Speak to my Heart, a poem by Peter Menkin

Friend:

Let me explain this situation, for the hour of the morning is early. There is darkness, and it is quiet as I continue my work on the new poem. I've been thinking, and wishing, that a new poem would come to me, for it is in the waiting that a premonition can be found for the inspiration of a work. Even a short work like this religious poem that expresses how the Spirit of the Lord is Upon me.

It was earlier in the day, considering that the hour of the morning of the next day is here, so it was really the evening of the day before, that I was telling a friend that the spirit of God came upon the character of the Bible with long, curly hair who said, The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me. His name escaped my friend. But you know who I mean.

Anyway, this Epiphany in the season of Epiphany entered my mind and I became conscious of the words, which wrote themselves. So it seemed. So it seems. It was earlier today I spoke via internet with a new friend about poetry, and the inspiration that contemplation brings. I spoke about the inspiration that comes of taking Communion. I did not say that inspiration also comes of prayer. But he knows things like that, I am sure, for he teaches in College. People who go to Church know things about prayer, that some of those who don't get to do the work of attending worship have missed. Ah, so it is.

The new poem, written in the wee hours of the morning:



By Peter Menkin
January 25, 2010

I have waited on the Lord,
In the stillness of my mind.
In the music of a hymn,
In a conversation with a friend.

It is in the loveliness of a flower,
And the color of the light of day
Lost in a prayer from the prayer book,
I have waited on the Lord.

My friend, it is the pleasure of life,
The knowledge in simplicity of knowing
One another, and even the times that come looming
To the psyche of trials and fears in a tunnel
Where confinement of spirit and mind

Make the soul weep and wonder
That there is comfort in knowing you
Lord. Speak to my heart.

Audio reading of the poem by the poet is here

Here is my consideration of a brief poem of waiting in a hospital emergency room.


by Peter Menkin (2000)



Here is my consideration

of a brief poem of waiting

in a hospital emergency room.



The man from the Veteran's Hospital

was late, and the baby cried happily.

Two children wore the doctor's bandages

in the waiting room. Earlier at evening tide

there was a quiet conference in the

education center. The man who tip toes

through the tulips was pulling his car to

the main door of Marin General when I

arrived. The beep, the bio feedback, the

numbers 106 over, 95 over, oxygen 96.



The heart is monitored by machines, the

ticking clock sweeps from the hours through

Evening Prayer, and the long explanation of

conversation with God in a description begins.



Our Father, who, art in Heaven where the Lord

lives. Hallowed is a joy to us in song and in the

majestry of golden walls. Be thy name, a mystery

unspeakable, a land and a place oh joy of hymn.



Thy kingdom, a tree where we abide and sing,

along the branches like those whose life is tended,

as the lily is beautiful so we are without anxiety in

your Kingdom where there is clothing that we neither



work nor labor and Come. Thy will, your will be done.



Me in thee and thee in me. On earth as it is in heaven,

the cherubim and the archangels sing a constant hymn

of song in worship and adoration in this holy spirit that

yours is. Give us this day, to begin and say this is the

day the lord has made, let us

be glad in it. our daily bread to eat as a manna from

heaven a promise of which we are not worthy, oh, I

have denied thee, and loved thee, for you are a rest

to me and a comfort. Forgive us as we ask this of you

in your grace of giving this question to us this evening

the hour turns towards nine o'clock and the doctor is

waiting the nurses are coming. I am thirsty, and listening

now in another room. As we forgive those who trespass



against, for this is a prayer against another, in the wrestling

that is our lives, in struggle and in toil, my heart beats,

breath and practice bio feedback.



Us, whom we think about. The us of the hospital, the patients,

the nurses, the paramedics who are in their blue uniforms.

Cool and so well waiting. Someone has died. I sense it,



for I practice discernment, Oh Lord of my life, my love in

testimony, I seek thee. Thou art here, where can I go from

thy presence. For thine is the kingdom, and the power.



I meditate upon this and contemplate the beep of the system,

the pressure on my arm, the woman with her husband, her

marriage in Christ, and the closeness of their concern in

love of waiting, the glory, oh, yes, thine is greater than the

cosmos of imagining. A creation beyond of goodness, a place

of beginning that is where the I am that I am for you have

come across me and the saints are living presences among



the waiting in the rooms curtained one from another. Forever

and ever. Amen. I ponder, I contemplate, I look for meditation,



the baby is a joy to everyone. Whose heart is this saint's? A

charity of visitation, a transfiguration of compassion, a



continuation



of a journey in prayer. The lady across the long room wants

me to say confession for her.

Yours sincerely.

