The Deepest Bow to God is Awe

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Daniel J. Miller

Religion begins with the sense of the ineffable, with the awareness of a reality that discredits our wisdom, that shatters our concepts. It is the ineffable with which we must begin. ~ Abraham Heschel One reason I was drawn to Rabbi Abraham Heschel's Read more [...]

Poem 6 for the Season of Creation*

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

LECTIO POETICA If you have not read the explanation for Lectio Poetica, I encourage you to read it here before reading Oliver’s poem below. SNOW GEESE Oh, to love what is lovely, and will not last! What a task to ask of anything, or anyone, yet Read more [...]

Willingness to Be Attentive

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

This Mary Oliver poem always reminds me of the first reading from today's Sunday liturgy (posted below) about Abraham and Sarah welcoming the three strangers. MOCKINGBIRDS This morning two mockingbirds in the green field were spinning Read more [...]

A Week with Mary Oliver — Day 7

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

Mindful Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for-- to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world-- to instruct Read more [...]

A Week with Mary Oliver — Day 6

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

In light of Mary Oliver's death on January 17, let us honor her life and savor her words The Journey One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice-- though the whole house began Read more [...]

A Week with Mary Oliver — Day 5

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

In light of Mary Oliver's death last Thursday, let us honor her life and savor her words. Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the Read more [...]

A Week with Mary Oliver — Day 4

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

In light of Mary Oliver's death last Thursday, let us honor her life and savor her words. In Blackwater Woods Look, the trees are turning their own bodies into pillars of light, are giving off the rich fragrance of cinnamon and fulfillment, the Read more [...]

A Week with Mary Oliver — Day 3

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

In light of Mary Oliver's death last Thursday, let us honor her life and savor her words. The Sun Have you ever seen anything in your life more wonderful than the way the sun, every evening, relaxed and easy, floats toward the horizon and Read more [...]

A Week with Mary Oliver — Day 2

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

In light of Mary Oliver's death last Thursday, let us honor her life and savor her words. Praying It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together Read more [...]

A Week with Mary Oliver — Day 1

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

In light of Mary Oliver's death last Thursday, let us honor her life and savor her words Coming to God: First Days Lord, what shall I do that I can’t quiet myself? Here is the bread, and here is the cup, and I can’t quiet myself. To Read more [...]

The Sacred Braid

Helping Persons and Communities Weave Lives of Spiritual Depth.

Tag Archives: Mary Oliver