Daily Primer — June 10, Kotor — Montenegro

Give me a candle of the Spirit, O God,
as I go down into the deep of my own being.  
Show me the hidden things.  
Take me down to the springs of my life
and tell me my nature and my name.
Give me freedom to grow
so that I may become my true self —
the fulfillment of the seed which you planted in me at my making.
Out of the deep I cry unto Thee, O God.  Amen.
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God our Creator and Savior has given us a language in which He can be talked about, since faith cometh by hearing and our tongues are the keys that open Heaven to others.
But when the Lord comes as a Bridegroom there remains nothing to be said except that He is coming, and that we must go out to meet Him.

Ecce Sponsus venit! Exite obviam ei!
(Matthew 25:6 “Behold the bridegroom comes, for forth to meet Him!”)

After that we go forth to find Him in solitude. There we communicate with Him alone, without words, without discursive thoughts, in the silence of our whole being.
When what we say is meant for no one else but Him, it can hardly be said in language. What is not meant to be related is not even experienced on a level that can be clearly analyzed. We know that it must not be told, because it cannot.
But before we come to that which is unspeakable and unthinkable, the spirit hovers on the frontiers of language, wondering whether or not to stay on its own side of the border, in order to have something to bring back to other men. This is the test of those who wish to cross the frontier. If they are not ready to leave their own ideas and their own words behind them, they cannot travel further.
3. Do not desire chiefly to be cherished and consoled by God; desire above all to love Him.

Florilegium is the Medieval Latin word for bouquet, or more literally flowers (flos, flor-) which are gathered (legere). The word florilegium was used to refer to a compilation of writings, often religious or philosophical. These florilegium are literary flowers—beautiful words/prayers/thoughts I have gathered.  During my sabbatical they will give me something to ponder each day. — PHL.

Lord of the harvest: you remind us each year about the ways that a seed sown in the field yields thirty, sixty, or even a hundredfold (Matt 13).  The increase comes through simple and self-sacrificial behaviors.  Help us, who are so restless, to let you increase as we decrease.  Teach us the joys of a more simple faith, a more simple life, and grant to us your deep and life-giving rest.  In the name of the one who came to offer us restful sleep and peace at the last, Jesus our Lord.  Amen

Peaceful God, you say to me, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid.”  Instill in me this hour such peacefulness that with ease I can commit to your care everything which would make me troubled and afraid.  As I rest, may I come into that deeper communion with you which heals my wounds and encourages my faith — that I might arise from my rest eager to serve you in faithfulness.  
May I depart now in peace to love and serve the Lord, who though he was equal to God did not consider his position as something to be exploited — but rather emptied himself in sacrificial service to all.  May his peace enfold me.  May his strength sustain me.  May his Spirit befriend me.  May his calling define me.  May the all-powerful Lord, grant me a restful night and a peaceful death.  Amen.