 
 
 
Audio reading by poet of his work is here:

Gratitude in Joy & Sorrow
A poem by Peter Menkin
August 10, 2009

Gratitude I have--
Had--
This sense of acceptance,
Called giving thanks in a praise.
Of words,
And thoughts for God, Creator
And sustainer—
My gratitude for my preservation,
Bringing me to this new day--
As the Prayer goes.

How kind the thought comes
Of the goodness of God, though
Sorrow is our lot.
As is said, “Human condition.”
Contradiction. For sorrow is the daily sense,
The feeling, the experience, the existential
Day that finds the Other.
In gratitude.


Contradiction. Yes, we are in sorrow
Of the body, of the head, of the experience
Of living that at the same time is joy.
That enveloping experience of emotion—
A happiness that is not happiness.

But the mystery of gratitude for
Joy, sense of kind thought and human condition
And thoughts for God, Creator.
As the Prayer goes in Christ.
We are thankful in living for life, the gift;
In gratitude, in gratitude again
For our Creation.
As the prayer goes in Christ.

Audio reading of poem by poet is here:

That God is Love,
Commentary on John 15 1-8
“Me in thee, and thee in me…”

Homily
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB
Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
(North of San Francisco)
Fifth week of Easter
Wednesday Eucharist, May 13, 2009

Acts 15: 1-6
John 15: 1-8
Psalm 122



In the name of God: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It is in Love, through the Church, Worship, and prayer; it is in Love, through acts of mercy, charity, and deeds for others; it is in Love, through following the poor and chaste Christ through the Church year—where we come to know and live in the way of Christ. This is called the Christian life. What this life entails is narrated through the Bible, in specific The New Testament. On this day we are reminded again that God seeks us in Love.

Our reading from John 15: 1-8 says directly:

“I am the true vine, and my father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me…”

My life as an Oblate, received by the Camaldolese monastic order of St. Benedict 15 years ago, has opened to me a life lived as offering to God. Sometimes I think of it as Samson in the Bible who lived under a vow, and think that called by God I’ve responded and may hold a special fervor for Christ and Church, to abide in God and continue the Divine Call that brought me to live in the world as the Oblate does, rather than in a monastery, as does the Monk. This is a life of abiding in Christ, abiding in God, and a radical giving over to a more religious life.

One preached retreat at Immaculate Heart Hermitage in Big Sur, California where Brother Bead spoke of The Rule of Saint Benedict, I realized that this Holy Book was an excellence direction and resource for living life in a full. It is a directed way that is common to the monastic community of which I am a part. Having chosen to center my life around the daily office and worship and prayer, my interest is in living with the Parish as a centerpiece for life. With its many Biblical references and references to the Psalm in The Rule, I am helped in my direction for abiding in a manner consistent with John’s, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me…”

Living with others in community, as I live the Parish life, and the monastic life in the world, I, like you, follow the poor, chaste Christ through the year.

“Me in thee, thee in me.”



Love binds us.
We are friends in Christ.

That Christ invites us: it is an enormous hospitality of God that is extended anew through Christ. We are invited, and this is Grace--for we are accepted.

Like Dame Julian of Norwich, we learn the Lord’s meaning that is brought to us through divine longing.

Love is his meaning.
Who shows it to us: Love.
What is shown: Love.
Why was it shown: Love.
We learn that Love is our Lord’s meaning.

Christ in the Bible, Christ in the Church Fathers, Christ in the Church guides us. Though we may have different approaches and needs, we are united in Christ. For example, as a contemplative, I seek Union with God. This is an unknowing knowing. One lives with the contradictions, lives with the questions of Christ and those of the Church. This includes those mysteries that we find in the Bible.

The invitation to God is the result of God’s love, not our love of God. Humans cannot be so perfect as to regard God in a manner as He regards humans. Though we bless God “for our creation, preservation, / and all the blessing of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love/ in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ…” and may do this daily, it is God’s grace that gives us these freedoms. This gift of Christ is a result of God’s love for woman and mankind

A relationship has many dimensions, as has any love affair.
Being angry with God is not failing to love God. Asking why did this happen; having doubts, is a way of reaching and moving towards love. These are points of starting that enables us to enter into love. Otherwise the stumbling block becomes our own emotional failure. One must be true to our own feelings and thoughts. Emotional honesty is required. It is not one who is angry who is a failure, but when one is denying self-awareness, dishonest in the relationship with God. This honesty, and knowing oneself in Christ is a job itself, and all of us as Christians work at this task. It is part of the vineyard work.

Abiding as resting in Christ, in the spirit of the Church—is balm. It is comfort. As Archbishop Rowan Williams says, “Church is something that happens, a verb before it is a noun.” Church is a vineyard of Christ, and the Church asks, even tells us, that the world is Christ’s vineyard, as our lives are engaged and lived in the vineyard. We labor in God, who is Love.

