El Greco, “Christ in Prayer”, 1595-97, (detail)

.

Joy.  How we seek You.  You have such a lovely name.
.
I saw You this morning while I was mourning. You are so simple. Joy you are to me. You are always present. You promised it would always be.
.
Yes, it is true, holy simplicity is hard to see. Yet that does not make You distant from me.
.
I saw You this morning. You are so full of Yourself. Joy upon Joy. Your cup overflowing.
.
I drank Your blood. I sipped Your chalice. O Joy, what joy You are to me. Lady Wisdom helps me come to Thee. O Joy beyond vision You are to me.
.
I thought not. I gave no speech. My will gone vacant, You took possession. You occupy the Joy residing in me.
.
What is left? But for me to flee. Into the invisible chalice. Into the sea.
.
Red it was, and red it will always be.
.
O how my wounds find a home sweet home. So much life abounds at the bottom of a truly dead sea.
.
Buried in baptism. Deep waters all aglow. Brought to life. Together we approach Calvary.
.
Slaughtered with Joy upon the altar. My crib turned cross cradles me softly. To sleep once more. Lowered into the arms of a most beautiful lady.
.
Joy. How we seek You. You have such a lovely name.
.
I saw You this morning while I was mourning. You are so simple. Joy you are to me. You are always present. You promised it would always be.
.
O Sacred Heart of Joy an ode I sing to Thee.
.
Feast or famine, it’s all the same to me.
.

..
—Howard Hain