Daily Meditation: Maundy Thursday

We all need help maintaining our personal spiritual practice. We hope that these daily meditations, prayers and mindful awareness exercises can be part of bringing spirituality alive in your life.

Today's meditation features a poem by World War I poet and soldier Wilfred Owen. The piece is apt for today, Maundy Thursday, which marks Jesus' Last Supper prior to his betrayal, trial and crucifixion as portrayed in the Christian gospels.

Maundy Thursday by Wilfred Owen

Between the brown hands of a server-lad
The silver cross was offered to be kissed.
The men came up, lugubrious, but not sad,
And knelt reluctantly, half-prejudiced.
(And kissing, kissed the emblem of a creed.)
Then mourning women knelt; meek mouths they had,
(And kissed the Body of the Christ indeed.)
Young children came, with eager lips and glad.
(These kissed a silver doll, immensely bright.)
Then I, too, knelt before that acolyte.
Above the crucifix I bent my head:
The Christ was thin, and cold, and very dead:
And yet I bowed, yea, kissed---my lips did cling.
(I kissed the warm live hand that held the thing.)