Search Results for: node – Page 656

Brother André Bessette joked, “My superiors showed me the door and I stayed there,” and, “I was at the door forty years without going out.” According to the Holy Cross constitutions of the time, the porter lived, ate and prayed somewhat separately from the community, near the entrance. Brother André’s first room had a roughly upholstered bench for a bed, a wardrobe, a pitcher and a bowl. Only a crucifix and an image of Saint Joseph hung on the walls. …. Speaking later in life of all his responsibilities, Brother André said, “I never refused to do what was asked of me.

As our lives grow more pressured, as we grow more tired, and as we begin to talk more about burnout, we fantasize about solitude. We imagine it as a peaceful, quiet place, where we are walking by a lake, watching a sunset, or smoking a pipe in a rocker by the fireplace. But even here, many times we make solitude yet another activity, something we do. Solitude, however, is a form of awareness. It’s a way of being present and perceptive within all of life.

In A.D. 368 when Cappadocia was stricken with a dire famine, the suffering was intense. Basil distributed the entirety of his inheritance to the poor. He also used Church funds to open soup kitchens where he was often found serving food, girded with an apron. Some of the people in his social class, however, both held on to their money and enjoyed profit from the higher prices resulting from decreased supply and increased demand.

The story of Jesus in the Temple tells us that one’s primary family is not our only goal. Another responsibility, one for which our family can prepare us, is the call to follow God in fulfilling our unique mission. In responding to God’s call, we sometimes feel it necessary to do something that will not be understood by family members. Responding to this inner urge can be difficult, especially when close bonds tie together family members. Indeed, the decisions we make as a result of God’s call may cause other family members turmoil and may even lead to ruptured relationships.

Pope Benedict, who addressed 250 artists in the Sistine Chapel before Michelangelo’s half-naked, and often grotesque, images, said quite brilliantly, “An essential function of genuine beauty is that it gives humanity a healthy shock!” And then he went on to quote Simone Weil who said that “Beauty is the experimental proof that incarnation is in fact possible.” If there is one moment of beauty, then beauty can indeed exist on this earth; if there is one true moment of Incarnation, then why not incarnation everywhere?

Whatever is good, true, or beautiful comes from a single source: God. The generosity and faithful love that God showed in creation can become a constant reminder of our need to live out a generous and faithful love. Our ability to do that grows as we grow. Create a moment today to thank God for Jesus’s Incarnation and be ready for that to change your life.

I have long felt that Christmas is a feast that largely celebrates humanity’s unconscious desire and goal. Its meaning is too much for the rational mind to process, so God graciously puts this Big Truth on a small stage so that we can wrap our minds and hearts around it over time. No philosopher would dare to predict the materialization of God, so we are just presented with a very human image of a poor woman and her husband with a newborn child. (I am told that the Madonna is by far the most painted image in Western civilization.)

We need to show compassion for those in need during this season and year-round. We miss the point of the Incarnation if we feel that feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless are activities for this season only. Educational theorist John Dewey said, “All education is about making connections.” We can never exhaust the connections that the Incarnation invites. Francis recognized this by linking this feast to extra generosity for humans in need, for oxen, asses, and even the lowly larks. The Incarnation of Jesus is a testament to God’s universal love and compassion.