God's Absence

By Mechthild of Magdeburg
Ah blessed absence of God,
How lovingly I am bound to you!
You strengthen my will in its pain
And make dear to me
The long hard wait in my poor body.
The nearer I come to you,
The more wonderfully and abundantly
God comes upon me,
In pride, alas, I can easily lose you,
But in the depths of pure humility, O Lord,
I cannot fall away from you.
For the deeper I fall, the sweeter you taste.
 

Copyright Credit: Mechtild of Madgeburg, "God's Absence" from Beguine Spirituality.  Copyright © 1989.  All rights reserved. Used with permission of The Crossroad Publishing Company, www.crossroadpublishing.com.
Source: Beguine Spirituality (The Crossroad Publishing Company, Inc., 1989)