A beautiful message! Here's a line that inspires me to slow down and reflect more this season...
"Our Formation begins here, in the contemplation of the face of Jesus Christ, wrapped in swaddling cloths, kissed by Mary of Nazareth and embraced by Joseph. It is on this child's face that we can read that God is love (1Jn 4:16),..."
Especially identifying the three-fold source of our hope -- what a wonderful mirror of the Trinity! We find our hope in our shared paternity, children of the Father. We find hope in our common son-ship, united with brothers and sisters in mutual dependency. And we find hope in the renewal of the face of the Earth, quite literally, in a spirit of newness, imagination, and "inspiration".
Three fonts of our hope, inseparable yet distinct, each flowing into the other in deep interrelationship. We are called to remake our world, and our hearts, to mirror God's own inner nature. What a vocation!
Relationship and a culture of encounter: Hope for our world, as Pope Francis reminds us, has its basis in love, in friendship, in solidarity. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan does not stop to ask why this bad thing has happened to a fellow human being. He asks, in a strongly Franciscan manner, “What am I called to do?” And he does it.
“Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfilment, a desire to achieve great things, things that fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love… Hope is bold; it can look beyond personal convenience, the petty securities and compensations which limit our horizon, and it can open us up to grand ideals that make life more beautiful and worthwhile” (FT 55).
In the tender compassion of our God, The Dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, And to guide our way into the path of peace. Luke 1: 76
A beautiful message! Here's a line that inspires me to slow down and reflect more this season...
ReplyDelete"Our Formation begins here, in the contemplation of the face of Jesus Christ, wrapped in swaddling cloths, kissed by Mary of Nazareth and embraced by Joseph. It is on this child's face that we can read that God is love (1Jn 4:16),..."
Peace and good to all this Christmas!
I found this message very moving and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteEspecially identifying the three-fold source of our hope -- what a wonderful mirror of the Trinity!
We find our hope in our shared paternity, children of the Father.
We find hope in our common son-ship, united with brothers and sisters in mutual dependency.
And we find hope in the renewal of the face of the Earth, quite literally, in a spirit of newness, imagination, and "inspiration".
Three fonts of our hope, inseparable yet distinct, each flowing into the other in deep interrelationship. We are called to remake our world, and our hearts, to mirror God's own inner nature. What a vocation!
God bless our Ministers' General!
ReplyDeleteRelationship and a culture of encounter: Hope for our world, as Pope Francis reminds us, has its basis in love, in friendship, in solidarity. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan does not stop to ask why this bad thing has happened to a fellow human being. He asks, in a strongly Franciscan manner, “What am I called to do?” And he does it.
“Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration,
a longing for a life of fulfilment, a desire to
achieve great things, things that fill our heart
and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth,
goodness and beauty, justice and love…
Hope is bold; it can look beyond personal
convenience, the petty securities and
compensations which limit our horizon, and
it can open us up to grand ideals that make
life more beautiful and worthwhile” (FT 55).
In the tender compassion of our God,
The Dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
And to guide our way into the path of peace.
Luke 1: 76
Morning has Broken! Merry Christmas.