Tag: darkness

O Brightness of the Morning Star

I am the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star.”

Revelation 22:16

To the tune CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM:

O brightness of the morning star
and gleaming hope seen from afar,
arise; fulfill the ancient vow
for those who walk in darkness now.

O polestar of forgotten ways
and promise of undreamt-of days,
draw us forever close to you
through constellations strange and new.

O, guide our steps, our hearts transform
to see like you when light is gone,
for both the noonday and the night
alike lie open to your sight.

That when at last your day shall rise,
its brightness shall not hurt our eyes
once we have seen you in the dark.
O shining Christ, rise in our hearts!

So make our darkness bright as day,
our brightness as your shadow safe,
and be in light or shade our hope,
by night or noon our saving Lord. Amen.

Venus, pictured center-right, is always brighter than all other planets or stars at their maximal brightness, as seen from Earth. Jupiter is visible at the top of the image. By Brocken Inaglory – File:Venus with reflection.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5223759

When Night Is Longest

Will you come when night is longest,
from the deepest darkness come,
with our longing at its strongest,
and our weary senses numb?
When the days are at their coldest
and our hearts are colder still,
when our flame is at its lowest,
will you come, our lamps to fill?

There were days when oil of gladness
ran like rivers to the sea.
Now our eyes are filled with shadows
and our light too dim to see.
Keep us watchful by your starlight,
if our lamps run out of oil,
so to meet you in the dark night,
like a seed deep in the soil.

Yes, within the night you blossom,
ember blooming into flame,
dark unfolding into promise
all invisible by day.
Give our blunted senses sharpness,
when our lamps can give no light,
still to seek you in the darkness
and to greet you in the night.

By NovelNik – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79687392

Come, O Christ, Into the Shadows

To the tune NETTLETON:

Come, O Christ, into the shadows,
God from God and Light from Light,
far from heaven as you can go:
Come with me into the night.
Walk me through the Bitter Valley—
can you make it run with springs?
Walk me into all that shall be,
Lord of lords and King of Kings.

Come with me into the darkness;
never leave my fearful side,
but stay with through the starkness.
Be my shepherd and my guide,
for the night lies still before me,
with the terror that it brings.
Even so, let it be for me
but the shadow of your wings.

Come, then, Word of all creation,
you who wove the light and dark,
to caverns at the bases
of the mountains of your heart.
For I cannot go around them;
all my journeying lies through,
but your mercy, too, is down there,
and I walk the dark with you.
Harrowing of Hell  By Follower of Hieronymus Bosch – http://www.philamuseum.org, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6072326

Darkness

The darkness is the distance
that lies between the stars,
the eons or the instant 
before we see the spark,
the womb of all existence:
and like the sea it parts
and catches, as in crystal,
the light that pierces hearts.

As deep as every ocean
and fathoms past our ken,
the source of all has spoken,
has sounded its Amen.
What set the stars in motion
and made the planets spin
now breaks the night sky open
and softly enters in.

And lo!  The night is glowing;
the darkness is as day,
a stream of radiance flowing
where God has made a way.
These depths of beauty showing,
surrounding every ray:
the night its love bestowing
on Christ upon the hay.
Mount Bromo in Indonesia, at night By Falinka – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59645540

Drive Away the Night

Jesus said to his disciples:
“In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’
with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”

Mark 13:24-31
The sun itself has darkened;
the moon gives no more light.
Our every fear has sharpened,
but nowhere can we hide.

The night still grows yet deeper;
the stars themselves fall down,
and over all, our weeping
is now the only sound.

All this is merely midnight!
There is no sign of day,
no hint at all of dawnlight
to drive the dark away.

But there shall be no warning,
no whispers of that hour
'til suddenly the dawning
fills heaven with its power!

When shall we see that glory
and know at last that light?
O sun of justice, show us,
and break upon our sight!

Then weeping turns to dancing,
and all our sorrows cease:
Our armies stop advancing,
and we at last have peace!

O Son of God, come quickly
and fill the earth with light!
O Son of Man, come heal us
and drive away the night!
The Last Judgement. The Louvre. By Jean Cousin the Younger, also called Jehan Cousin Le Jeune (lived c. 1522–1595). – Blunt, Anthony. Art and Architecture in France: 1500–1700. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press, [1957] 1999 edition. ISBN 0300077483. Page 99., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2874303

Lamplight

Jesus said to the crowd:

“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel

or sets it under a bed;

rather, he places it on a lampstand

so that those who enter may see the light.

