the two quotes that really got me: the first by Eleanor Wilner, “The farther inside one goes, the more one finds everybody”; the second by Jane Hirshfield, “Art halts the mind’s unthinking plummet and lets you see the experience as a new whole.”
A friend was attending a seminary as a graduate student. Someone at a party asked, “What are you studying?” She answered, “I’m learning about God.” The other person asked, “What are you going to do with it?” Most of us in the little circle laughed.
The quotations you selected are thought-provoking. The pictures are inspiring, and one thought that came to me is, how wonderful they all are, and how wonderful too is the photographer and the Creator of them all.
The next thought that came to me was a line from a poem by Mary Oliver, but I couldn’t find it.
The prosaic sense of it is, “You are a wonderful being. What are you going to do about it?”
The next day, I found the original line:
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
The word “wild” links me to the many creatures of earth that are not human,
therefore not domesticated or boring.
The many pictures of animals cuddling or sending love to their babes reminds me of the love I receive from the new members of my family when another child enters our flock.
The serenity of the earth sharing its strength, calmness and beauty bring peace.
Thank you
4- “Art’s role in the contemprary world may well be precisely to be un-useful, to appreciate the role of uselessness in our lives. You cannot eat a painting. You can’t do anything except stand before it, know the world differently, and walk away changed. That’s what a painting can do, a poem can do. Art halts the mind’s unthinking plummet and lets you see the experience as a new whole.” Jane Hirshfield, p. 60. This is precisely what it means to simply abide. Some people say showing up is 80% of the task. Just being is so impactful. Living in Religous life is the example of this everyday as just being in community is the majority of the work as a witness to the world and caring member to our brothers.
Give Us This Day is what I read every day and receive my spiritual reflection daily. It has been fruitful in my life. I have put down the more traditional forms of daily reflections because Give Us This Day provides a more ecumenical outlook to give an understanding of the vast spiritual world that is out there. Whether or not one agrees with the other religions, it is life giving to understand them, to have compassion for them where it may be resentment otherwise. That is how we are called to love our neighbor.
I love this blog and read it every week! It is incredibly nourishing.
Patriotism and schools also remove barriers for those who disagree. Love of country by fellow countrymen and love of their alma mater, high school or college.
Mellanie: This song overwhelms me. And I’m with you: the monkey with the leaf umbrella gets my vote. After the inauguration, I need more to believe in. Deep faith, hope, and response to others is needed…Thank you, my friend. Mary Ann Flannery, SC
This picture of the joy I hope to experience when I get to see Jesus in the garden is what gives me peace in what is to come should I be blessed to enter into Heaven!