Vol. VII. No. 34
EASTER EDITION
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
*****
Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
Canadian Anglican Google Groups:
http://tinyurl.com/7o899yg
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telusplanet.net
New "Quicklinks" are now included
with many items. Otherwise, scroll
down to find your selection in the
body of the blog, as in the past.
*****
Dear friends:
Easter has come!
We in the northern climes celebrate Spring
and Easter together, and each has something
special to contribute to the other.
After dark times - new life appears.
After uncertainties - new direction.
After dormancy - new virility.
However you may wish to describe Easter for
you and those you love, may your experience
this year be meaningful and hopeful!
___
My book notice this week comes courtesy
of Wood Lake Publishers and the author
Patricia Bays. They offer:
"This Anglican Church of Ours" - which
exists to inform Anglicans, and others
too. I hope you will enjoy it.
http://tinyurl.com/7hrwzlw
*****
Colleague Contributions:
Beth Porter (Richmond Hill, ON)
Learn about the art of L'Arche
http://tinyurl.com/72we4vw
Michael Higgins (Fairfield, CT)
See a Catholic take on Rowan Williams
http://tinyurl.com/6o7dn98
Jim Taylor (Okanagan, BC)
Read about the value of symbols
http://tinyurl.com/7rtk6o9
Martin Marty (Chicago, IL)
Attend to an ecumenical veteran
http://tinyurl.com/6w2s7no
All four colleagues add their own unique
perspectives to this edition. Enjoy them!
___
Net Notes:
"Easter's Real Meaning" - a reflection
on what Easter can mean (Christian Week)
http://tinyurl.com/7qwatnb
"Artist Sculpts Gospels" - this story
attracted me as it comes from my home town,
St. Jacobs, ON. (Christian Week)
http://tinyurl.com/7kx2gzr
"Where Was Jesus Buried?" - the author
suggests that the precise location is
not so important as its testimony to
faith (ENI, Anglican Journal)
http://tinyurl.com/72l8kez
"Will Jesus Save Newsweek?" - an
old news magazine tradition is to run
a "religious" cover story at Easter;
which continues today (Atlantic Wire)
http://tinyurl.com/6snw3pl
"'Three Cups' Author Censured" - two
stories update us on an inspiration
turned bad (Globe and Mail, Reuters)
http://tinyurl.com/3px5sfu
http://tinyurl.com/72j5j24
"Pope Denounces "Disobedience" -
Benedict chose this season to lash
out at those Catholics he considers
heretical (Globe and Mail)
http://tinyurl.com/6o7dn98
"The Truth Shall Make You Upset" -
a Catholic commentator from Japan
writes on the virtues of a free
religious press (Uca News)
http://tinyurl.com/72om5m8
"What Did Jesus Do Holy Saturday?" -
for those who ask such questions,
here are some possible answers
(Religious News Service)
http://tinyurl.com/84hea8t
"A Reflection on 'The Hunger Games'" -
more thoughts on the current popular
movie (Sightings)
http://tinyurl.com/7qjm2nn
"Judge Orders KC Bishop to Trial"
- a sad but inevitable development
which may well set a precedent
(National Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/6qcejve
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Fourteen faith stories appear this week
courtesyof Ecumenical News International,
Geneva.
___
Wisdom of the Week:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Desmond Tutu,
Jean Vanier, Rachel Naomi Remen and
G.A. Studdert Kennedy share with us.
___
On This Day:
The New York Times reports on stories
as they were unfolding:
Truman signed Marshall Plan, allocating
more than $5 billion aid for 16 European
countries (1948)
http://tinyurl.com/87s3d78
Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to
death in Memphis, TN (1968)
http://tinyurl.com/7jplbrc
Peary and Henson became the first men to
reach the North Pole. Their claim was upheld
in 1989 by the Navigation Foundation (1908)
http://tinyurl.com/7ofgtdz
___
Closing Thought:
Mechtild of Magdeburg encourages us
to embrace, not avoid our wounds.
Blessings, and a meaningful Easter!
Wayne
********************************
St. David's and ACTS Ministry Announce:
OUR SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS TOUR FOR 2013
TURKEY AND THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
April 22nd - May 8th, 2013
Tour sale begins with deposit starting June, 2012
Full payment due, January, 2013
More details such as costs to be made available
in the Sunday worship guide and the St. David's
Spiritual Travelers Discussion List Group as they
become available.
