Monday, February 14, 2011
A Special Valentine Greeting:
Beloved, today is the day when many people celebrate Valentine’s Day, a day of remembrance with the ones we love. While we usually think of only romantic love, let us also be mindful today of agapé love, the pure and selfless love which is unconditional. From popular music to enduring hymns to Holy Scripture, we are reminded the Love is what makes the world go around. Let your love shine and brighten the lives of everyone you meet. Any love you fail to give is love that is lost.
In this illustration, which is the part that was given and which is the part that was kept?
I also want to share with you something written years ago. It is a special valentine to my Dearest Darling Wife, Crucita.
The Priestess and the Oracle*
The westering clouds were dusty
after a hard day’s ride
across the lowlands.
The last light of day
glinted among them
like some cast-off
disc of bronze left over
from an ancient battle.
It was the Day of Choosing.
She would choose her eternal Oracle,
as her predecessors had done.
The crowding throng pressed and swayed.
As the sky darkened, she came out
and stood on the small dais.
She was a queen among queens,
and beautiful. From her pedestal there
she surveyed the lot of us.
The soft lines of her tunic
caressed her breasts and thighs.
Her hair flickered around her face,
shimmering black against the stars.
The assembly erupted in shouts
and gestures, each vying for the
divine honor to be her consort.
My heart was enchanted by her loveliness.
I could neither move nor speak
but only stare. I knew I loved her.
Her eyes scanned the crowd, and still
the tumult increased in all our ears.
Her eyes found mine . . . and stayed.
I began to move. The tangled press opened.
I came closer. The noise stopped.
I could only hear the beating of my heart.
No! There were two hearts, beating apart,
at first, then closed and opened together.
I was for her.
She reached out to me
with her left hand,
palm downward. I could
see her smile. Her dark eyes
and her smile, her eyes, our hearts,
her smile. I reached up
with my right hand and
climbed the last step.
For one incredible moment I could not
live or die. Her tunic fluttered
across my knees. She smiled. It was
as if a hand of searing flame was
thrust into my back between the
shoulder blades. It grabbed my spine
and jerked me upright to stare
into the limitless depths
of those eyes. Our free arms
moved inexorably to complete this first embrace.
I felt my left arm slide into place
around her tender waist.
At the same time, her right arm
moved caressingly across my back.
A wisp of her hair
fell across my shoulder,
and the fragrance of her body
filled me with burning emptiness.
She had found me.
She had claimed me.
I gripped her hand and felt
the power of her gentility.
I pulled her close to me
and turned to face the assembly.
In an instant
the celebration began.
I released her hand. Then,
side by side, in one springing stride,
we streamed across the starry cosmos
in an open embrace
stronger than life itself.
Since then, we have not parted.
Still, each day, as darkness overtakes us,
I see her standing there,
regal, fragile, and yet, much stronger
than I can ever be. I serve her,
not because she is stronger. She will not
use her strength against me.
I serve her because she
seeks to serve me, and
I am unworthy. Each evening
she chooses me, and I choose her.
Both of us know it will always
be that way, but we do it
again, and again, forever because
each day is a new discovery,
a new adventure, a new
Day of Choosing.
Today she told me the way
she remembered that first day:
“It was the Day of Choosing.
He would be choosing his Eternal Priestess
as his predecessors had done.
As the crowding throng pressed and swayed,
he came out on the small dais
to stand against the darkening sky …”
_________
*This is the story of when Crucita and I became a couple.
And this is the secret of our 42 years of marriage.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved
chick
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Special Valentine Greeting:
Beloved, today is the day when many people celebrate Valentine’s Day, a day of remembrance with the ones we love. While we usually think of only romantic love, let us also be mindful today of agapé love, the pure and selfless love which is unconditional. From popular music to enduring hymns to Holy Scripture, we are reminded the Love is what makes the world go around. Let your love shine and brighten the lives of everyone you meet. Any love you fail to give is love that is lost.
In this illustration, which is the part that was given and which is the part that was kept?
I also want to share with you something written years ago. It is a special valentine to my Dearest Darling Wife, Crucita.
The Priestess and the Oracle*
The westering clouds were dusty
after a hard day’s ride
across the lowlands.
The last light of day
glinted among them
like some cast-off
disc of bronze left over
from an ancient battle.
It was the Day of Choosing.
She would choose her eternal Oracle,
as her predecessors had done.
The crowding throng pressed and swayed.
As the sky darkened, she came out
and stood on the small dais.
She was a queen among queens,
and beautiful. From her pedestal there
she surveyed the lot of us.
The soft lines of her tunic
caressed her breasts and thighs.
Her hair flickered around her face,
shimmering black against the stars.
The assembly erupted in shouts
and gestures, each vying for the
divine honor to be her consort.
My heart was enchanted by her loveliness.
I could neither move nor speak
but only stare. I knew I loved her.
Her eyes scanned the crowd, and still
the tumult increased in all our ears.
Her eyes found mine . . . and stayed.
I began to move. The tangled press opened.
I came closer. The noise stopped.
I could only hear the beating of my heart.
No! There were two hearts, beating apart,
at first, then closed and opened together.
I was for her.
She reached out to me
with her left hand,
palm downward. I could
see her smile. Her dark eyes
and her smile, her eyes, our hearts,
her smile. I reached up
with my right hand and
climbed the last step.
For one incredible moment I could not
live or die. Her tunic fluttered
across my knees. She smiled. It was
as if a hand of searing flame was
thrust into my back between the
shoulder blades. It grabbed my spine
and jerked me upright to stare
into the limitless depths
of those eyes. Our free arms
moved inexorably to complete this first embrace.
I felt my left arm slide into place
around her tender waist.
At the same time, her right arm
moved caressingly across my back.
A wisp of her hair
fell across my shoulder,
and the fragrance of her body
filled me with burning emptiness.
She had found me.
She had claimed me.
I gripped her hand and felt
the power of her gentility.
I pulled her close to me
and turned to face the assembly.
In an instant
the celebration began.
I released her hand. Then,
side by side, in one springing stride,
we streamed across the starry cosmos
in an open embrace
stronger than life itself.
Since then, we have not parted.
Still, each day, as darkness overtakes us,
I see her standing there,
regal, fragile, and yet, much stronger
than I can ever be. I serve her,
not because she is stronger. She will not
use her strength against me.
I serve her because she
seeks to serve me, and
I am unworthy. Each evening
she chooses me, and I choose her.
Both of us know it will always
be that way, but we do it
again, and again, forever because
each day is a new discovery,
a new adventure, a new
Day of Choosing.
Today she told me the way
she remembered that first day:
“It was the Day of Choosing.
He would be choosing his Eternal Priestess
as his predecessors had done.
As the crowding throng pressed and swayed,
he came out on the small dais
to stand against the darkening sky …”
_________
*This is the story of when Crucita and I became a couple.
And this is the secret of our 42 years of marriage.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved
chick
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
