Tag: religion

Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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Warped, Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America

Warped ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #325

I enter a cathedral
As if into warped space
Not warped as a physicist might think
But as in how a mystic might think
That is, a spiritual space or dimension
Bent, folded and manipulated
To conform to a specific configuration
Long ago transcribed into books
From collective memories
Predating written language

Aside from a certain wonder
At the passion and dedication
To the exquisite expression
Of humanity’s greater achievements
In art and architecture
A cathedral reminds me
Of the power of group thinking
For both good and ill
How this can become a tight leash
On an individual whose spirit
Simply refuses to conform

But it also reminds me
Of the exultant satisfaction
I experienced
When I finally broke the leash
Chose my own path
And found my way to a spiritual space
Which conformed to me

Not that I am without
My own warped sense of spiritual dimension
But the distortion is familiar to me
Has meaning for me
And brings me to a place of peace

Continue reading Warped ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #325
Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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God's House, Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America

One of Many Paths to Goodness

Raised beneath
Steeples and spires
Kneeling Sitting Standing
In pews row on row

First Holy Communion
Confirmation
Confession
Ash Wednesday
Palm Sunday
Incense and palm leaves
Midnight Mass

Now another confession:
Never a believer
Earliest memories
Saying what was expected
Doing what was expected
Praying aloud the lie on my lips

Though there were Pastors
Two at least
Who made as much
A philosophy of sermon
As theology
Who bespoke love
And compassion
Forgiveness
And kindness
As if these were as important
As believing in Father, Son and Holy Ghost

I kept the compassionate love
Discarded the trinity
And for a long while
Wanted nothing to do
With religion
Or the religious

Until I finally saw
The strength faith gives my mother
Courage, resilience, tenacity
Powered by compassion, love and kindness
All in God’s name

Now I understand
Something about the nature of goodness
And the many paths we may travel
To bring ourselves to the love
Which is its foundation

Continue reading One of Many Paths to Goodness
Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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Hollowed Halls, Valencia Cathedral, Valencia, Catalonia, Spain

Hollowed Halls

Beneath the stone of arcing hollow
Echo footfalls of the hallows
Seep through time long silenced whispers
Fall on ears inclined to listen

Bishops under Cardinals
Princes of the capital
Too all manner of celebrity
Still I prefer simplicity

Whose condition leaves them most to gain
While every pittance rendered unto greedy hand
Far too much where hope of sustenance is lain
Yet they, it ever seems, offer most without demand

It’s none of these I see today
By price of entry held at bay
Once was the time when pews were filled
By those allowed the least of say

Continue reading Hollowed Halls