Mechthild: A fish in water does not drown

Thursday, November 19, 2020
    Feast of Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, 680
    Commemoration of Elizabeth, Princess of Hungary, Philanthropist, 1231
    Commemoration of Mechtild, Bèguine of Magdeburg, Mystic, Prophet, 1280
Meditation:
    [John:] The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
    —John 3:29 (NIV)
Quotation:
A fish in water does not drown.
A bird in the air does not plummet.
Gold in fire does not perish.
Rather, it gets its purity and its radiant color there.
God has created all creatures to live according to their nature.
How, then, am I to resist my nature?
I must go from all things to God,
Who is my Father by nature,
My brother by His humanity,
My bridegroom by love,
And I His bride from all eternity.
    ... Mechthild of Magdeburg (ca. 1212-ca. 1282), The Flowing Light of the Godhead, Frank J. Tobin, tr., Paulist Press, 1998, p. 161 (see the book)
    See also John 3:29; Gen. 1:20-25; 2:19-20; Rev. 21:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, hasten Your return and be united with Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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