Sacred Heart #9

All that matters is to be one with the living God
to be a creature in the house of the God of Life,

Like a cat asleep on a chair
at peace, in peace
and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress,
at home, at home in the house of the living,
sleeping on the hearth and yawning before the fire.

Sleeping on the hearth of the living world
yawning at home before the fire of life
feeling the presence of the living God
like a great reassurance
a deep calm in the heart
a presence
as of the master sitting at the board
in his own and greater being,
in the house of life.

David Herbert Lawrence (1885 –1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His work reflect on modernity, social alienation and industrialization, while championing sexuality, vitality and instinct.

D. H. Lawrence was inspired by the spiritual realm as well as the world of the senses as can be seen in this poem Pax. He interprets the intangible concept of peace through the tangible imagery of a house cat who is at home in the house of the Lord of Life.  

Sitting before a fire, yawning, stretching, curled up, the cat contains both awareness and presence – in the world and also of it. The cat’s peacefulness and assurance is underscored by the  safety and acceptance he feels in his  Lord’s house.

Like the cat, we belong within this household, breathing at peace, in peace, at one.