So Smile

“God save us from gloomy saints!”

                              Teresa of Ávila

______________________________

why are so many religious people

sour and dour

does an awareness of Sacred Presence

mean one must be miserable?

Perhaps it depends on how you understand

the Sacred One

if you imagine an angry old man

demanding and ready to exclude

following might make faith bitter

a matter of seeking to please one who is all too ready

to pounce and punish

a matter of looking over one’s shoulder

made rigid and narrow with fear

but if you image that the Sacred is

all love

then there is no need for fear

after all, “perfect love casts out all fear”

(how often we forget)

and we can dare to be joyful

with no need to judge

or oppress or protect

but freed

to love

and be loved

so smile :)