Thursday, March 01, 2007

Entering Loss

From my class notes this week:
"When we sit with people who are in dark places, or even allow ourselves to feel the grief and loss of this time--we are part of the same holy work that the women offer when they bring spices to the tomb of their beloved Jesus. A widowed friend said recently that grief in suffering is inevitable but mourning is a choice to name what has happened to us. And perhaps it is the choosing to mourn what is lost, that allows the movement forward into what might be new in Christ to appear. The rhythm of redeeming grace might be slow in what feels like a tomb or a death, but the rhythm continues."
Henri Nouwen writes:

Mourn, my people mourn.»? Let your pain rise up in your heart and burst forth in you with sobs and cries.»? Mourn for the silence that exists between you and your spouse.»? Mourn for the absence of soft embrace, an intimate friendship, a life-giving sexuality.»? Mourn for the abuse of your body, your mind, your heart.»? Mourn for the bitterness of your children, the indifference of your friends, and your colleagues" hardness of heart ...Cry for freedom, for salvation, for redemption.»? Cry loudly and deeply, and trust that your tears will make your eyes see that the Kingdom is close at hand, yes, at your fingertips.

Nouwen, Henri quoted in The Holy Longing:»? The Search for a Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser,»? New York:»? Doubleday, 1999,

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