Easter 32 Luminous

"Wring Out My Clothes"

Such love does
the sky now pour,
that whenever I stand in a field, 

 I have to wring out the light
when I get
home. 

[Francis of Assisi]

Three years ago, when I was cut open from the bottom of my sternum to just below my navel to remove a large cyst on my pancreas, it was one of those dividing lines in life. That event will always be the fixed point with a before and (quite luckily) an after to it. Though about the size of a baseball, the cyst was completely free of cancer.

There were also a few months after it that I felt such relief that everything was luminous. Grace and gratitude met in those few months and I think I can say I felt the the lightest I maybe ever have. In response, I made a short performance called Wringing Out Light: Poems and Prayers, which drew on writings of various Christian mystics and visionaries. The above brief verse from Francis became the thread that embroidered the whole performance.

I don't always feel it. I think I've made that clear. But having felt it, I know it's possible and I keep this short verse tacked to my work cubicle wall as a reminder.

Such love! Such love! Such love!