T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
The poetry that followed T. S. Eliot’s 1927 conversion to Anglicanism has informed my life ever since my own similarly startling embrace of that faith 70 years later. The First World War-inspired despair of such poems as The Waste Land (1922) and “The Hollow Men” (1925) was always an integral part of my literary canon, but the humbly intellectual articulation of faith in his post-conversion poetry speaks directly to my soul.
Wait without hope
Wrestling with doubt—a prerequisite for spiritual growth—is at the heart of Eliot’s early Christian poetry, including “The Journey of the Magi” (1927), “A Song for Simeon” (1928), and “Ash Wednesday” (1930). But it is the mature expression of Eliot’s faith in The Four Quartets (1943) that provides the surest ballast for my seeking, doubting, wandering heart.
And so the seemingly bleak lines that follow (from the second section, “East Coker”) offer me guidance through these days of Advent preparation: Continue reading
Context îs everything. Each day as I ponder my contribution for the Advent Word ministry, I like to check to see how my initial ideas conform to the scripture from which the day’s word was chosen. So today, my first thought was that most discussions would probably focus on our need to repair ourselves–personal habits, behaviors, and relationships–a penitential kind of reparation as preparation appropriate to the discipline of Advent.