My heart's destination

Last night I dreamed a series of dreams that involved a swirl of activity and effort. I'm actually tired from all the running around. This might have something to do with the swirl of activity that took place last week helping to get the sacristy back in order for the upcoming term and in helping with the orientation of the entering class. The semester officially begins on Tuesday, September 6th.

I'm excited for the upcoming school year and enjoyed seeing all my old friends from CDSP and the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) over the past week. The entering class is full of excitement and idealism. They are smart and eager to begin.

I mourn the fact that the friends I made in the former graduating class have moved on and their voices will not fill the chapel, refectory and halls of CDSP. I hope to stay connected to as many of them as possible. I was able to show my support to my good friend, the Rev. Irene Tanabe, and go to her ordination at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle. She may be a new priest, but she is already making a difference in her community. Brava Irene! God knew what she was doing when you exprerienced your call.

Spending some time with Irene in her home and amongst her family and friends showed me the extent to her hospitable nature and welcoming spirit. Irene invited me to sing at the service and, though I expected to sing just one song, I sang If with all your heart you truly seek me, from Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah, and Panis angelicus, written by Saint Thomas Aquinas with music  by Cesar Frank. The words were written for the Feast of Corpus Cristi and are the penultimate strophe of the hymn Sacris solemniis.

Here is the English translation -

The angelic bread

becomes the bread of men;

the heavenly bread

ends all prefigurations:

What wonder!

The Lord is eaten

by a poor

and humble servent.

What is sometimes overlooked is the very last part of this beautiful hymn. Read on...

Triune God,

We beg of you:

visit us,

just as we worship you.

By your ways,

lead us where we are heading,

to the light

in which you dwell.

Amen.

This captures where I am today: I'm in motion. I'm excited to begin classes and Field Education with Fr. Christopher Martin and the good people of St. Paul's in San Rafael. I'm excited to make new friends. I will miss my partner and those whose journeys have taken them to new places of pilgrimage. Yet, I pray that in worshipping the living God, the relational God of Creation, Sanctification, and Redemption, my path will continue to be illuminated. My heart's destination is "to the light in which you dwell" - the radiant heart of God. I pray we find ourselves there together.