Plato and Aristotle (Raphael)
Cleanse Us with the Wind
Holy Spirit, Breath of Life, antithesis
of death; ye sole and first and final
Source of all that is, now guide us by our
rhythms and our signs into the channels
of the course of your propulsion. To
us, through us, may the sacred wind
find passage—unresisted; you the
inspiration, we the vessels, truth
and beauty cocreating. Blow away all
cold and brittle memories and twisted,
vain anxieties, all frozen willfulness, and
may the space swept clean be filled with
purpose, passion, lovingkindness,
spilling over into outward grace, accepted
undeserved, which we express, we must,
or burst with hoarding it, or find it
crumbled into dust, for it cannot be
stored. We do not need it, we who are
already whole. Thus, unimpeded may it
flow from soul to soul to soul. Amen
♦
Above, right: In the detail from the fresco The School of Athens by Raphael, Plato (left) points up to the heavens, showing his belief in ultimate truth, and Aristotle (right) gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience.
Source: Wikipedia article on vitalism, accessed July 26, 2008. Vitalism is “a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from physicochemical forces.”
Sister Alma Rose Has the Last Word 