Biography:
Talbot was born into a Methodist family with a musical background in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and started learning to play the guitar at an early age. At age 15 he dropped out of school and was performing as a guitarist for Mason Proffit, a country folk-rock band formed with his older brother Terry.
Talbot embarked on a spiritual journey that led him through Native American religion and Buddhism to Christianity. At this point he and his brother, Terry, joined the Jesus Movement, recording the album Reborn which was re-released by Sparrow Records (originally released as The Talbot Brothers on the Warner Brothers label).
Two solo albums followed for Talbot: John Michael Talbot (1976) and The New Earth (1977). Both of these were produced by Billy Ray Hearn.
Reading the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, he was inspired to begin studying at a Franciscan center in Indianapolis. He became a Roman Catholic and joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1978. He started a house of prayer, The Little Portion.
Talbot moved The Little Portion to Eureka Springs, Arkansas on land he had purchased during his Mason Proffit days. He founded his own community, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, at Little Portion Hermitage as an "integrated monastic community" with celibate brothers and sisters, singles, and families. By 1989, Talbot had married Viola Pratka (with the permission of the Catholic Church). Pratka was a former Incarnate Word Sister who had come to the community in 1986.
Per the community's General Constitutions, Talbot's title is "General Minister and Spiritual Father". For many years, he has promoted the work of Mercy Corps.
The hermitage suffered a fire in April 2008 in which the chapel, library and many common areas were destroyed.
On April 10, 2010 the Bishop of Little Rock, Anthony Taylor, dedicated the new buildings. On October 2, 2010 the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage celebrated the opening of the new monastery church and common center.
Pass Through My Will
John Michael Talbot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As through a window
Shine on my life as on a meadow
Like the grass to be consumed
By the rays of the sun
On a late summer's morning
Come my love, all through the night
Like dawn's flower awaits
For the wedding with the sun
Consummated in the light
Your light, my love is stealing my heart
As a secret I'm left
Like a vanishing form that leaves no shadows
Exposed, naked, alone between
The heavens and the earth
Lifted high on the cross with the Savior
Oh life-giving tomb
Prepared through the night for dawn's dying
Like a womb, like the mansions of Heaven
Await the rebirth of a child, New Jerusalem
So come to my life, light of Heaven
Come my love, pass through my will
As through a window
Shine on my life as on a meadow
Like the grass to be washed
In the rays of the sun
On the late summer's morning
The song "Pass Through My Will" by John Michael Talbot is a prayer-like plea to God, asking for His love and light to enter into the singer's life. In the lyrics, the singer uses vivid imagery to describe the way he wants God to come into his life. He asks God to "pass through my will as through a window," indicating that he wants God to enter directly into his will and shape it according to His plan.
The lyrics also reference nature, with the singer comparing himself to grass that is consumed by the sun's rays on a late summer morning. This imagery suggests that the singer wants God's love to shine on him and transform him, just as the sun transforms the grass. The song's repeated reference to "love's union" and "consummated in the light" underscores the theme of transformation and unification with God's will.
Line by Line Meaning
Come my love, pass through my will
I invite you, my beloved, to enter my life and guide me towards your purpose
As through a window
I want you to flow through me effortlessly and illuminate my life as light penetrates through glass
Shine on my life as on a meadow
May your radiant and gentle light shine on my life and enrich it like the carefree and lush greenery of a glimmering meadow
Like the grass to be consumed
I yearn to be consumed and surrender to your loving grace like blades of grass absorbs the rays of the sun
By the rays of the sun
Just as sunrays give life to the earth, I wish your love to give me life and vitality
On a late summer's morning
I desire to experience the warmth of your love as purifying and refreshing as the sunrise on a summer's morning
Come my love, all through the night
I anticipate and long for the moment when you will unite with me, my love, and bless my life with your grace and affection
I lay longing eagerly to wait for love's union
I eagerly wait for your arrival and the union of our spirits, like a flower opens eagerly, waiting for the sun to rise
Like dawn's flower awaits
Just as the flowers wait for the arrival of the sun to blossom, I wait for the arrival of your love to transform my spirits
For the wedding with the sun
Just as the flower weds with the sun, I aspire to wed with your grace and love
Consummated in the light
I want to experience the consummation of our union in the illuminating light of your grace
Your light, my love is stealing my heart
Your gentle and compassionate light is stealing my heart and making me surrender to your love
As a secret I'm left
My heart is left in solitude with the secrets of your love, and I am content with it
Like a vanishing form that leaves no shadows
Like an invisible entity that doesn't leave any mark or impression, I want to vanish and surrender myself to your grace
Exposed, naked, alone between
I bare my soul to you and stand exposed, naked, and alone between the physical and spiritual world
The heavens and the earth
I seek to unite with heaven and earth through you, my beloved
Lifted high on the cross with the Savior
I offer to be lifted on the cross with the savior, to receive your love, and spread it to others
Oh life-giving tomb
Your love is the source of life, and I submit myself to it like a tomb
Prepared through the night for dawn's dying
Like the dawn prepares through the night for resurrection, I'm preparing for a new dawn in my life that you'll grace
Like a womb, like mansions of Heaven
Like a mother's womb and the mansions in Heaven, my heart is being prepared for the birth of a new child - New Jerusalem
Await the rebirth of a child, New Jerusalem
I'm waiting for a new life, a new beginning, a 'New Jerusalem,' and your love will birth it within me
So come to my life, light of Heaven
I invite you, the light of Heaven, to come and enlighten my life, my beloved
Writer(s): JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT
Contributed by Aria O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.