“This new life of Christ is new wholeness, new patterns of
relationships to other beings and to the cosmos. The life of Jesus sets the pattern: mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation,
prayer, charity, justice, peace, sympathy, tears, joy, sorrow, an engaged life
with other human beings, with creatures, with nature and the stars and
creation. It is awakening to our
relatedness to the earth, to other creatures and assuming our responsibility in
this earthly relationship:
solidarity with the poor, compassion with the suffering, hospitality for
the stranger, treating each and every creature with utmost dignity. It also means living sufficiently
without consuming excess amounts of vital resources, conscious that we share
this planet with diverse peoples, creatures and elements. “-- Ilia Delio, The Emergent Christ pp 94-95
The new possibilities for life and relationship that I am invited into today are evolving from an awareness of the needs of so many who are grieving losses. Our community prayer yesterday at St. Joseph Priory called upon St. Joseph as Our Patron of a Happy Death. That phrase "a happy death" strikes me as beautifully poetic. It is something I think we all hope for in the end. I've been thinking about that today and praying for those who have recently died and those who are fighting for survival. My faith teaches me to look forward with hope to eternal life and gives me sufficient hope to live without fear, a strong degree of detachment and a deep source of inner peacefulness. These are what I share with you today.