Love is a verb before it is a noun. Love acts upon us, as we live in the history of God in our lives, and within our nation and community. It is common for us to offer guidance and moral community in Christ, and we do this personally and corporately. Each member helps the other along the way. We express this help and caring each Sunday. One example is: Each Sunday we offer each other “…the peace of the Lord…” This offer is our desire that each of us experience Christ’s peace.

As an Oblate, I enjoyed meeting acceptance and understanding of the requests made of an Oblate in one’s life. This is called Postulancy. Postulancy lasts at the least a year. The Oblate Introduction says:

Long before the coming of Christ, humanity's quest for the Absolute gave rise (and bears) throughout the centuries … witness to the divine destiny of the human person and to the presence of the Spirit in the hearts of all who seek to know what is true and ultimately real. …[E]very Christian call witnesses to that dimension present interiorly in every other Christian.

For as our reading says, and as we live and learn as Christians we recognize in each other Christ, and our faith in heart, deed, and word. We believe in the seen and unseen:

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” So we learn to “…feed the poor, and homeless,” as we do through our work in providing a meal to them, so we learn to “…worship regularly in Church, as we do on Sundays and other days, so we learn to “…introduce others to Christ, as we do by being a light to the world.

We seek God together as we abide in God in Christ together.
More from the Rule for Camaldoli Oblates:

As sincere seekers of God (RB 58, 7) we approach God as sons and daughters. We center our lives on the encounter with God, which finds expression in forms of prayer handed down in early Christian, patristic and monastic traditions. Ultimately, our prayer seeks to become the very prayer of the Holy Spirit within our hearts.

This statement of the Rule for Oblates is genuine for me. I believe it will resonate
with you, for we experience prayer in Church together this day. I find that my own yearnings are fulfilled in my divine search, as I rest in the prayers. This form of abiding in Christ is one of many we may practice or know. It is within the Church, that means of offering from generation to generation life in Christ, that we find meaning and direction.

Through the centuries mankind and womankind have experience the divine search, and the words of John have been revelation, comfort and instruction: “I am the true vine, and my father is the vine grower…Abide in me as I abide in you.”Let me end with this blessing: The Lord bless us and keep us. Amen. The Lord Make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us. Amen. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.



Audio of Homily by homilist is here:

Photo by Henry Worthy, Camaldoli Oblate, London.
Icon of Christ by Zalewski.

Embrace of God

by Peter Menkin
Apr 24, 2006


The heart yearns,
wishes for warmth, finds opening
to the Lord. A deeper thing
like the blood that courses through the body

this divine love sustains life.
More.
In the secret of the self, within the psyche,
we yearn for knowledge with self recognition
of existence, Christ does feed us.
More.

The beyond
calls; mankind discovers something uniquely

greater than the mysteries that Intrigue senses and thoughts.
Easter reveals to us this greater than,
this renewal of the good, exploding with eternal might

there is love greater everlastinggift unforgettable recognized with prayer.
More.
With a knowledge of expanded eternity beyond
the measure of imagination--the gasp of surrender.
Promise that tells us God
Embraces the spirit of mankind.

Image: Painting by Camaldoli Priest and monk Father
Arthur, "Radiant Light:"
Camaldolese, Benedictine monk Father Arthur Poulin paints contemplative works, as he describes them. These shown here are selected from his many paintings.
Father Arthur lives and works at Incarnation Monastery, Berkeley,
CA USA--study house of Camaldolese monks located near the Graduate Theological Union, and University of California's North Gate.
This description of his paintings, from I. wolk Gallery in St. Helena, California USA:
Father Poulin's paintings have been acquired extensively by people here inthe US and abroad. Many of his commissioned works hang in churches here in California.

Finding Myself in Brethren, in Lent 2000
poem by Peter Menkin

Where my self-forgettingLove is hid,

I know

In my clinging to the Christ,

In the cleft of the rock

I am unto you all hearts

Are open, no secrets hid.

I fathom on in my mortal

Weakness seeking the heart

Again to witness my faith

Knowing you are all--a Word.

New life is granted us, the me

Of being in the following--

The master to the body

that is him, incarnate,

heavenly Church.

Forgive my wretched masks, my

Deceptions, my strengths of

Bone, pride, and many wishes.

Complete me in prayer, and as

A swift arrow, hear me, Lord.

My life; I come.

Your question: Where is God?

I assume yours is a religious question. There are two easy answers: Come and see, as in attend Church and there you will find God; God is present whether you know it or not, which is to say we are not always aware of God. But where you may be is where God is.

