Phillips Church

After the Boston bombings many of us sought comfort in fellowship.  We shared and then passed along words which struck a chord and soothed roiling souls.

Language has its limitations.  As a short story of Primo Levi’s noted, it “was born with us, suitable for describing objects more or less as large and long-lasting as we are. It doesn’t go beyond what our senses tell us.”

But sometimes gifted writers’ combinations of words can help  us to appreciate and understand what lies “beyond what our senses tell us.”

Jan Richardson wrote “Only Speak the Word“:

You might not have guessed
how far this blessing
can travel.

But it is worth believing
that it is built
for crossing distances
for stretching itself
for making its way
without hesitation
to the place
where it is needed most. . . .

Trust that these words
know the path
into your anguish,
that in your ache
they will become balm
and in your pain
they will become soothing.
Trust that they will be for you
a sweet
and stunning
peace.

In her blog, “The Painted Prayerbook,” Jan Richardson also wrote a gorgeous blessing about what “shimmers within the storm.”

Unfortunately, I was among those who repeated a misattribution of this blessing’s provenance to poet John O’Donohue.  Fortunately, her words themselves have traveled far, and brought peace where needed most.