The Lord’s Song

"Lord, you are my lover,
 My longing,
 My flowing stream,
 My sun,
 And I am your reflection.

The day
 of my spiritual awakening
 was the day I saw—
and knew I saw—
all things in God
 and God in all things.

 Love your fellow beings—
for they are all
 tabernacles of God.

 Of all that God has shown me,
 I can speak just the smallest word,
 not more than a honeybee takes on her foot
 from an overspilling jar.

 In the fire of creation,
 gold does not vanish,
 the fire brightens.
 Each creature God made
 must live in its own true nature,
 how could I resist my nature,
 that lives for oneness with God?

 The Holy Spirit is our Harpist;
 all strings which are touched in Love, must sound.

 I cannot dance, Lord,
 unless you lead me.
 If you want me to leap with abandon,
 You must intone the song.
 Then I shall leap into love,
 From love into knowledge,
 From knowledge into enjoyment,
 And from enjoyment
 beyond all human sensations.
 There I want to remain,
 yet want also to circle higher still.

 I who am Divine am truly in you.
 I can never be sundered from you:
 However far we be parted,
 never can we be separated.
 I am in you and you are in Me.
 We could not be any closer.
 We two are fused into one,
 poured into a single mould.
 Thus, unwearied,
 we shall remain forever.

 I, God, am your playmate!
 I will lead the child in you in wonderful ways
 for I have chosen you.
 Beloved child, come swiftly to Me
 for I am truly in you.
 Then I shall leap into love.

 How should one live?
 Live welcoming to all.

 When are we like God? I will tell you.
 In so far as we love compassion and practice it steadfastly,
 to that extent do we resemble the heavenly Creator
 who practices these things ceaselessly in us.

 I who am Divine am truly in you.
 I can never be sundered from you:
 However far we be parted, never can we be separated.
 I am in you and you are in Me.
 We could not be any closer.
 We two are fused into one, poured into a single mould.
 Thus, unwearied, we shall remain forever.

 O you pouring God in your gift!
 O you flowing God in your love!
 O you burning God in your desire!
 O you melting God in the union with your beloved!
 O you resting God on my breasts!
 Without you I cannot exist.

 Do not fear your death.
 For when that moment arrives,
 I will draw my breath
 and your soul will come to Me
 like a needle to a magnet."

~ "Mechthild of Magdeburg (1207-1282)