Should you gain some feeling and belief, you may find God in your heart, on your lips, and in your mind. Nonetheless, God is the other. "My ways are not your ways," says God, and he remains somewhat a mystery. Your question is a point of departure, and the beginning of a journey.

There are theologians who believe God is in heaven and that life of heaven is also present on earth. "Your kingdom come," is a familiar phrase in the Creeds, and one worth meditating on if for no other reason to gather oneself in quiet. God is found in the quiet. He is not in the lightning, as the phrase goes from Isaiah. "Be silent and know that I am God," is a well known phrase.

God is revealed and found in Jesus Christ, who points the way and is an entry way to God. God is goodness, and where goodness is found, there you have evidence of God. Creation is good. Most people find good in creation. "Thank you God for my creation," is a good prayer of praise and thanksgiving. It offers gratitude and evidences the same. That is an affirmative statement, and helps on the way.

There are so many answers to your question, Where is God, and it isn't the number of answers but the many facets of the Almighty: the way of Christ in his journey tells us what we need to do to get closer to God. The Bible tells us about God, and in both the Old and New Testament the works are illuminated. They are, "The word of God." Even the "Word" is a way of saying God for the "Word" is the wisdom that is Jesus Christ, and it is in wisdom literature and living that one finds a way to live with God. He is too great to grasp, too awesome to behold, too beyond mankind in conception to understand, he is the other; He is spirit.

"Seek and ye shall find." "Ask and it shall be given." There are so many ways to God in Christ, that the daily work and living is part of the God experience. "I am the vine, and you are the branches." Shortened as these readings may be, they are departure points for the inquirer and seeker. Without doubt, God is an ambiquity, and matter of wrestling with life and Him, of even giving up ones life to find God in Christ. A wise man told me, "Live the questions."

So to know how to find Christ is the answer, to find God and with the Holy Spirit's help, to seek and live in the unknowing and the knowing is where God can be found.

--Peter Menkin, Pentecost 2008 (August)

Photo: "Water Buckets Filling," by Henry Worthy, London (Camaldoli Oblate).

“…[F]or I was hungry and you gave me food…
(Matthew 25: 35)

Elizabeth of Hungary
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB

Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
November 19, 2008

Tobit 12:6b-9
Matthew 25: 31-40


In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As one report of Elizabeth of Hungary’s good works, “During a famine she generously distributed all the grain from her stocks, cared for lepers in one of the hospitals she established, kissed their hands and feet. For the benefit of the indigent she provided suitable lodging.”

This Holy woman, whose Feast Day is today in the Episcopal Church, was a remarkable woman of religious faith, relationship to God in Christ, and someone who in her exemplary Christian life helped the poor, the widow, the misbegotten.

Our reading from Matthew in the Gospel this day accurately provides an insight into her character and Christ-like living. Note that this stalwart woman who had remarkable endurance in faith, lived in the 13th Century and died at the early age of 24.

Some words from Matthew, telling of Christ’s teachings:

“…[F]or I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” That from Matthew 25: 35-36.

Married at 14 to royalty, husband dead at 20, Elizabeth had already begun her work with the poor and needy. Her husband, also venerated for his service to the poor, supported her in her religious work. As a widow, the work became the greater, and with three children she continued her devotion, becoming even more devout and holy. God was calling her; she responded. This we know. Elizabeth of Hungary said “yes” to the Lord.

As she gave most of what she had to the needs of the poor, and she had much as a royal person, her family became alarmed and threw her out. She was even left homeless with three children, and out in the cold, literally. At one point, as a story goes, Elizabeth was confronted by irate family members who said she was spending their money and giving away their food. Thinking she was carrying money to the poor, they demanded she open her arms and show what she was “hiding.” As the tale goes, she opened her arms, and pressed against her body was a bouquet of roses. So beautiful. The tale lives with her special service to God, and indicates her favor by Him and her goodness. A miracle is what people consider the story of the roses.

Sometimes it is necessary to select an entire Psalm for a homily. So I think.

I am doing so, because it neatly describes this Godly woman. Here it is, the alternate Psalm for reading today:

Psalm 112 is from the New Standard Revised Version of the Bible. I’ll comment on her life as I read the lines.

Praise the Lord!

(And she did so, in heart and deed.)

Happy are those who fear
The Lord.

(Did God not call her, and give her trials as well as rewards?)

Who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty
In the land;

(Elizabeth studied under a strict spiritual director, and later in her young life became a Third Order Franciscan. She was a patron of the Franciscan Order, and they are her spiritual descendants, in a way of exemplary--Christ centered living.)

the generation of the upright
will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their
Houses,
And their righteousness endures
Forever.

