Nicole and Laura look through the eyes of faith as they examine the poetry of Louis Gluck and David Whyte. Where Gluck focusses on the struggle of the narrator with understanding her friend's faith, Whyte invites us to look at the "colours you have never seen before". To see with the eyes of faith entails not only glimpsing the light, but also the darkness, as Gluck invites us to consider the "unpleasantness" and the banality of tragedy. We are urged to watch in earnest, with eyes wide open, just as Whyte invites us to "see" the world as how God sees. The beauty of looking at the world through different prisms reminds us also that sometimes faith is like "brides leaping to a great height" just as how we can "fly free". To be fully known and seen as beloved, is what we long for and how beautiful it is to consider that He too looks on at us with gentleness and expansiveness of heart. We begin to see what a difference it makes when one looks through the eyes of faith and lives deeply rooted in one's identity as the beloved.  

Check out the full texts of the poems discussed in this episode at these links and use them in your own contemplative practice! 

1. Celestial Music by Louis Gluck 

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/celestial-music/

2. Second Sight by David Whyte 

https://mindfulnesscourse.ie/second-sight-by-david-whyte/

Nicole and Laura delve into the mesmerising poetry of Mary Oliver and David Whyte, poets that use the natural world as a starting point to invite us into greater contemplation into the bigger questions of life. Laura shares her first contact with Mary Oliver and how her words act as a soothing balm to the confusion that surrounds us. She delves into the beauty of Mary Oliver's defiance who herself did not identify herself explicitly with any specific religion but which speaks of her identity as an authentic artist who relentlessly questions the world as it is. This is echoed in David Whyte's poem which Nicole finds surges forward with a similar relentlessness and which contrasts both the night and the light which co-exists. Nicole finds that the overarching imagery of the tree and the "forest of our own inner night" resonates with many who are confronting our own traumas and areas of woundedness. We both learn to take a step away from the maddening flow of daily life, to "pay attention" as Mary Oliver said and to live "eyes opened, mouth opened, attempting the song of your unspeakable gifts and grace" at David Whyte's gentle invitation. 

Check out the full texts of the poems discussed in this episode at these links and use them in your own contemplative practice!

1. The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/poet-laureate-projects/poetry-180/all-poems/item/poetry-180-133/the-summer-day/ 

2. Unutterable Name by David Whyte 

https://micknailspoetry.wordpress.com/category/david-whyte/ 

Nicole and Laura launch a brand new series on the intersection between faith and creativity as we reflect on our shared love for poetry and how it lends itself so well to the spiritual life. We contemplate the traditional Psalms, a vehicle of a range of emotion, from lamentation to ecstasy as an example of how poetry reflects the rich inner life of people across time as well as our connection to the Divine. We marvel at the obliqueness of poetry and trade in symbols and metaphors to arrive at different interpretations of poems we know and love. How beautiful it is that poetry itself need not be inherently religious to invite anyone into deeper contemplation as we will see through the range of poets we will delve into, in this series. Laura reminds us that "art is like a hand outstretched into darkness", where poetry moves our hearts to feel connection and a deep sense of consolation. We lend wisdom from Mary Oliver who remarks in her A Poetry Handbook, where she describes poetry as “a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”

Nicole and Nathalie conclude the Lenten season with a closer look at what makes Good Friday good, circling back to the "why" behind the cross. We reflect on the various characters we are familiar with in the Passion narrative, from Judas, to Simon Peter, to John the Beloved and to Barabbas. Beyond just characters, we ourselves identify with these very human people and catch a glimpse at our human weakness and frailty. As we journey deeper into the Triduum, may we take the time to contemplate on the road to Calvary and to sit at the foot of the cross as well as outside the open tomb, knowing that He has conquered the last enemy - death itself and is the resurrected Christ who reigns. 

Nicole and Nathalie journey into Holy Week as they reflect on the psalm's piercing cry "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" We catch a glimpse of Jesus' humanity and His love for us - in that He glimpsed what awaited Him in the Garden of Gethsemane and still chose to die for us. Let us remain close to His heart as we welcome Him with palms this Palm Sunday, knowing also that the procession into the city will soon turn into His walk to Calvary. 

Nicole and Nathalie delve into the familiar parable of the return of the prodigal son and reflect on the sheer breadth of God's mercy for each of us. Nat likens mortal sin to breaking our connection with the Father, much like the Jewish Kezazah ceremony where the breaking of a pot symbolises a man leaving his community. We go deep into how the Father's love for us means running to meet us when He sees us returning in the distance. He who is willing to cover the distance and to offer His mercy in such abundance, is ready to embrace us too. Also, a reminder to go and meet Him too in confession this Lent, He is waiting!

Nicole and Nathalie get to the root of sin itself and reflect on how disordered desires are sometimes the sign of unmet needs, unhealed wounds and harmful patterns. We get to the heart of "why" we sin and challenge each other not to settle for "easy" explanations of some of our own unhealthy behaviours. Understandind why we do what we do and examining the root of our behaviours is the first step to sorting out the desires we have. Inherently, desires in and of themselves are not bad, the disorder arises when we do not attempt to sort them. Let us take our desires to prayer and invite the Lord to show us our roots, so that we may begin to uproot, replant and cut off anything that is decaying. May we not fear the intensity of our desires but let our desires be reordered to glorify Him instead. 

Nicole and Nathalie reflect on the Sacrament of Reconciliation as Nathalie shares her recent experience in the confessional and a timely reminder that maybe it's also about adopting the disposition of a child sharing with his or her father what has been on his or her heart. Many of us struggle with getting to the door of the confessional, we say we aren't prepared (Nicole attests to that), we say we are confessing the same sins - in short, we place a lot of barriers between us and our Father. Yet, we start to realise that the Sacrament itself is the gateway opened to us to return, to turn around and to start walking back to Him. At this point in Lent, you may feel stagnant, running around in circles or isolated in the desert. We invite you to take that first step towards returning to Him, that tentative step towards the confessional and to share with Him what's been on your heart. 

Nicole and Nathalie journey deeper into Lent as they share about the "desert" experience - a time in which one sheds earthly desires and attachments, a time of purification and also a time of listening for the voice of God. Often going into the "desert" means to step away from the noise and distractions of the everyday and to enter into a space of solitude and sparseness, such that we can allow ourselves to grow in trust. Maybe you're feeling lost too in the desert at this time in Lent. Let yourself be led into the open space and let Him speak to you. As Nathalie shares, find the sweet spot or the "zone of spiritual proximal development" and start from there, slowly inching towards Christ. He sees the steps we are taking towards Him and He can't wait to meet us in the desert itself!

Nicole and Nathalie embark on the journey of Lent in unprecedented times as Nathalie shares her experience in Poland amidst the ongoing Ukrainian invasion. She shares what the start of Lent looks like for her and how moving from our own individual notions of what Lent means, it is also a deeper call to encounter our fellow brothers and sisters. Nicole reflects on how Lent is not just about the outward practices of prayer, fasting and penance but that Lent is also a time of deeper repentance and an outward manifestation of the tender mercy of the Father. St Therese encapsulates this beautifully when she says "You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them." Let us journey into the struggle this Lent and sit with the struggle that lies ahead.