Meditations on the Way: Poems of a Christian Journey

Index of Contents

Mirror of Truth

In the mirror of truth I saw my life,

And wished to live over again;

So, in commoner terms I hid myself

From the stares and the praises of men.

I had courted conventional sanctity,

And I thought I was heaven-bent;

But since I truly loved my Lord,

With living have grown content.

I changed my hymns for a lover s song-

My holy garb for a dress;

Instead of a Church I furnished a house,

And filled it with treasures the less.

My icons are flowers, my statues are lampstands,

My cross is a locket of silver;

Each moment encloses what mystery supposes,

But hidden, concealed in the mirror.

Within my bodily joys and pains

His life and passion are burning;

In every gesture He lifts His hand

And keeps the world in its turning.

And what do I learn from changing myself

From a saint to a daily bread-winner?

I learn it is better to look at the truth-

He has mercy more on the sinner.

And what do I do, now that I have come in,

Drawn by the music I ve heard?

I lay down my cares, and sit at His Feet,

And ponder the things of the Lord.

For the Lord, He is found in simple deeds,

And simple things, quiet and fine;

He rests at home in a humble house,

And in the taste of bread and wine.

Do not seek His Grace by pretences-

Let Him shed down an honest Ray

I have seen His Face in the mirror of Truth,

And cannot look ever away.

Sr. Giles (C) 2006

Edited 05/12/2008

Br Andrew EFO