Silence and Presence A Sense of Your Abiding Teach me the mystery Of a silence that compasses everything.

Silence the unspoken selfish words That dominate my life 'Destroy the inner words That keep the Word away. Free me from the fascination Of the words of people Obsessed by power, pleasure, and possession. Hide me In that blessed night Wherein all words Fall silent All creatures Soften to shadows. Before that night is spent Let me taste its consolation.. Your Presence, Divine Word, In my life refreshed and purified. Lord, You want me to remain in you As you remain in me. You promise me fruitfulness In my little place in history. Together we shall carry fruit abundantly To delight the Father's eye. He looks at both of us so tenderly. He looks at you, He looks at me And smiles upon our unity. He shines forth in us When I walk my daily path, Alive in you, transformed in you A in 1~ As a servant of humanity. To keep in touch with you Still and steadily, Nourish me with your words, Those shining bridges ~j That like rainbows J~ Harmonize my earthly doings With the heaven of your presence. Let them penetrate my busy mind, My dried up soul, like fragrant oil If you grant me a fleeting sense Of your abiding, let me not clutch at it greedily But flow gently with the holy mystery Of your appearance and departure In my daily life.