To join the list discussion contact:
Deb. Charnusaki - debcharnuski@hotmail.com
Your tour hosts:
Marlene and Wayne Holst
waholst@telusplanet.net (or)
marleneaholst@gmail.com
403-286-7416
---
NOTE: David Rostad will visit St. David's
for a Special Turkey Tour Information Night
Monday, September 10th, 2012
All are welcome!
*****
MARY JO LEDDY WEEKEND AT ST.DAVID'S
September 21st-23rd, 2012
Watch for new information as it
becomes available.
*****
SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS
Contact us at: asdm@sduc.ca (or)admin@sduc.ca
St. David's Web Address - http://sduc.ca/
Listen to audio recordings of Sunday services -
http://sduc.ca/St_Davids_United_Church/Audio.html
*****
STUDY ARCHIVES
An accumulation of thirty-five books studied
since 2000 can quickly be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/6oxmyj4
This collection of study resources represents
more than a decade of Monday Night Studies at
St. David's, plus extra courses too!
You are welcome to use our course outlines,
class notes and resource pages in your personal
and group reflections.
******************************************
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice:
THIS ANGLICAN CHURCH OF OURS
Revised and Updated Edition
(with study guide by Jim Taylor)
Patricia Bays, Author.
Wood Lake Publishing, Kelowna, BC
2012. $15.96 CAD. pp. 192.
ISBN 978-1-77064-439-7.
Publishers Promo:
This book is a guide to the Anglican church
for those already travelling an Anglican path
as well as for those who wish to explore it.
Patricia Bays, who knows and loves her church,
writes about all aspects of Anglicanism in an
approachable style. She takes us from Celtic
and Tudor England through the Reformation and
Industrial Revolution to 21st century Canada
and describes how the Anglican Church has met
the challenges of change. Topics include: is
there an Anglican theology? How do Anglicans
make ethical decisions? What happens when we
become ill or die? Who are the Anglicans?
This is a book that can be read cover to cover
or simply opened up and referred to. The topics
of the 18 short chapters are self-evident and
a comprehensive glossary makes easy work of
understanding unfamiliar church language.
The book also contains a five-session study
guide written by Jim Taylor for group use.
---
Author's Words:
I was born the only child of a Scottish
Presbyterian mother and an Irish Roman Catholic
father... religious customs were part of (my)
everyday life... in the RC church I felt a strong
sense of belonging and security, and a deep
enjoyment of the mystery of worship...
My mother was refused Communion in the Roman
Catholic Church because she had sent (my sister
and me) to a Protestant school, so she decided
to attend an Anglican Church as a middle road.
I remember my terror at first entering an
Anglican church; I was sure the pope would
find out!
(Pat describes attending St. John's Anglican,
Port Whitby, ON and then Trinity College at
the University of Toronto.)
At Trinity, I found a different world. The
Prayer Book was the same. I learned new hymns
and still knew my way around the services.
But the liturgical practice was very different,
much more like the Roman tradition of my
childhood. The Eucharist was celebrated daily.
(Pat studied English Literature and Religious
Education at Trinity.)
At the end of my Arts course, I decided
to enroll in the faculty of divinity. The
ordination of women was not even thought of
in those days. There were only three women
in my divinity class.
The early 1960s were heady times. Vatican II
had opened up opportunities for discussion
between Anglicans and Catholics. The new
trends in liturgy, new understandings in
pastoral theology, and new approaches in
education and lay training were exciting.
After graduation I worked in Winnipeg as a
parish director of Christian Education. I
was married there to Eric, who was a parish
priest. Our two children were born in
Winnipeg and we learned what it meant to be
a clergy family.
We moved to Saskatoon where Eric and I both
taught at the seminary, the College of
Emmanuel and St. Chad. My husband became the
bishop of Qu'Appelle, a diocese in Southern
Saskatchewan.
I got involved in the life of the Anglican
Church of Canada on a national level and
represented the church at international
gatherings.
I enjoy opportunities to work and pray with
Christians of other denominations and am
committed to the search for unity. I can see
some of the shortcomings in the life of the
Anglican community. But I love the Anglican
Church and am committed to living and working
within this family.
I love the worship, with its ordered patterns
of prayer, the same from week to week and yet
varied according to the seasons. I love the
rhythm and music of the language of worship.
