Jacopone da Todi : How the Soul Through the Senses Finds God in All Creatures

For information about the 13th c. CE Italian mystic Jacopone da Todi, or Jacopone Benedetti, see this earlier post.

O Love, divine Love, why do You lay siege to me?
In a frenzy of love for me, You find no rest.

From five sides You move against me,
Hearing, sight, taste, touch, and scent.
To come out is to be caught; I cannot hide from You.

If I come out through sight I see Love
Painted in every form and color,
Inviting me to come to You, to dwell in You.

If I leave through the door of hearing,
What I hear points only to You, Lord;
I cannot escape Love through this gage.

If I come out through taste, every flavor proclaims:
“Love, divine Love, hungering Love!
You have caught me on Your hook, for you want to reign in me.”

If I leave through the door of scent
I sense You in all creation; You have caught me
And wounded me through that fragrance.

If I come out through the sense of touch
I find Your lineaments in every creature;
To try to flee from You is madness.

Translation by Serge and Elizabeth Hughes

2 Replies to “Jacopone da Todi : How the Soul Through the Senses Finds God in All Creatures”

  1. Yaqin

    What an amazing description of total absorption in the Divine reality! And how different it is to the way that most of us experience the world.

    Reply

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