Meditation 17
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
"No man is an iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece
of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a clod bee washed away by the Sea,
Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of
thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am
involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee...."
These words were written in the year of 1624 by John Donne. Fascinating man, please read about him here. Most people know him as a famous English poet but I think of him not only as a wonderful writer but as a man of God and a great preacher. "Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind..." These words came to me recently when I was thinking of those who had died in the storm in New York and New Jersey and of all of those who are suffering. Thinking of them, it occurred to me we all should pray for them. John Donne also had some thoughts on prayer. See if you can't recognize the truth of them for yourself...
"When we consider with a religious seriousnesse the manifold weaknesses of the strongest devotion in time of prayer, it is a sad consideration. I throw my selfe downe in my chamber, and I call in and invite God, and his Angels thither and when they are there, I neglect God and his Angels, for the noise of a flie, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a doore.
I talke on, in the same posture of praying; eyes lifted up, knees bowed down, as though I prayed to God; and, if God or his Angels should aske me, when I thought last of God in that prayer, I cannot tell: Sometimes I find that I had forgot what I was about, but when I began to forget it , I cannot tell.
A memory of yesterday's pleasures, a feare of tomorrows dangers, a straw under my knee, a noise in mine eare, a light in mine eye, an anything, a nothing, a chimera in my braine, troubles me in my prayer. So certainly, is there nothing, nothing in spiritual things, perfect in this world."
Did you ever listen to the sincerity of a child in prayer? It is always just heart-wrenching to me- that faith without question that they exhibit. Oh- to have that unbridled faith that God can and will do whatever we ask- xo Diana
ReplyDeleteFaith of a child with the strength of an adult can accomplish great things!
DeleteAfter Hurricane Katrina, I remember all the experts saying not much could be done, but I recall it was the good people of the churches who got the most accomplished! The same thing seems to be happening in New Jersey. Some folks from my county are going up with thousands of meals this week. They ask for your prayers!
I have never seen that exerpt on prayer before. Thank you for sharing it. I am often tempted to feel sorry for God. He knowingly and willingly puts up with so much, and he knew what it would cost him, not only in dying for us, but dying to nurture such silly creatures as we have made ourselves to be.
ReplyDeleteI am not Catholic myself, but I remember these words after Communion..."Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed."
DeleteWe are silly creatures but we come from God, so we can renew ourselves every day, every hour, every minute!
What is the name of that writing on prayer?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.msgr.ca/msgr-3/john_donne_sermon.htm
DeleteThere it is above. If you copy and paste that, then scroll down to the sermon..Funeral of Sir William Cokayne, Knight, Alderman of London.
Also, notice the quote at the top! :-)
I remember studying the works of John Donne when I was younger, so I really enjoyed this post, Kay.
ReplyDeleteAnd lucky you, you can go to St. Paul's Cathedral and think of him preaching there...the prayer quote came from a sermon preached at a funeral. (See the link in the comment above!)
DeleteDonne was one of my favorites in literature classes, but it's been a long time.
ReplyDeleteMy prayer for today is that no matter who wins any election anywhere in the US today, that the person will "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with G-d" (Micah 6:8).
I hope so too.
DeleteIt is a terrible situation here in NYC/NJ/CT where I live. There are still people without housing, or people in their houses without power or heat. And now the temp has dropped to 20 degrees, and I worry for all these families. Many of the power stations in lower manhattan 'blew' and reports we're hearing are end of Nov before they are back online. all prayers welcome. but what I'd like to see is Red Cross/ FEMA/ local gov finding real solutions here. Like heat & food.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry, that sounds so terrible.
DeleteI don't know if you remember Hurricane Katrina, but the government response seems very similar. The cold temps make it all even worse. Read my response to the first comment above, I know that there are thousands of meals coming your way from a group from this area. It might only be a drop in the ocean, but every bit helps. Take care and stay strong.
Kay, What a beautiful church. There are days that I seem to be praying all day...it helps with my stress. Today, I am thankful I can vote. Today I ask God to send help to those in need. xo, Susie
ReplyDeleteDear Susie,
DeleteThanks, that church is All Souls and it is in Eastbourne, England.
I am thankful for so many things today, and I too am praying for all who needs help, and not to give up hope.
Lovely. And a nice reminder. xoxox
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol! Aren't those words amazing to read from so long ago, and yet, how much they resonate for today? xxx
DeleteSo true about the distractions during prayer - it's a good thing the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, because we "don't know how to pray as we ought"!
ReplyDeleteJohn Donne was a very interesting person indeed.
I find his words so true for me. That is why the Monastery here is so special (the header photo)...it is always so quiet and such a perfect place for thought and prayer.
DeleteThis is oone of my favorite posts, I think, Richard's photos and John Donne's words, almost all English!
P.S. Sorry, meant to say the Holy Spirit "interprets", not intercedes. It is of course Christ who intercedes for us. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I never notice things until I hit the publish button. I see I just typed "one" wrong!
DeleteThe terrible storm seems to have vanished from the news as the election goes on...however the suffering goes on and hopefully the needs of the people will answered soon. Lovely post and reminder of the power of prayer.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I noticed that with the election, there was less and less about the storm victims.
DeleteSo much needs to be done, I pray it will happen.
I'm slowly learning the importance, significance, and power of prayer. These words and thoughts were very encouraging.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for visiting my blog the other day and leaving me a kind comment. It is a pleasure to "meet" you. :)
Thanks for your comment!
DeleteYou have a wonderful blog and it is a pleasure to meet you! I consider my followers my friends, so welcome friend! :-) Please drop by anytime, I'll have the kettle on!
Kay that is beautiful. I'm going to re-use the first quote as a closing thought in a post I'm due to publish this weekend because it captures exactly what I was thinking - but with much more eloquence. What wonderful church imagery. I'm particulalrly fond of the banner photograph (blue light in the church) because of its simplicity and raw emotional impact. Thanks for dropping by today :-)
ReplyDeleteDear Wendy,
DeleteThanks for your visit! I am glad that you liked these words, I knew you would! All of the photos in this post are by Richard. The header photo is at the Monastery, just a few miles from our house and the other two are from All Souls Church in Eastbourne.
Looking forward to your post this weekend!
Hope you are healing after your accident. Bones knitting together, it is an amazing thing. God Bless!