I appreciate also a certain "matter of
factness" about Anglican worship. We join
in common prayer. We join together in the
worship of God according to our accustomed
patterns.
The Anglican Church has a fine intellectual
tradition and values theological exploration.
So I appreciate the freedom to question and
explore what the church offers. I love also
the Anglican encouragement for the life of
the imagination. I want to be able to find
God through art and music and fiction and
poetry.
The growth of a very dark theology in some
denominations today puzzles me. This theology
says that the world is evil, that human beings
are sinful, that we need to separate ourselves
from this world. The Anglican position affirms
that the world and human beings are good
because they are God's creation. We must work
to bring all of humanity to its full potential
as God intended, and I rejoice that we do this
by being involved in our society.
I like the diversity that Anglicanism offers.
We try to balance order and flexibility by
not defining things too closely. Yet we
maintain a strong sense of family, of
connections, of links in worship and
structure.
Of course, many of these factors are to be
found in other denominations too, and we each
have our own reasons for membership.
I invite you to join with me in exploring what
the Anglican Church and Anglicans are like.
- from the Introduction
---
My Thoughts:
Patricia Bays experienced her formative life
and training in essentially the same Ontario
context as I did. While my mainline church
background was different from her's, the
1950's and 60's ethos that shaped us was much
the same.
While both of us grew up in what might be
called a "protestant" environment, we were
drawn to some of the strong devotional,
theological and ecclesiastical values of
the Roman Catholic Church. As she says, it
was exciting to be living in an era so
strongly influenced by Vatican II and she
had had the added benefit of spending some
of her formative years in Roman Catholicism.
Still, neither of us emerged as Catholics.
We believed, it seems, that we could grow
our ecumenical values in the non-Catholic
churches we loved.
Patricia is also, like me, one who is deeply
interested and involved in continuing adult
education. Both of us appreciate the links
between the church and the university.
Recently, she appeared in the Anglican
Journal online (February 22nd, 2012) under
the heading: "Today's Church Needs a
Theologically Literate Laity" and I encourage
you to come to know her better by reading
that article.
http://tinyurl.com/6rq6ekn
---
"This Anglican Church of Our's" - is a
new edition and modern update of a
publication by Wood Lake Books of Kelowna.
More than a score of years ago, Wood Lake
began a series introducing Canadians to
many of the Christian denominations. It
is good that the publisher is taking another
look at this series after the generation it
was first written for has evolved into new
spiritual times.
---
It is obvious that the author loves her
church and has experienced much satisfaction
as a contributing member. Like me, she grew
up in an era that did not recognize women
priests and pastors. Still, she found a way
to serve her church - while supporting her
bishop-husband - but not allowing this to
define her own unique Christian identity.
She is comfortable in her feminine role
and does not write with the "edge" of
some of her feminist contemporaries. This
is appreciated by many males of her generation
because - while we were all raised in a
decidedly paternalistic era, our mutual
commitments were for equality. We just
needed female mentors that did not threaten
us and whom we could trust!
---
As one who is not an Anglican, but who
shares with her a strong appreciation for
the cultural, theological and liturgical
traditions of Anglicanism, it was refreshing
to read the author's basic, uncluttered way
of describing her faith tradition.
---
Another dimension of this book that appeals
to me is the way she treats the challenges
facing contemporary Anglicanism. While she
is quite aware of the problems, she is not
consumed by them. Like me, I believe her
church will emerge the stronger because of
them.
---
Some readers may find they are drawn for
the first time into the Anglican family.
Others, like me, will be the better for
having read this book and applying it to
our relations with Anglicans and their
communities of faith.
___
Buy the book from Woodlake Press:
http://tinyurl.com/7hrwzlw
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
BETH PORTER
Richmond Hill, ON
Our Human Future
Spring, 2012
"The Art of L’Arche Members"
Interview with Jacquie Boughner
http://tinyurl.com/72we4vw
*****
MICHAEL HIGGINS
Fairfield, CT
Globe and Mail
April 2nd, 2012
Anglican Rowan Williams Showed Wisdom
"An Enlightened Archbishop"
http://tinyurl.com/6o7dn98
*****
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Wednesday April 4, 2012
"Finding Symbols for Special Times"
http://tinyurl.com/7rtk6o9
*****
MARTIN MARTY
Chicago, IL
Sightings
April 2nd, 2012
"Ecumenical Realities"
http://tinyurl.com/6w2s7no
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
EASTER'S REAL MEANING
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
April 3rd, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7qwatnb
*****
ARTIST SCULPTS GOSPELS
Comes from My Home Town
Christianweek.org
April 5th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7kx2gzr
*****
WHERE WAS JESUS BURIED?
