Catherine of Siena: We were enclosed (from Prayer 20)

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We were enclosed (from Prayer 20)

Catherine of Siena, Catherine of Siena poetry, Christian, Christian poetry, Catholic poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, poetry

by Catherine of Siena
(1347 - 1380) Timeline

English version by
Suzanne Noffke, O.P.

We were enclosed,
O eternal Father,
within the garden of your breast.
You drew us out of your holy mind
like a flower
petaled with our soul's three powers,
and into each power
you put the whole plant,
so that they might bear fruit in your garden,
might come back to you
with the fruit you gave them.
And you would come back to the soul,
to fill her with your blessedness.
There the soul dwells --
like the fish in the sea
and the sea in the fish.

-- from Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, Edited by Jane Hirshfield

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/ Photo by woodleywonderworks /

Themes

Garden

Heart

Lotus

Rose

Spring Blossom

Recommended Books

	Catherine of Siena : (Outstanding Christian Thinkers), by Giuliana Cavallini
	Catherine of Siena - Passion for the Truth, Compassion for Humanity: Selected Spiritual Writings, by Catherine of Siena / Edited by Mary O'Driscoll
	Catherine of Siena: The Dialogue: (Classics of Western Spirituality), by Catherine of Siena / Edited by Suzanne Noffke
	For Lovers of God Everywhere: Poems of the Christian Mystics, by Roger Housden
	A Life of Total Prayer: Selected Writings of Catherine of Siena, by K Beasley Topliffe

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We were enclosed,
O eternal Father,
within the garden of your breast.

The metaphor of a garden to represent one's spiritual awareness is an ancient one.

Think about a garden for a moment. What is it? First, it is a place where things grow, a place of life. It is the opposite of death, which is the state of nonspirituality.

The plants of the garden are rooted in the earth, yet they reach upward toward the light of the sun.

On an even subtler level, a garden is a place of nourishment and of beauty. What grows in our spiritual gardens feeds us -- and the world -- through its "fruitfulness." The garden brings beauty, the awareness of harmony to our consciousness. The flowers of the garden represent the spiritual qualities that have opened within us, that in turn cause us to open to the Divine. The flowers are within us, and we are the flowers.

Also, a garden is often a place where lovers secretly meet. It is where we go to spend time in the embrace of the Beloved.

Finally, a garden is a place of contemplation and rest. It is a place where we give ourselves permission to simply be, to settle into the present moment. The garden represents the soul at rest in the living presence of the Divine.

In fact, the word "paradise" means... garden

--

Oh, isn't that a great phrase...

You drew us out of your holy mind
like a flower

But my favorite --

There the soul dwells --
like the fish in the sea
and the sea in the fish.

...The soul not separate from God, not even merely touching God. The soul within God, and God within the soul. The Eternal fills us and surrounds us and is our entire medium of existence.

Have a beautiful day!

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