Poetry has always been a central element of Christian spirituality and is used in worship, in pastoral services and guided meditation. In Sounding the Seasons, Cambridge poet and priest Malcolm Guite transforms seventy lectionary readings into lucid, inspiring poems, for use in regular worship, seasonal services, meditative reading or on retreat. This second edition includes further sonnets for the Christian year written since the original edition, including a sequence of 19 sonnets on the resurrection appearances recorded in scripture. Immediate, striking, simple yet profound, Malcolm Guite’s poetry resonates deeply and widely across the churches of all traditions throughout the English speaking world.
I went on a spiritual retreat recently and Malcolm Guite's poems on the Stations of the Cross were used for reflection on a stations of the cross walk around the extensive grounds. They are stunning in their power and poignancy and brought me to tears at many of the stations; he captures the agony and the beauty, the sacrifice and the pain.
I was so moved by them that I ordered the book whilst away and have been dipping in and out ever since, as there are poems - written in the format of sonnets - for all the major seasons of the church year and also for saints and apostles.
Just a beautiful book to have in one's collection.