Cave of St. Francis

This story is told of St. Francis spending 3 days and nights shut up in a cave with God…”Francis suddenly emerged from the cave. He was radiant-a  gleaming cinder. Prayer had eaten away his flesh again, but what remained shone like pure soul…..He seemed delirious. His eyes were inflamed, and as he came closer I descried angels and phantoms within the pupils. I was terrified. Could he have taken leave of his senses?

He understood, and laughed. But his fire did not subside.

“People have enumerated many terms of praise for the Lord up to now,” he said. “But I shall enumerate still more. Listen to what I shall call him: the Bottomless Abyss, the Insatiable, the Merciless, the Indefatigable, the Unsatisfied, he who never once has said to poor, unfortunate mankind: ‘Enough!'”

(“Saint Francis, Niko Kazantzakis, p. 173)

What does it mean to ‘Enter the Presence’? To be fully engulfed in the Majesty? We read the biblical accounts of men and women who have encountered the Presence of the Lord, and we tend to think them wondrous stories. We cry out that our God is an all-consuming fire, and want to enter into that fire…but, do we really know what we are asking?

I know that God comes to us in many, many ways..the quiet still voice, the warmth of embrace, the scent of the Lover and Friend…but, our God IS and ALL-CONSUMING FIRE..He is Mystery beyond understanding.  And, to be shut up alone with Him—well, hard telling just what we will experience.

This track seeks to just explore the sense of that experience. There are voices moving all around, and the ‘flute’ voice represents Francis..the cries in counter point to the others…the conversations, if you will, in the cave with God.

[podcast]http://TASTEOFMANNAMINISTRIES.COM/wp-music/Cave_ _of_St._Francis.mp3[/podcast]