ON TODAY'S SITE:

Book of Psalms, Rumi, Henry Septimus Sutton
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St. Mary's College, Moraga, CA      Photo by Chuck Bowman     All rights reserved


How lovely is thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yea, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at thy altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in thy house,
ever singing thy praise!

For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house
of my God
than dwell in the the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the man who trusts in thee!

Psalm 84:1-4, 10-12
The Holy Bible
Revised Standard Edition






Normandy Beach, France    Photo by Chuck Bowman       All rights reserved

The Alchemy of Love


You come to us
from another world

From beyond the stars
and void of space.
Transcendent, Pure,
Of unimaginable beauty,
Bringing with you
the essence of love

You transform all
who are touched by you.
Mundane concerns,
troubles, and sorrows
dissolve in your presence,
Bringing joy
to ruler and ruled
To peasant and king

You bewilder us
with your grace.
All evils transform into
goodness.

You are the master alchemist.

You light the fire of love
in earth and sky
in heart and soul
of every being.

Through your loving
existence and nonexistence merge.
All opposites unite.
All that is profane
becomes sacred again.



Excerpted from "The Love Poems of Rumi,"
Harmony Books, 1998