Diamond of a Thousand Suns

"At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is so to speak his name written in us, as our poverty, as our indigence, as our dependence, as our sonship. It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely. … I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere."

Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (New York: Doubleday, 1966), p. 142

Reflections on Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander and

Matthew 16:23 -17:8

by Fred Fosnacht

(A Prayer of Abandonment)

I have heard,

there is a spark,

Within my deepest, primal self

Which belongs only to You.

Here you reside

Untouched by sin,

unstained by illusion.

A diamond of a thousand suns,

Blazing with the light of heaven

Lives the Glory of God, in me.

At this center

The fantasies of mind,

The brutalities of will,

Fed by

Identity and ego,

Are swallowed

Into a point of light

Of union with you.

So let this spark

Become a flame of poverty

Of nothingness

Removing the friction to fuse

with other sparks

So I may see the brightness

Of your glory

and hear the voice

Of sonship

And sing with

The chorus of angels.

Let me begin,

here and now

to strip

to empty

to leave

to deny

to forget the reflections of my mirrored me,

Embracing what is Given, Everywhere

And In All things.

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The quilt is cotton and silk fabric with gold cording and Swarovski crystals.

©Mary Kay Fosnacht 2023