Every Advent, I love to sit with poems that point to the mystery of Spirit and Flesh uniting in the depths of the human heart, my way of preparing for the birth of Christ. This poem by John of the Cross (below) is one of my favorites.
For me, it points to the reality that Incarnation is not only a historical reality, but something that is continually emerging in the depths of the human heart. When we are willing and able to drop beneath the fullness of our inner and outer lives, we might get a glimpse of that mystery’s unfolding and invitation. If you want… In my work with Wisdom & Money, I feel privileged to sit with people who seek to open to the mystery of incarnation in their lives. When I listen to the stories of people who join our retreats and conversations, I often feel that I am witnessing the union of Spirit and Flesh in the human heart.
There is a sacred mystery at work when we bring our money stories into spiritual community. Perhaps this is because money reveals what is happening in the depths of our hearts — where we are stuck, where we are in pain as well as our deepest hopes and where our lives sing. What a privilege to be among people – all of us – who explore the topic of money so that Christ can be born in us and bring light into the world through us, through the flow of money. Thank you for being a part of this work.
~ Rose Feerick, Co-Director
IF YOU WANT
If
you want
the Virgin will come walking down the road
pregnant with the holy,
and say,
“I need shelter for the night, please take me inside your heart,
my time is so close.”
Then, under the roof of your soul, you will witness the sublime
intimacy, the divine, the Christ
taking birth
forever,
as she grasps your hand for help, for each of us
is the midwife of God, each of us.
Yet there, under the dome of your being does creation
come into existence eternally, through your womb, dear pilgrim–
the sacred womb in your soul,
as God grasps our arms for help; for each of us is
His beloved servant
never far.
If you want, the Virgin will come walking
down the street pregnant
with Light and sing …
–St. John of the Cross, “If You Want” in Daniel Ladinsky Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (New York: Penguin Group, 2002), 306-307.