Thoughts about Words, from Macrina Wiederkehr (Abide)
“Long before I knew anything about the Word of God, I found words intriguing. As a child I took delight in rearranging words into phrases and patterns, stories and poems. …I was discovering that words bless. They move and dance and sing. They abide. They absorb and unite. They inspire. Words invite us to feel included, loved, honored. They call us to play and to work. They teach, comfort, praise. They forgive. They ask us to be authentic and true. They summon us to go deeper into the mystery of our lives. They teach us compassion and love. They make us laugh and cry. …Words can also destroy, wound, and kill the spirit. They can reject and ridicule. They can torment and make us believe that we are less than we are. Words are powerful; we can use them for good or for evil. Our words have power to bless or distress others. When we speak a word, it cannot be unspoken.”
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“Words”, Joyce Rupp
I used to be enticed by words,
enthralled and intrigued
with their magic quality,
how they wove together
auras of mystery and meaning,
created parades of startling beauty.
But not anymore.
Pompous explosions in the news,
words of venom and hostility,
people spoken about as objects,
heavy political verbiage laced
with false assumptions,
demeaning, divisive, and cruel.
I now move among words
carefully, tentatively,
trying to avoid the ones on fire,
destructive words, flaming divisions
causing blisters of hatred,
the contemptuous cinders
of total disregard.
© Joyce Rupp
REFLECTIONS
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by Joyce Rupp.