How Important is this?
Ecumenical News International
April 5th, 2012
Jerusalem (ENI news) - During Holy Week,
Christians remember the familiar story
of Jesus' death and resurrection. But
exactly where does that story take place?
The Bible offers only a few clues. "The
Gospels weren't really written to record
a history," the Rev. Mark Morozowich,
acting dean of the School of Theology
and Religious Studies at the Catholic
University of America, told the television
program "Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly,"
broadcast on the U.S. Public Broadcasting
System and reported by Religion News Service.
"They were written to provide a testimony
of faith," he said.
---
Longer version of this story:
Anglican Journal
April 5th, 2012
LINK
*****
WILL JESUS SAVE NEWSWEEK?
Front Cover Story Strategy
The Atlantic Wire
April 2nd, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6snw3pl
*****
'THREE CUPS OF TEA' AUTHOR
PROBED AND CENSORED OVER FUNDS
Globe and Mail
April 6th, 7th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/3px5sfu
Reuters News Service
April 7th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/72j5j24
*****
POPE DENOUNCES 'DISOBEDIENCE'
OF REFORMIST CATHOLIC CLERGY
He Opposes Women and Married Priests
Globe and Mail
April 6th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6o7dn98
*****
THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU UPSET
What We Need, Not What We Like
Uca News
April 3rd, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/72om5m8
*****
WHAT DID JESUS DO ON HOLY SATURDAY?
Religious News Service
April 2nd, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/84hea8t
*****
A REFLECTION ON 'THE HUNGER GAMES'
Literature and Film Offer Insight
Sightings
April 5th, 201
"Reckoning Reality in The Hunger Games"
by Emanuelle Burton
http://tinyurl.com/7qjm2nn
*****
JUDGE ORDERS KANSAS CITY BISHOP
TO STAND TRIAL IN ABUSE CASE
Historic Legal Decision
National Catholic Reporter
April 5th, 2012
Open with Mozilla Firefox:
http://tinyurl.com/6qcejve
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
2 April 2012
Catholic priest gives bird's eye
tour of Jerusalem from rooftop
Jerusalem (ENI news) - With Holy Week
approaching, pilgrims in Jerusalem
interested in the city's numerous holy
sites can see them from a unique vantage
point: a rooftop where a Catholic priest
mixes humor and Biblical history to bring
the city to life. From the terrace of the
Notre Dame Guest House, run by the
Legionnaires of Christ, Fr. Eamon Kelly
helps visitors connect from above the
sites they have visited on foot, letting
them see the locations in relation to
one another.
_____
Film about Argentinian 'tragic events'
receives award
(ENI news) - The film "Verdades Verdaderas"
or "True Truths," about the Grandmothers of
the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina
who sought answers when their children and
grandchildren disappeared under military
rule, was awarded on 2 April the SIGNIS-WACC
Human Rights Award in Toronto. The Rev. Karin
Achtelstetter, general secretary of the World
Association for Christian Communication (WACC),
and Alvito De Souza, secretary general of
SIGNIS-World, the World Catholic Association
for Communication, announced the award at a
joint meeting at WACC's headquarters.
*****
3 April 2012
Passover traditions reflect
ethnic, regional customs
(ENI news) - When most Jewish families sit
down for the Passover seder on 6 April, it's
a safe bet that they'll eat matzo, ask the
traditional Four Questions and tell the
biblical story of the Exodus from Egypt.
It's less likely that they'll be hitting
one another with scallions. Or saving a bit
of matzo, the unleavened Passover bread, as
a talisman for travels. Or averting their
eyes as the seder leader recites the 10
plagues that God inflicted upon the Egyptians.
Most American Passover traditions come from
the 80 percent of Jews who trace their roots
to Eastern and Central Europe in the Ashkenazi
branch of Judaism. But others from the far-
flung Jewish Diaspora incorporate traditions
from their homelands, and they're often
different from the traditional Passover
fare.
