Lectio:
Good Friday by Christina Rossetti
Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy blood’s slow loss,
And yet not weep?
Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter, weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;
Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon –
I, only I.
Yet give not o’er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.
Studium:
Christina Rossetti lived in the nineteenth century. This poem was published in 1866. Here, Rossetti is describing something very human. "Doubt." Sometimes we feel close to God and sometimes we don't. And when we don't, we miss Him. This is what Christina is experiencing. As usual, the feeling, the mood, whatever, passes, as it does with Christina Rossetti. But this poem is focusing on the "doubt."
Meditatio:
This poem is perfect for the discussion my "cloistered brothers" and I were having. One of them was describing his thoughts about God. He lost his "joy" in Jesus. Thank you Lord for bring this poem to my attention. I'll make copies for all of my "cloistered brothers" and we'll analyze it.
Oratio:
Lord, I ask your help in reaching my "cloistered brothers." They, everyone for that matter, want to feel Your love. But being human, that closeness with human beings comes and goes. We don't want to feel like Christina's stone. We want to be humbled like Peter, cry like the women beneath Your cross. We want to feel the earth move.
Contemplatio:
Smite with Your Love, Lord.
Resolutio:
I will print out and give copies of this poem to my "cloistered brothers."
To think that this meaningless thing was ever a rose,
To think that this meaningless thing was ever a rose,
