Friday, September 2, 2016

SOMEONE IS CALLING MY NAME





MY NAME

Robert Trabold


“just now goldsandaled Dawn”

Sappho



Has someone called me? I believe so.
My breathing gives me a clue.
I feel at my center, a presence there
silent – dark – unknowable
its mystery touches me.
I am immersed in darkness, light
they mingle, weave the quilt of my life’s journey.

I listen to the mystery, feel that
someone has called my name.
In the many currents, undertows of my life
I was remembered.
I was not forgotten, someone called me
walked with me.

I feel, remember how I stumbled in my years
hard streets with dangerous curves.
I was forced to walk - drive in the night.
But I hear my name, voice calls me
from afar, not from this world
but from my center coming from the mysterious presence
giving my name a deep sound, different
from the ordinary.
It now has an echo of depth
meaning, cutting through all the confusion of life.

Someone calls my name – call of love
special because it is from the Divine, Absolute.
I have a Beloved who is totally different.
When He acts, He breaks all barriers
I enter into a new world.
Darkness, mystery of my life still lay on me
but I know, I have a Beloved who calls - remembers me.

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SOMEONE IS CALLING MY NAME


ROBERT TRABOLD


            We are human beings and have names.  We have our individual names which distinguish us from other human beings and people call our names to catch our attention and talk with us. The calling us by our names can also have emotional content. Speaking our names can be a term of endearment when spoken by two people in love with one another. Our name can be an instrument of anger when others are upset with us and call us in rough terms to express this. Our names can also be an instrument which can be used to find out information about ourselves. Our names are present in many public records.

            Using our name can also be an instrument to help us discover something about ourselves or others. In the gospel story of Mary Magdalene going to the cemetery on the first Easter morning, she was filled with grief and remorse that Jesus died and quite shocked to see the tomb empty. She saw a figure and thought that it was the gardener. With all her grief, she did not recognize Jesus in front of her. Her emotions blocked her from seeing the truth.  It is only when Jesus called her name, ‘Mary,’ that she recognized Him who was the teacher and whom Mary loved very much. It was by the use of her name that Jesus pierced her deep emotions and grief and allowed Mary to see who was speaking to her. She found the person she was looking for.

            In one sense, this story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus is an example of what happens to us if we are faithful in our meditation each day. In contemplative prayer, we sit in silence in the presence of the Lord who reveals Himself to us and draws us closer to Him. It is a long journey and one of silence and darkness because in contemplative prayer, the Lord reveals Himself in our silent prayer in which we encounter a presence. This presence is deep and mysterious in our interior, at our center and still point.
With time, it is also a meeting of love.  In our silent prayer, we encounter someone who loves us and wants us to love in return. It is like the story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus on the first Easter morning where after the calling her by her name, she recognized the person she loved. Our prayer life is a long trip in which if we are faithful, we will meet and see the lover we are looking for. It is a deep trip in which we meet the person around whom we can orientate our life and find meaning to our many years on earth. It gives us hope for our final end where we will meet the Lord in eternal life after our death.

            We can say that in our daily meditation, Jesus is calling us by our name. Calling us by our name, He breaks through all the confusion and ups and downs of human living. With time, we see and meet the person who loves us and gives us a sense of who we are. We are sons and daughters of our Father in heaven and this is the basis of our life. Certainly, our journey in prayer throughout the years is a long one and has many periods of darkness and dryness. But in all of this, we are to remember that someone is calling our name. It is the Lord who with his voice, pierces all the confusion in life and lets us see who we really are.  When we get tired and feel that our prayer life is leading us no place, it is good to remember the story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene on Easter morning. In our meditation, Jesus calls us by our name in which we recognize Him, ourselves and where we should go in our journey on earth.


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Question:  Have you recognized the multi-meaning levels of your name and that of others? In your prayer life, do you feel God’s love for you which is felt by the calling of your name?

I am interested in hearing the opinions of people reading this blog.  Put your comment in the place below and also your e-mail address. It will be of assistance to me and perhaps I could send to you other notices of spiritual interest.

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