(We remember Elizabeth eight Centuries later. Surely she is an inspiration, and the Church memorializes her for she was a righteous person who helps us come to Christ, and know what God wants of us. In our own Church of Our Saviour we engage in acts of charity and mercy, helping the poor and needy. One indication of this is our outreach through cooperative, Ecumenical service by feeding the homeless once a month in concert with our neighbor Catholic Church, Mt. Carmel.)

They rise in the darkness as a light
For the upright;
They are gracious, merciful, and
Righteous.
It is well with those who deal
Generously and lend.

(This woman of trials, banished by family among others, driven from her home city, lived a life of joy and service. Somehow this mystery of God’s joy is difficult to fathom. But we find evidence of it time and time again.)

who conduct their affairs with
justice.
For the righteous will never
Be moved;
They will be remembered
Forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
Their hearts are firm, secure
In the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will
Not be afraid.

(Elizabeth, young, unafraid, steady in her faith, gave succor to so many, and was a self-sacrificing woman who began living a life of Holy denial. Sometimes it is missed that this remarkable woman as widow raised three children as she did Holy works. Elizabeth was a mother.)

in the end they will look in
triumph on their foes.

(We do believe that good prevails and that our God is on the side of good, that Christ is merciful, generous, forgiving, and loves man and woman, all of creation. We as a Parish participate in our own acts of service and needs of our neighbor as a moral religious community, who believes that our fellow humankind are part of creation. Even the poor, the misbegotten, the widow and alone, or orphan more than deserve our help, but require it.)

They have distributed freely, they
Have given to the poor;
Their righteousness endures
Forever;
Their horn is exalted in honor.

(This day we remember Elizabeth of Hungry, and we join in Eucharist together as part of our Feast Day in celebration. Thanks be to God.)

The wicked see it and are angry;
They gnash their teeth and melt
Away;
The desire of the wicked comes
To nothing.

Here ends the reading and lesson.



The Psalm is both beautiful and instructive. As I say, it does describe and illustrate the life and work of Elizabeth so well.

As you know from what we’ve been talking about, Elizabeth was a young widow. She is considered a patroness of widows. Here are two famous prayers in her name. I will say them for you.

Prayers to St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Patroness of Widows and widowers
feast day: November 17

Dear Saint Elizabeth, you were always poor in spirit, most generous toward the poor, faithful to your husband, and fully consecrated to your Divine Bridegroom. Grant your help to widows and widowers and keep them faithful to their heavenly Lord. Teach them how to cope with their loss and to make use of their time in the service of God. Amen.

Prayer of Widows and Widowers

Lord Jesus Christ, during your earthly life You showed compassion on those who had lost a loved one. Turn your compassionate eyes on me in my sorrow
over the loss of my life's partner. Take him/her into your heavenly kingdom as a reward for his/her earthly service.
Help me to cope with my loss by relying on You even more than before.
Teach me to adapt to the new conditions of my life and to continue doing
your will as I see it. Enable me to avoid withdrawing from life
and make me give myself to others more readily, so that I may continue to live in your grace and to do the tasks that You have laid out for me. Amen.

What to add about this exceptional woman. We praise her.

Thank you for being here on this Feast Day.

Amen.


--Peter Menkin, Pentecost 2008






(Appx. 1330 words)

Ascension, No. 1
by Peter Menkin


There is a church service of prayer--
sing.
Evening Prayer that festival day;
we came as pilgrims in an expectation
of a divine celebration. Grace.

Enter into the liturgy. Celebrate God.
This dialogue in prayer and word.
Song.


Oh, that he did rise--it was a hymn.
When the Lord rose, He Ascended.
Imagination, I was.

Inspiration.
As melodious beautiful voices,
a man ascending in this beauty.
Of the beauty.

Making the beauty, bringing with Him
the perfected human nature of this world.
This is celebration.
Divine.


God's gift.
Man as a being of humanity.
God's gift of celebration.
Humanity.

Man and the divine.
Mystery.
This is the Christ.

Photograph by Rick White (Bird of Paradise, Wanshishan Botanical Gardens, Xiamen, Fujian China). Rick is 76 years old, has 9 children, 20 grandchildren and lives in Mill Valley, California USA.

Ascension, No. 2
by Peter Menkin

I have wondered
about the Ascension
weeks after hearing
the singing in the Cathedral
rising to the sacred.

I went that unusual day,
we walked the Labrynth first.

Perhaps I need more time
on my knees.
Is it real?

Is it Easter or the Holy Spirit?

There is a kind of torture
In the mystery of it. Christ.
Worship.

Why do they make the pews
so difficult, like torture
to kneel in –
at the Cathedral
kneeling boxes
near where the reader reads
the Gospel?

He ascended, in beauty.

