Meditations on the Soul
Into my soul I call you, for you prepare it to be your dwelling by the desire you inspire in it...
Upon you I call, O God, my mercy, who made me and did not forget me when I forgot you. Into my soul I call you, for you prepare it to be your dwelling by the desire you inspire in it. Do not forsake me now when I call upon you, who before ever I called on you forestalled me by your persistent, urgent entreaties, multiplying and varying your appeals that I might hear you from afar, and turn back, and begin to call upon you who were calling me.
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And so I pray you, Lord: as you cause joy and strength to spring and grow, even so let the truth spring up: let it sprout from the earth, and let righteousness look down from heaven, and let luminaries be set in the firmament. Let us break our bread for the hungry and bring the homeless poor under our roof, let us clothe the naked not spurn our own kin.
Saint Augustine, The Confessions
This past week I attended a clergy conference for my diocese, C4SO (Churches for the
Sake of Other). I look forward to this gathering every year. I get to spend time with friends from around the country, most of whom I only see at this gathering. I’m always deeply refreshed by the time and conversation.
This year we had two amazing presenters, Barabra Peacock and Steve Macchia. Both are deep practitioners, some may even say experts in the art of soul care. The conference's theme was “Contemplation, Rest, and Healing.” Barbara and Steve’s focus was on the care of one’s soul.
Two things that I’ve thought a lot about are the theology of the soul and the care of the soul. In my Common Place book, I have a good amount of quotes that are about the soul, I thought I would share a few of them here and give some thoughts.
Steve Macchia stated that the soul is the essence of who you are. I think it’s even a bit deeper than that. Maybe, that soul IS who you are.
The Hebrew (Old Testament) word for soul is nephesh. It’s one of the most used words in all of scripture and is used in a multitude of ways. This makes a precise definition a bit difficult to nail down but also paints a more beautiful picture than a simple definition might give.
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
So in the beginning God formed man and he became a living nephesh, a living soul. We aren’t just people with souls, we are living souls. This is why we pray for God to abide in our soul, in the very core of who we are. It’s why we care and advocate for the marginalized and forgotten; they too are created to be dwelling places of God’s presence, a living soul.
Augustine gets it right, I think. God, the first mover, inspires in us a desire to desire. God calls us, saying abide in me as I abide in you.
Inspired by Augustine I might pray something like,
“my soul is hollow until it is hallowed by you.”
Ponder Augustine’s words. They deeply resonate with me. I hope they do for you as well.
Grace and peace