_____
Myanmar election results
greeted with wary optimism
(ENI news)- Although Myanmar opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy (NLD) won most of
the seats in parliamentary by-elections
on 1 April, the results were greeted with
wary optimism by Christian organizations.
"This is just the beginning and there is
still a very long way to go," said
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW),
the London-based organization working
for religious freedom through advocacy
and human rights. CSW had earlier reported
that the Myanmar army ransacked a village
church and broke up a Christian conference.
The southeast Asian nation has been under
military control since 1962. Although an
election was held last year, the military
retains an overwhelming majority in the
legislature.
_____
British chocolate maker
includes Easter story with treats
(ENI news) - As baskets of chocolate,
stuffed bunnies and egg coloring appear
in stores, it seems as though Easter is
becoming more of a springtime festival
than a solemn, though joyous, Christian
observance. However, the Meaningful
Chocolate Company, based in Manchester,
England, believes that while candy is
dandy, the real meaning of Easter should
be part of the seasonal treats. Its four
ounce (125 gram) milk chocolate Real
Easter Egg includes the story of Jesus'
resurrection on the package and part of
the price (four British pounds) includes
a charitable donation.
*****
4 April 2012
Sudanese bishop says peace depends
on lifestyle change
(ENI news) - In South Sudan, clashes
among nomadic cattle-raising tribes
in Jonglei state have killed thousands,
but an evangelical Christian leader says
encouraging the communities' permanent
settlement will end the bloody circle
of conflicts. Bishop Elias Taban of the
Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South
Sudan said the state had enough natural
resources to support a changed lifestyle,
a development that will also increase
security. "We can use the resources
Jonglei has instead of having to wander
anywhere for the sake of cattle ...
[and] the police cannot police people
if they are nomadic and do not have a
permanent residence," Taban said while
addressing a South Sudan Tribal Peace
Conference held 1-3 April in the town
of Yei.
_____
Vatican praises Buddhism for
the 'wisdom' it teaches its young
Rome (ENI news) - The Vatican this
week reached out to Buddhists on
the occasion of the feast of Vesak-
Hanamatsuri, or Buddha's birthday,
with praise for the faith's outreach
to the young. In a letter, the Holy
See said that Buddhists and Catholics
shared the goal of educating the young
within the respective faiths. The letter
is in line with increased visibility for
the Vatican's relationship with other
faiths in recent weeks.
_____
Orthodox patriarch hits at
"unacceptable" attacks on ecumenism
(ENI news) - The spiritual leader of
the world's Orthodox Christians has
written to Greece's Orthodox state
church, deploring anti-ecumenical
statements by its leaders. "Critical
voices about ecumenism, long heard in
the bosom of the church of Greece, have
hitherto been limited in scope - but
what has occurred recently has reached
unacceptable levels," said Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.
In a late March letter, the patriarch said
he was especially concerned by a recent
statement by Metropolitan Seraphim
(Mentzelopoulos) of Piraeus, invoking
an "anathema" against the pope,
Protestants, Jews, Muslims and
ecumenists.
_____
Lutheran groups explore common
observances of Reformation anniversary
Geneva (ENI news) - Representatives of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and
the International Lutheran Council (ILC)
said they will continue discussing joint
commemorations of the 500th anniversary
in 2017 of the Protestant Reformation.
In a communique following their annual
meeting, 27-29 March in Geneva, the ILC
and LWF stated they had discussed a number
of positive developments that had taken
place among their member churches since
they last met in 2008. In view of the
Reformation anniversary, they expressed
the hope to work together through seminars,
educational events and publications, and
agreed to update each other on their
continuing plans, according to a news
release from the LWF.
*****
5 April 2012
French Christians urged to mark
Easter together on one date
Paris (ENI news) - The Council of
Christian Churches in France (CECEF)
has urged Christians to "gather together
locally" to celebrate Easter on 15 April,
as a show of unity in a year when Easter
is being observed on two Sundays, a week
apart. "It's disappointing that each
church will be doing its own services
on different dates, but we're encouraging
people to hold events together," said
Carol Saba, a spokesman for the Assembly
of the Orthodox Bishops of France.
_____
Nigerian churches increase
security for Easter weekend
Lagos, Nigeria (ENI news) - Ahead of Easter
celebrations, churches in Northern Nigeria
have beefed up their security to avert any
possible attack by radical Islamist groups.
