Poetry · Chapter
The Diary of an Old Soul explained
An old soul's prayerful meditation on faith, doubt, and the longing for divine union, exploring the struggle between spiritual desolation and the hope of redemption through God's love.
What happens
An old soul's prayerful meditation on faith, doubt, and the longing for divine union, exploring the struggle between spiritual desolation and the hope of redemption through God's love.
Themes in this chapter
Spiritual Struggle and Doubt
The old soul grapples with doubt, described as a tattered sail and a storm, yet seeks faith.
Redemption and Grace
Hope for restoration and divine acceptance pervades, with imagery of God's peace and the promise of new creation.
Divine Fatherhood
God is addressed as Father, and the soul seeks to be a true son by doing the Father's works.
Characters to notice
- God
Addressed throughout as the source of life, love, and the object of the soul's yearning.
- Jesus Christ
Referenced as the Lord and Master, whose day the soul awaits.
- Death
Mentioned as a levelling force that lifts all, and as a contrast to life in bondage.
- Unknown
The old soul speaking in first person, reflecting on his spiritual journey.
- The Child-Mother
Imagined as a mother angel who opens the door to the knocking child.
Key passages
“Lord, what I once had done with youthful might, Had I been from the first true to the truth, Grant me, now old, to do—with better sight, And humbler heart, if not the brain of youth;”
God, give me now in old age the strength to act faithfully that I lacked in youth, with clearer vision and humility.
Opening plea for grace to redeem past failures.
“My soul breathes only in thy infinite soul; I breathe, I think, I love, I live but thee.”
My entire existence depends on God's spirit; all my actions are rooted in Him.
Expression of total dependence on the divine.
“The idle flapping of the sail is doubt; Faith swells it”
Doubt is like a limp sail, but faith fills it with wind to move forward.
Metaphor for the contrast between doubt and active faith.
“I will be quiet as lark upon the sod; God's will, the seed, shall rest in me the pod.”
I will remain still and trusting, allowing God's purpose to grow within me like a seed in a pod.
Resolve to surrender to divine will.
“That man alone who does the Father's works Can be the Father's son; yea, only he Who sonlike can create, can ever be;”
Only those who actively carry out God's work are truly His children, sharing in His creative power.
Definition of true sonship through action.