This mystery continues,
The rising to heaven, the manifestation.

I have been here before.
Ecstacy. Religious.

There were hours
last year
when I looked up
from my knees in prayer
and angels came;
or were they women
of faith, men of belief?
They were angels.

I think Mary came,
one night.
Or was it an Anglican Nun in prayer
whom I have not met;
her prayer visited me.
Maybe it was my friend
at Church.

Was it Spirit or man?
Questions.

These poems, written at different times, reflect on a trip to Grace Cathedral with a friend in the year 2000. No. 1 was written in 2008, No. 2 was written in 2000 and revised in 2008.

Reflection on the Eucharist
by Peter Menkin

A reflection on Communion which includes two of my poems:


A reflection on the Eucharist as central part of my worship experience:
A way of Communion, certain
Church of Our Saviour, Mill Valley, California, USA
Wednesday Eucharist, April 23, 2008
John 15: 1-8
“Abide in me as I abide in you.”
Peter Menkin
April 22, 2008


As I reflect on our reading today, one that is so meaningful to me as an Oblate of the Episcopal Church, and as a Parishioner, I consider my deep relationship with Christ. This reading about the vine encourages me to enter into Communion, a central means of faith for me, the Eucharist.

I am fortunate, I am encouraged as an Oblate and Episcopalian, to enter into regular Communion, receiving the body and blood of Christ on Sundays, and also in my religious work of offering the Eucharist as a Lay Minister. Sometimes, if one includes Wednesday Eucharist, as today, I have the opportunity of receiving the Eucharist more than three times a week—even four.

The late well known Catholic Priest, Teilhard de Chardin wrote about the Eucharist as a presence in the universe. This famous theological thinker may be known to you. He considered Eucharist a universal and mystical experience in which we as members of the Church live and are –as in being-- as a result of our participation. Here is a poem I wrote about this wonderful religious teacher, as I have experienced the Communion essence. I find writing poetry a way of faith practice, and that I find this act of Communion by body and blood a way of staying with Christ. This poem is set in Lent.

Engaged in Le Milieu Divine
Lent... (2002)
by Peter Menkin



In the habitat zone
where I know God’s presence
I recognize the outer darkness-- transfigure is the
season’s introduction to Le Milieu Divine.

Precarious habitation, there is the greater world where Christ is loci,
even in travails ordinary, extraordinary.
We are of substance existence,
created believing--seeking.

Fill my half-heartedness; unbend me.
Before my trials of devil and insidious evil--the darkness.
You are center point even of my despair, of love,
inside me, outside entering transformation.

May I show penitence, everlasting one adored.
Lent begins.

A common theme in all my poetry is reverence for the Eucharist. It is fact for me. Eucharist is central to worship and I consider it at the same time a focus on Christ, as we are encouraged in this reading from John. John is a “mystical” writer of Gospel, and the good news is that we are part of his ministry, as an evangelical, and of course members of the body of Christ.

Because the poem I’ve offered is about Lent, I wanted to share with you another, one about Easter. Another theme of season that I practice as my discipline of religious life. Receiving Easter, is part of the year, to keep Easter in mind as we look forward to it during the year. We are an Easter people, and we share in the risen Christ, and in the Eucharist. Communion is a journey.

Easter Sweetness
By Peter Menkin


To delight in the Paradise

of Easter; it is the Lord's.

The Christ!

Alleluia!


Oh, speak in the night, a conversation

of the spirit, a complaint, a plea.

It is the Lord’s will, a renewal

For humankind. Celebrate in the fullness

Of living.


Do so in the Church at prayer,

Meditating on the day, ones failings,

Surprises—opening to God.

So one speaks, listens, waits

And lives in the knowledge of Easter,

Its seasonal presence. This divine gift.


So may we rest in thee, in aloneness.

We rest in thee, together our love in emotion and soul

binds us joyfully -- thank you


for the morrow in the bringing

of the quickening spirit, a

millennium of blessings in color,

in shadow, in light, early morning.


There is God, our beloved

He calls us.

At the end of the poem, which is posted as an audio reading on our Church website, I say “There is God, our beloved/He calls us.” The reading does remind us that Christ is available to us in spirit, in love, for Christ is a representation and a door to God, and our God --as is Christ,-- is love, and loving. He calls us. So the Eucharist does, too. So the reading reminds me.

I find I can rest in Communion, in the love that is Eucharist, in Christ. “We rest in thee, together our love in emotion and soul/binds us joyfully…” my poem reads. This is a quickening spirit. What a wonderful term, “…quickening spirit…” For us Communion undergirds our life in Christ.

