God, the silent core....

Whoever reconciles the many contradictions of his life

gratefully gathering them into one symbol,

expels the noisy crowd from his abode

and in a different kind of festive mood

receives You as his guest on gentle evenings

You are the Other in his solitude,

a silent center for his conversations with himself,

and every circle drawn around You

makes his compass span beyond the rim of time.

(Rainer Maria Rilke)

When we reconcile the contradictions in our life - perhaps gathering them into the great symbol of the Cross - then in a 'festive and gentle' way God becomes our guest. He stands as silent core of our prayers, center of a circle whose periphery goes beyond time - eternity.