"We are aware that they can choose to strike
at a time like this, like they have done in
the past. That is why churches in the North
have taken the advice of the President of
the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
to ensure that they are not caught unawares,"
Pastor Ladi Thompson, CAN special adviser on
conflict resolution and terrorism, told
ENInews.
_____
New Zealand church sets up
provocative Crucifixion billboard
(ENI news) - A New Zealand church's latest
provocative billboard shows a picture of a
crucified Jesus on a Facebook page, with
the image "liked" by Judas Iscariot, the
disciple who betrayed Jesus. "We decided
to make a joke about the propensity of
Christians to lay blame," said the Rev.
Glynn Cardy, vicar of St. Matthew's-in-
the-City Anglican church in downtown
Auckland. "Who was to blame for Jesus'
death?" he said in a video interview on
the www.stuff.co.nz media website.
_____
Philippine church leaders say
crucifixion reenactments are unnecessary
Baguio City, Philippines (ENI news) - On
Good Friday each year in some areas of
the Philippines, Christians reenact the
crucifixion as a sign of repentance or
thanks. But Roman Catholic and Protestant
leaders say the practice is unnecessary.
"Our identification with Christ should be
internal…more about spiritual renewal,"
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma of the Catholic
Bishops Conference told the church-run
Radio Veritas.
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
April 2nd, 2012
“It must be that when God speaketh God
should communicate, not one thing, but
all things; should fill the world with
God’s voice; should scatter forth light,
nature, time, souls, from the center of
the present thought; and new date and
new create the whole.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
---
April 3rd, 2012
“After the grueling work of the commission
I came away with a deep sense – indeed an
exhilarating realization – that, although
there is undoubtedly much evil about, we
humans have a wonderful capacity for good.
We can be very good. That is what fills me
with hope for even the most intractable
situations.”
- Desmond Tutu from his book
"No Future Without Forgiveness"
---
April 4th, 2012
“Those with whom Jesus identifies himself
are regarded by society as misfits. And yet
Jesus is that person who is hungry; Jesus
is that woman who is confused and naked.
Wouldn’t it be extraordinary if we all
discovered that? The face of the world
would be changed.”
- Jean Vanier from,
"From Brokenness to Community"
---
April 5th, 2012
“Helping, fixing, and serving represent
three different ways of seeing life. When
you help, you see life as weak. When you
fix, you see life as broken. When you
serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and
helping may be the work of the ego, and
service the work of the soul.”
- Rachel Naomi Remen from her book
"A Time for Listening and Caring"
---
April 6th, 2012
“[God] if he, the Christ, were Thy Reveler/
Truly the First Begotten of the Lord,/
Then must Thou be a Suff’rer and a Healer,/
Pierced to the heart by the sorrow of the sword./
Then must it mean, not only that thy sorrow/
Smote Thee that once upon the lonely tree,/
But that today, tonight, and on the morrow,/
Still will it come O Gallant God, to Thee.”
- G.A. Studdert Kennedy from his book
"The Suffering God"
*****
ON THIS DAY
Provided from the archives of
the New York Times
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed
the Marshall Plan, which allocated more
than $5 billion in aid for 16 European
countries.
http://tinyurl.com/87s3d78
---
On April 4, 1968 - civil rights leader
Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to
death in Memphis, Tenn.
http://tinyurl.com/7jplbrc
---
On April 6, 1909 - explorers Robert E. Peary
and Matthew A. Henson became the first men
to reach the North Pole. The claim, disputed
by skeptics, was upheld in 1989 by the
Navigation Foundation.
http://tinyurl.com/73ed4mr
*****
CLOSING THUOGHT
"From suffering I have learned this:
That whoever is sore wounded by love
will never be made whole unless she
embrace the same love that wounded her.
- Mechtild of Magdeburg
This paradoxical teaching from Mechtild
is about loving our enemies and embracing
our wounds. It also reminds us that all
our deepest wounds come from love itself.
Betrayal, for example, only happens because
love and truth existed in the first place.
But her medicine is to embrace the love
that wounds us. This is harder, but more
effective than being in denial, taking a
pill, or burying our anger in bitterness,
wouldn't you say?
- Matthew Fox
(end)
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