This reading is from, “An Anthology of Christian Devotion: Holy Communion, “ compiled by Massey H. Shepherd, Jr. I commend it to anyone here, and it is available in our Church library.

“It is not only for the individual that the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper has a central, living, mystic meaning, but for the whole community, the whole Church, yes, for all mankind. For here the divine mingles with the human, the terrestrial, here in the Eucharist praise and sacrifice are offered to the Lord for the whole world and by the whole world…and the whole cosmos is hereby potently ennobled and sanctified in that earthly elements of wine and bread become the glorified body and blood of the Son of God. That is why the idea of all creation is assembled in spirit around the Eucharistic altar so constantly recurs in the old liturgies of the East. For through Him, through His death, and through the glorification of His risen body, here mystically represented, creation partakes of the glory of redemption…

“This communion of the soul with God is not a dialogue, but a mighty harmony of many tones, a great organism, a powerful kingdom, a comprehensive brotherhood, a Church of God into which the individual is caught up as a member of the whole body, and which expands and grows into the infinite until it embraces, not only all mankind but the whole creation, the whole cosmos, in a kingdom of eternal life. It is a cosmic, an oecumenical conception.”
--Nicholas Arseniew.

If I may make a recommendation, again, as it has been recommended to me, I say enter into the Communion service in as full and complete a way on any Sunday as you can. Or at any time

Reflection on Communion
by Peter Menkin

A reflection given at Church of Our Saviour, posted because it discusses as part of its body two poems of mine.

A reflection on the Eucharist as central part of my worship experience:
A way of Communion, certain
Church of Our Saviour, Mill Valley, California
Wednesday Eucharist, April 23, 2008
John 15: 1-8
“Abide in me as I abide in you.”
Peter Menkin
April 22, 2008


As I reflect on our reading today, one that is so meaningful to me as an Oblate of the Episcopal Church, and as a Parishioner, I consider my deep relationship with Christ. This reading about the vine encourages me to enter into Communion, a central means of faith for me, the Eucharist.

I am fortunate, I am encouraged as an Oblate and Episcopalian, to enter into regular Communion, receiving the body and blood of Christ on Sundays, and also in my religious work of offering the Eucharist as a Lay Minister. Sometimes, if one includes Wednesday Eucharist, as today, I have the opportunity of receiving the Eucharist more than three times a week—even four.

The late well known Catholic Priest, Teilhard de Chardin wrote about the Eucharist as a presence in the universe. This famous theological thinker may be known to you. He considered Eucharist a universal and mystical experience in which we as members of the Church live and are –as in being-- as a result of our participation. Here is a poem I wrote about this wonderful religious teacher, as I have experienced the Communion essence. I find writing poetry a way of faith practice, and that I find this act of Communion by body and blood a way of staying with Christ. This poem is set in Lent.

Engaged in Le Milieu Divine
Lent... (2002)
by Peter Menkin


In the habitat zone
where I know God’s presence
I recognize the outer darkness-- transfigure is the
season’s introduction to Le Milieu Divine.

Precarious habitation, there is the greater world where Christ is loci,
even in travails ordinary, extraordinary.
We are of substance existence,
created believing--seeking.

Fill my half-heartedness; unbend me.
Before my trials of devil and insidious evil--the darkness.
You are center point even of my despair, of love,
inside me, outside entering transformation.

May I show penitence, everlasting one adored.
Lent begins.


A common theme in all my poetry is reverence for the Eucharist. It is fact for me. Eucharist is central to worship and I consider it at the same time a focus on Christ, as we are encouraged in this reading from John. John is a “mystical” writer of Gospel, and the good news is that we are part of his ministry, as an evangelical, and of course members of the body of Christ.

Because the poem I’ve offered is about Lent, I wanted to share with you another, one about Easter. Another theme of season that I practice as my discipline of religious life. Receiving Easter, is part of the year, to keep Easter in mind as we look forward to it during the year. We are an Easter people, and we share in the risen Christ, and in the Eucharist. Communion is a journey.

Easter Sweetness
By Peter Menkin

To delight in the Paradise

of Easter; it is the Lord's.

The Christ!

Alleluia!


Oh, speak in the night, a conversation

of the spirit, a complaint, a plea.

It is the Lord’s will, a renewal

For humankind. Celebrate in the fullness

Of living.


Do so in the Church at prayer,

Meditating on the day, ones failings,

Surprises—opening to God.

So one speaks, listens, waits

And lives in the knowledge of Easter,

Its seasonal presence. This divine gift.


So may we rest in thee, in aloneness.

We rest in thee, together our love in emotion and soul

binds us joyfully -- thank you


for the morrow in the bringing

of the quickening spirit, a

millennium of blessings in color,

in shadow, in light, early morning.


There is God, our beloved

He calls us.

