An Encounter with An Angel

Dear Friend,

Here’s a poem for the third week of Advent. The poet, Tomas Tranströmer, invites the reader into a place of “half-dark” with “no perspective”. There’s an encounter with an angel and I couldn’t help but think of Mary. There’s a lot going on here, including where we… end up? I must thank Daniel Thomas for passing it along.

“Romanesque Arches” - by Tomas Tranströmer

Tourists have crowded into the half-dark of the enormous

  Romanesque Church.

Vault opening behind vault and no perspective.

A few candle flames flickered.

An angel whose face I couldn’t see embraced me

and his whisper went all through my body:

“Don’t be ashamed to be a human being, be proud!

Inside you one vault after another opens endlessly.

You’ll never be complete, and that’s as it should be.”

Tears blinded me

as we were herded out into the fiercely sunlit piazza

Together with Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Herr Tanaka and Signora Sabatini;

within each of them vault after vault opened endlessly.

Some thoughts: When I googled the poem, I discovered this quote from Mr. Tranströmer: “I am still the place where creation does some work on itself.” I can agree with that, and again, very timely, the new creation - “sunlit” - is where our journey directs us. Also, this Sunday being Gaudete Sunday, I couldn’t help but wonder: are the poet’s tears, tears of joy? In any event, we’re on a journey together, and may God bless us and surprise us!

Gratefully,

Father Dan, Pastor