Song of Solomon 3: God’s Yardstick – The Law of Love – Part IV
God’s Mercy
Friday, January 20, 2023
We continue to look for God’s yardstick in the New Testament.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Once the soul has capitulated to God, emptied out the human to let in the divine, it thirsts for more of what it has begun to experience. And this soul will search without ceasing to experience God in deepest intimacy. It hears God’s call and must respond. This soul will wander through the night calling out for the beloved in the same way as the mourning lover in Chapter 3 of the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon).
Restless in bed and sleepless through the night,
I longed for my lover. (Songs 3:1)
The soul searches endlessly as the does the soul in St. John of the Cross’ beautiful poem “Dark Night of the Soul.”
Upon a darkened night
The flame of love was burning in my breast
And by a lantern bright
I fled my house while all in quiet rest. (St. John of the Cross)
The soul that burns with desire for God will do all in order to be with God. And it will find healing serenity once it has found God because God alone is enough.
Those who are satisfied in this way cannot be manipulated by the world. They have no fear when they enter troubled waters because they have known the freedom of God’s embrace. And those who are satisfied in God alone respond with mercy – the fifth beatitude.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” And having walked through a gauntlet of people and events that taunt them to abandon God, having given and received mercy, having moved through fire to find peace . . . these souls will be purified.
Tomorrow, the pure of heart.
St. John of the Cross, “Dark Night of the Soul”, Arranged and adapted by Loreena McKennitt, 1993. http://www.frimmin.com/poetry/darknight.html
Adapted from a favorite written on January 5, 2007.
Image from: https://www.torahmusings.com/2019/05/marriage-the-ring/
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