Welcome to the Parable Retreat
“We light candles of hope when clouds darken our days”
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 16:1-8
Translucence
Denise Levertov
Once I understood (till I forget, at least)
the immediacy of new life, Vita Nuova,
redemption not stuck in linear delays,
I perceived also (for now) the source
of unconscious light in faces
I believe are holy, not quite transparent,
more like the half-opaque whiteness
of Japanese screen or lampshade,
grass or petals imbedded in that paper-thin
substance which is not paper as this is paper,
and which permits the passage of what is luminous
though forms remain unseen behind its protection.
I perceived that in such faces, through
the translucence we see, the light we intuit
is of the already resurrected, each
a Lazarus but a Lazarus, (man or woman)
without the memory of tomb or of any
swaddling bands except perhaps
the comforting ones of their first
infant hours, the warm receiving-blanket…
They know of themselves nothing different
from anyone else. This holy unknowing
is part of their holiness. They are always trying
to share out joy as if it were cake or water,
something ordinary, not rare at all.
Reflective Questions
Was there something in the parable that caught your attention?
Do you see a connection between the parable and the poem?
Are there other poems you would connect with this parable?
Who enlightens your life – lightens your load?
Perhaps you might like to write your own poem.
Please bring a candle, matches and your journal writings to the Zoom Prayer Service.