For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,

and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.

Take care, then, how you hear.

To anyone who has, more will be given,

and from the one who has not,

even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

Luke 8:16-18
You know our hidden secrets, Lord;
our silence echoes in your word.
Our quiet desperation shouts
to you all our unspoken doubts.

No shadow hides us from your sight.
You know our darkness in your light,
and in the paths we fear to tread,
we find you walking on ahead.

In questions we had feared to ask,
in tears you held within your flask,
uncertainties we cannot know,
you wait for us, if we will go.

In every bushel overturned,
unknown to us, your lamplight burns,
and if we sink into the deeps,
the rising wave your ember keeps.

Your light is there within my dark,
though I may not perceive the spark.
Though I may never feel your hands,
you walk with me through unseen lands.

Until I know the dark as light,
I seek you in the fearful night.
Oh, hear the words I cannot say
until I, too, can see your day!
Rothschild Canticles (f. 64r) Mary as the Mulier amicta sole By medieval – https://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3432521, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68183139

See My Heart

To the tune PLEADING SAVIOR (“Sing of Mary, pure and lowly”):

See my heart, confused and groping—
Lord, look down to earth and see—
lost and blind, but trusting, hoping,
you will help my unbelief.
If my eyes should never open,
if the morning light should flee,
if I am no more than broken,
yet come walk the night with me.

Lord, I do not know the meadow
where you promise me your rest,
yet I long to find the shadow
held between your wing and breast.
Here I walk by hint and echo
to an end I have not guessed.
Come and guide me, heaven's arrow,
to the places you have blessed.

Take me by the hand and lead me,
by the roads I cannot find,
gentle when my fears deceive me,
patient when I fall behind.
With each day, once more receive me;
each step, one more chain unbind.
With the bread of heaven, feed me,
savior, shepherd ever kind.
Good shepherd. Russian icon, 19 c. Niederland, private collection By anonimous – http://www.cirota.ru/forum/view.php?subj=47937&order=&pg=1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4516161

Within the Darkness

Within the darkness of the womb
you spoke my name and let me be.
The darkness was as light to you
as now my light is dark to me.

Teach me the measure of my days;
I count them back, but cannot tell
the meaning of the life you made—
though I know you make all things well.

Should I rise up or should I lie,
or should I act or even think
you know it better, Lord, than I,
writ down in never-fading ink.

Should I run out beyond the dawn,
or turn and to the darkness speak,
you know the words upon my tongue
with all the clarity I seek.

And when I come upon my death
or sink into the realms of gloom,
still do you know me in myself
within the darkness of the tomb.

Give me a little of your light—
yourself proceeding from yourself—
and break me open to my sight
to know you and to know myself.
By Caravaggio – Self-scanned, Public Domain, https://commBy Caravaggio – Self-scanned, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15219497ons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15219497

Caravaggio‘s The Calling of St Matthew uses darkness for its chiaroscuro effects. – Self-scanned, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15219497

Shepherd of My Weary Soul

Inspired by Good Shepherd Sunday falling in the middle of everything still being difficult. Maybe wouldn’t work for actually singing during Mass on Good Shepherd Sunday, but in the right circumstances, it could. More appropriate for difficult times or night prayer. To the tune HEINLEIN (“From the Depths We Cry to Thee”):

Shepherd of my weary soul,
see me safely through the night.
Far away from safety's fold, 
still I seek your comfort bright.

Shepherd, give me eyes to see
stars, though light cannot be found,
signs that show you're leading me,
though my fears yet here abound.

Give me ears to hear your voice
calling me throughout the night,
courage for each darkened choice—
let me hear and choose aright!

Though my heart is worn and cold,
kindle me with your bright spark.
Guide my steps on ways untold,
though I walk them in the dark.

Lord, I cannot see your face;
let me sightless be content,
blindly groping through your grace 
still to follow where you went.

If the sun should never rise,
let me follow ever on,
thankful that you made my eyes
though they may not see the dawn.
The good Shepherd, At the Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=515973