CMP Review 2026-07-26

“All nature is symbolic,” wrote Charlotte Mason in 1898, “or, as has been better said, is sacramental.” She wrote these words after sharing them in a Sunday afternoon meditation on the Gospel of John.

Ten years later she returned to this Gospel. She had just begun the “work dearer to her heart, perhaps, than all the rest” — six volumes of original poetry about the life of Christ. Her aim was to illuminate the words and deeds of Christ, contemplated in chronological sequence. In her first volume, she came to the baptism of Christ.

Exegetes and commentators notice and speak about the appearance of a dove. But Mason saw more than symbolism. She returned to her meditation at Scale How and contemplated this dove as one element of a larger tapestry:

The Sign of the Dove! What might it mean to John?
He knew the sign of the sun, traversing heaven,
The signs of the former and the latter rains,
Knew every leaf inscribed with the name of God;
That all things bore the meanings of the Almighty
For him who knew to discern the seasons’ signs.

Mason’s poem shows us how every leaf can remind us of the baptism of God’s Son. This work so dear to Mason’s heart is dear to us too. Today’s poem is accompanied by a lovely recording by our very own Antonella Greco. Let the sounds and images of poetry bring you to the preaching and the presentation of the Baptist who revealed the Lamb of God. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff

🖼️: Saint John Baptizing in the River Jordan by Nicolas Poussin