02 November 2006

Gabrielle's comments on the seventh sonnet summarized so succinctly (I can't resist an alliteration), that I'm using them as a springboard for something else I've been thinking about lately. She said (in case you haven't explored the combox):

H, I looked it up too, and it was what I thought (a censor, for holding the blessed incense), but I read also that it is from the Greek "thyos", meaning burnt sacrifice. The "thyos" sometimes needs a "thurible"; the burnt offering sometimes needs a vessel. To be a "living thurible" - hasn't kt captured the essence of our whole spiritual journey, our "sojourn" on earth, with two words? We can be not only the living containers of the holy incense whose perfume rises to the Lord, but the actual burnt offering itself; living holocausts, living sacrifices.
St. Faustina often called herself a holocaust to the Lord, and she also said, "The bride must resemble the Bridegroom", who was the holy and perfect Sacrifice. Living thuribles. What else could one become, if one follows "the blood-paved path He trod"?

This reminded me (in an indirect way) of a verse in Mark 9:
"For everyone shall be salted with fire, and every victim shall be salted...Have salt in yourselves."

Yes, we are the burnt offering, the holocaust; fill this victim, this sacrifice, with fire.
Salt is purifying and preserving, signifying permanence and cleansing. We are salt - the salt of the earth - purifying and preserving. Salt is good, but if it loses its savor there is nothing that can take its place...
And we shall be "salted" (purified, preserved) with fire - the fire of the Spirit, the fire that consumes and transforms us, that makes our sacrifices pure and worthy offerings.
In the Spirit, we become an unbloody sacrifice, hidden in Him.

This "salting with fire" seems to lead to another implication - that we ourselves are "seasoned" and made clean by this action of the Spirit.

Ok, another poem is pertinent here -

Silversmith
“Cloud and darkness are His raiment…A fire prepares His path.”
Psalm 97

In the turbid dark where unseen sinnings steep
we seek the keys that make us free and whole,
but find a searing sword that pierces deep,
to vivisect the spirit from the soul.
The love He brings to free us must first burn;
to offer holocaust there must be fire.
He is puring flame and we in turn
must immolate our selves upon the pyre.
By cerement the conflagration’s fueled,
what light exposes, heat will cauterize.
Then healed, branded, by the King bejeweled,
freed, enslaved, like revenants we rise.

For He sits as a silversmith, refining,
vigilant till expurgation’s done;
burning off the dross till unalloyed souls, shining,
reflect the perfect image of His Son.

87 Comments:

Blogger Gabrielle said...

I have to go get the dictionary again. :)

Thursday, November 02, 2006 9:46:00 PM  
Blogger myosotis said...

In Italy, salt also implies wisdom. So we achieve wisdom through our purification and cleansing.

Friday, November 03, 2006 9:00:00 AM  
Blogger myosotis said...

Now here is some salt to ponder...
and of course, the salt of children always surprises us, but it shouldn't.

http://www.questingparson.org/2006/11/better-cloudy-day.html

Friday, November 03, 2006 9:08:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Salt is such a basic in our lives. Far from our memories is the salt on our tongues from baptism, but we taste it early in tears, later in the joy of cold ocean.

Salted with Fire.. this, I cannot get my mind around. But that has never been the deciding factor for miracles.

:-) Beautiful musing-poems..

Friday, November 03, 2006 12:13:00 PM  
Blogger myosotis said...

"For He sits as a silversmith, refining,
vigilant till expurgation’s done;
burning off the dross till unalloyed souls, shining,
reflect the perfect image of His Son."

My company sells melting pots for making lead alloys for the battery industry. This imagery speaks volumes to me. It reminds me of something Etty Hillesum says in her diary. "Distinguis the difference between being tempered and being hardened". We are tempered when we let God take us where he wants with our suffering. We grow hardened when we refuse God's loving hand even in our trials.

Saturday, November 04, 2006 4:18:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This kind of "branding" is not passive. It does not happen without the door of fiat being opened, but one wants to be returned to the King, should one be found temporarily lost.

Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:50:00 AM  
Blogger Gabrielle said...

I've been here several times over the past couple of days, wishing to comment on this wonderful poem; but it, and all your comments, have me leaping back and forth between Old Testament and New, in a stream-of-consciousness sort of way.

Your comments about the positive imagery of salt made me wonder why God turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt; that led me to think of the salt mixed with water at a Passover Seder meal to symbolize tears, which in turn reminded me of Honora's comment about salt at Baptism (where of course there is water), and the tears throughout our lives.

I looked up info about the Seder meal on the Internet, and was then surprised to see that the Matzah (unleavened bread), is the only item on the Seder table that represents both slavery and freedom (I had been wondering why kt said we were both freed and enslaved, so this description of the Matzah really struck me).

Also, kt quotes Psalm 97, and I thought of the Holy Spirit as the Shekinah Cloud and the Pillar of Fire, and earlier kt had said that it is the action of the Holy Spirit that seasons us and cleanses us. And of course, we see here the bloody and the unbloody sacrifice. I am always intrigued by the way Old Testament imagery and events often foreshadow the New, so all of this has been very rich for me. Thank you, kt.

