As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.
Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—
Chríst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
-Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918.
Will be taking the next week or so off from serious blogging/tweeting, but I will be lurking around.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
3 comments:
Jesuits for Christmas... wonderful.
Hope you're having a great holiday!
"Christ plays in ten thousand places"—a perfect Christmas aphorism! It also suggests a useful New Year's resolution for people from rich countries who take an interest in development work: let us spend less time lecturing others with the same interest, as if we know precisely what role well-intentioned outsiders to poor countries should play. I suggest there is no definitive answer because development work remains a work-in-progress, or an art rather than a science.
John's version of Christ's words at 14:2—"In my Father's house are many mansions. . . I go to prepare a place for you"—also captures the generous spirit toward the well-intentioned that should animate development work. We can grant that "Good Intentions are Not Enough," as the name of an intelligent blog has it, without boasting that we know exactly what methods will fulfill those intentions. So, even if charity isn't quite the attitude we want to take toward development work's ostensible beneficiaries, we can surely express greater charity toward our colleagues in the development world until (praise the Lord!) no more development work remains to be done.
Thanks, Meg. All the best to you. Very guilty Jesuit college grad! Merry Christmas.
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