At the end of the poem, which is posted as an audio reading on our Church website, I say “There is God, our beloved/He calls us.” The reading does remind us that Christ is available to us in spirit, in love, for Christ is a representation and a door to God, and our God --as is Christ,-- is love, and loving. He calls us. So the Eucharist does, too. So the reading reminds me.

I find I can rest in Communion, in the love that is Eucharist, in Christ. “We rest in thee, together our love in emotion and soul/binds us joyfully…” my poem reads. This is a quickening spirit. What a wonderful term, “…quickening spirit…” For us Communion undergirds our life in Christ.

This reading is from, “An Anthology of Christian Devotion: Holy Communion, “ compiled by Massey H. Shepherd, Jr. I commend it to anyone here, and it is available in our Church library.

“It is not only for the individual that the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper has a central, living, mystic meaning, but for the whole community, the whole Church, yes, for all mankind. For here the divine mingles with the human, the terrestrial, here in the Eucharist praise and sacrifice are offered to the Lord for the whole world and by the whole world…and the whole cosmos is hereby potently ennobled and sanctified in that earthly elements of wine and bread become the glorified body and blood of the Son of God. That is why the idea of all creation is assembled in spirit around the Eucharistic altar so constantly recurs in the old liturgies of the East. For through Him, through His death, and through the glorification of His risen body, here mystically represented, creation partakes of the glory of redemption…

“This communion of the soul with God is not a dialogue, but a mighty harmony of many tones, a great organism, a powerful kingdom, a comprehensive brotherhood, a Church of God into which the individual is caught up as a member of the whole body, and which expands and grows into the infinite until it embraces, not only all mankind but the whole creation, the whole cosmos, in a kingdom of eternal life. It is a cosmic, an oecumenical conception.”
--Nicholas Arseniew


If I may make a recommendation, again, as it has been recommended to me, I say enter into the Communion service in as full and complete a way on any Sunday as you can. Or at any time.

My Sheep Shall Hear my Voice: Poem
by Peter Menkin

One listens for Christ,
His voice.

They ask
Many things of Him:
Forgiveness.

Again, with another question
And desire. Forgiveness.

The nature of wanting to know
Christ is in the call, the desire
of Him.
Of themselves, too. One burns.

This poem asks about Christ, wanting him in desire, and ends with the words, "One burns." The statement here is about love, the love that is God and human need to seek one so good, as is Christ. There, I have set it out boldly.

Love is a wonderful subject, and John of the Cross speaks of love in his poetry. For those interested in serious reading on the subject of John of the Cross, and a statement about Christ and God, read "The Impact of God: Soundings from St. John of the Cross," by Iain Matthew. I recommend it.

Easter Sweetness: A Poem

by Peter Menkin

(I have wondered on this poem, considering how sweet it is and how much like an icon of Mary, or a painting of Christ being brought down from the Cross. Sweet it is, and I hope the sweetness of it is something you as reader will find a strength.)

To delight in the Paradise

of Easter; it is the Lord's.

The Christ!

Alleluia!

Oh, speak in the night, a conversation

of the spirit, a complaint, a plea.

It is the Lord’s will, a renewal

For humankind. Celebrate in the fullness

Of living.

Do so in the Church at prayer,

Meditating on the day, ones failings,

Surprises—opening to God.

So one speaks, listens, waits

And lives in the knowledge of Easter,

Its seasonal presence. This divine gift.

So may we rest in thee, in aloneness.

We rest in thee, together our love in emotion and soul

binds us joyfully -- thank you

for the morrow in the bringing

of the quickening spirit, a

millennium of blessings in color,

in shadow, in light, early morning.

There is God, our beloved

He calls us.

Advent, the season for preparation for the birth of Christ...

The best thing about this poem is that it says, "Mary says 'yes' to the Lord." I like that very much, it is so wonderful. "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,/ my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." That from "The Song of Mary" also called, "Magnificat." I know my poem doesn't compare to it, yet I join my voice with others in proclaiming the wonder.

What song we Hear, what Peace...

by Peter Menkin

Angels are a light to the eye,

offering clarity of the night, bringing

joy in message and presence

of the morning through day;

this season again what song, what peace~ Mary

who says yes to the Lord.

Was it dark, the darkness of the hidden life,

among the secrets of the darkness of night,

when Mary said yes to the Lord?

It seemed she was so alone, young, but a girl.

Innocent. In the darkness of the world,

in the time of man's darkness for lack of God.

Turning away from Him,

lost in man's history.

When Mary said yes to the Lord.

The Angel brought light,

to Mary, to mankind in a darkness of faith,

adrift in the history of man's making.

When Mary said yes to the Lord.