Saturday, November 04, 2006 10:57:00 AM  
Blogger KathrynTherese said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:27:00 PM  
Blogger KathrynTherese said...

I have to share this with you good people. When I write, I write. The words very often pour out quickly and there is little revision, except when the poetry rhymes (as these have), which takes a little more rearranging.

But unless I have been asked to write for something specific, I never have an audience in mind. I do not write poetry for any reader, but only to express something that I cannot resist trying to express.

And sometimes, when I reread the poems (which is rarely), I wonder if they clearly express that something. I wonder if the nuances that were in my mind when I composed the poem are accessible to any reader.

And you fine people have shown me that those ideas ARE accessible, and they CAN be appreciated. This is heartily encouraging to me, and adds another layer to this conversation.

That said, I so appreciate fmn's quote differentiating tempering and hardening, Honora's reminder that our fiat is always necessary, and Gabrielle's comprehensive Old Covenant - New Covenant overview.

Moving on ;-)
We are slaves of what we want.
In this poem, we are "freed and enslaved" because we are freed by this Fire from all that keeps us from our quintessential desire - to belong wholly to Love, to live only for Love, to abide in the Kingdom of Love. To be "enslaved" by Love.

Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:30:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's so much more rewarding to be enslaved by Love than by hormones, chemicals, Wall Street, Madison Ave., Washington, mirrors.. and even cheesecake.

Wait..let me think about that one..

kidding :-)

On this mountain of faith, the many need a Sherpa; and I need 16 or so. Thank you, Jesus, for the many Sherpas like all the above.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006 1:55:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Way cool, this women rocks!!!!

Tuesday, November 07, 2006 9:52:00 PM  
Blogger Gabrielle said...

kt, a couple of things I'd like to ask you. I was wondering if you could explain a little bit about the spirit being vivisected from the soul, and also, is it possible to share with us a little more about the imagery and implications of the word "revenants" in your poem?

Thursday, November 09, 2006 11:25:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Friday, November 02, 2007 6:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Friday, November 02, 2007 1:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Friday, November 02, 2007 2:35:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Friday, November 02, 2007 3:19:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Friday, November 02, 2007 5:28:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Saturday, November 03, 2007 6:59:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Saturday, November 03, 2007 11:37:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please write anything else!

Saturday, November 03, 2007 12:40:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.

Saturday, November 03, 2007 1:36:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Sunday, November 04, 2007 2:46:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Sunday, November 04, 2007 11:02:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Sunday, November 04, 2007 11:36:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 1:26:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 2:01:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 2:34:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 3:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 3:35:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 4:05:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 4:45:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 5:28:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 6:04:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 6:34:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Calvin, we will not have an anatomically correct snowman!

Monday, November 05, 2007 7:06:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Energizer Bunny Arrested! Charged with battery.

Monday, November 05, 2007 7:43:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Build a watch in 179 easy steps - by C. Forsberg.

Monday, November 05, 2007 8:21:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oops. My brain just hit a bad sector.

Monday, November 05, 2007 8:48:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!

Monday, November 05, 2007 9:15:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

Monday, November 05, 2007 9:52:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.

Monday, November 05, 2007 10:23:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

640K ought to be enough for anybody. - Bill Gates 81

Monday, November 05, 2007 10:56:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good job!

Monday, November 05, 2007 11:27:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Magnific!

Monday, November 05, 2007 11:58:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

Monday, November 05, 2007 12:31:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Monday, November 05, 2007 1:07:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 1:49:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Save the whales, collect the whole set

Monday, November 05, 2007 2:30:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 3:02:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

Monday, November 05, 2007 3:39:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ever notice how fast Windows runs? Neither did I.

Monday, November 05, 2007 4:10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 4:34:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.

Monday, November 05, 2007 5:01:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

Monday, November 05, 2007 5:32:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 6:00:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 6:38:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 7:09:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 7:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!

Monday, November 05, 2007 8:20:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

C++ should have been called B

Monday, November 05, 2007 8:51:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 9:23:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 9:57:00 PM  
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Monday, November 05, 2007 10:43:00 PM  
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Monday, November 05, 2007 11:22:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Monday, November 05, 2007 11:54:00 PM  
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Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:36:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:08:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:42:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks to author.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 2:25:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:06:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:54:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What is a free gift ? Aren't all gifts free?

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 4:40:00 AM  
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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 5:19:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 6:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

C++ should have been called B

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 6:55:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks to author.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 7:48:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oops. My brain just hit a bad sector.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 8:36:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 9:14:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 9:53:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 10:32:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 11:04:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Save the whales, collect the whole set

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 11:48:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:32:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oops. My brain just hit a bad sector.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:11:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beam me aboard, Scotty..... Sure. Will a 2x10 do?

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:56:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ever notice how fast Windows runs? Neither did I.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 2:50:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What is a free gift ? Aren't all gifts free?

Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:29:00 PM  

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