Drypool Echo

chanted the Laudate. ―Laudate Omnes Gentes, Laudate Dominum‖ I drew great comfort from those wonderful Latin words! (Or, to translate, ―Sing praises all you peoples, sing praises to the Lord.‖) But I also felt uneasy, and as to that let me explain. For some time now I have been pondering the relevance of old phrases, poems and hymns.

Though I love them, do they still have a purpose, or place, in our modern, jargon ridden world? Where everything is a verb and convenience of speech is the key to our means of communication. No bad thing in itself, but do we simply discard the more elegant of our phrasings? After all the language of the King James Version of the Bible was falling from common parlance, even as the translation was being completed! Indeed, I must be the only churchgoer today who has a KJV Bible app on his mobile telephone!

But as we processed slowly around, it really didn‘t seem to matter. As a poet, I felt a keen resonance in the simple chanting of these beautifully phrased Latin words. And, as we quietly chanted, I felt also, the blessed fellowship of like minded individuals. But it was more than that! For in those quiet corners of Coventry‘s ruined Priory, I felt that I now knew God a little better. There was no need to speak of it though. We all knew. He was here with us.

And I had my answer! God meets with us where we are. Of a sudden I realized, that I could find Him just as easily in Westminster Abbey, or by reading poems by Donne or Cowper, as I could in a humble church, quiet garden or the rare simplicity of a home study group. It was as though God Himself was saying to me. ―Be in no doubt. I gave you your love of poetry and words. Of course I will meet you in and through them. Why wouldn‘t I?‖ It was as simple as that! And it demanded only the simplest of responses from me…….Amen! #Laudate Omnes Gentes, Laudate Dominum Gratias Tibi Dominus. © Shane Blades 13