Show and Tell

There are several things that I've seen this week that I want to share with everyone:

First of all, for a brief three days, the monarch butterflies hovered in our yard during their annual migration. It's nice, just for a few days, to be greeted by clouds of excitable butterflies when you walk through the yard!

On my way to capture the monarchs in action, I ran across my cat. You can see that she likes morning about as much as I do:

Finally, as if I needed more evidence that my roommate is the epitome of forbearance, check out what I left in the fridge for way too long:


(It used to be rice. Ick.)

***

Today in chapel we sang songs from the Taize community. Since the Taize spirit is in the air, I thought I'd share a quote from Brother Roger's book of meditations, Peace of Heart in All Things.

Every human being yearns to be loved as well as to love. It is not for nothing that the Gospel alerts us about not becoming locked up in isolation.

When we are listened to, obstacles created by frustrations of the heart and wounds from a recent or distant past fall away. Being listened to is the beginning of a healing of the soul.

And the breath of a trust arises... and a gateway to freedom begins to open up.

The Point of No Return

[No, as much as I like the Phantom of the Opera, that's not what this post is about. Sorry to disappoint any Phantom fans out there. Also sorry to those who don't get the reference to Phantom and just wish I'd get on with the post...]

I'm writing a paper on the history of the Taize community for Church History, so I thought I'd read some of their primary documents before checking out secondary sources. I'm enjoying it so much it doesn't feel like school work. Yea! The following excerpt is from The Sources of Taize, by Brother Roger, the founder of that community. Enjoy!

Committing ourselves to the point of no return

When Christ asks you, "For you, who am I?" suppose you were to reply:

"Christ Jesus, you are the One who loves me into the life of eternity.

"You open for me the way of risk. You are expecting from me not just a few crumbs, but the whole of my life.

"You are praying within me, day and night. My stammerings are prayer; simply calling you by the Name of Christ Jesus fills the empty places in my heart.

"You place on my finger the ring of the prodigal son, the ring of festival.

"And for my part, might I have 'exchanged the radiance of God for half-heartedness? Have I abandoned the source of living water and dug myself cracked cisterns that hold no water?'

"Christ, tirelessly you were seeking me.

"Why did I hesitate, asking for time to look after my own affairs? Once I had put my hand to the plow, why did I look back?

"And yet, though I have never seen you, I loved you, perhaps not as I would have liked to, but I did love you.

"Christ Jesus, you were suggesting to me, 'Live the very little of the Gospel that you have understood. Proclaim my life among humanity. Come, follow me.'

"Until one day, returning to the source, I understood. You were asking me to commit myself to the point of no return."