From Brother Paul Quenon of the Abbey of Gethsemane: Contemplation is simply maybe a big fat word for gratitude. To sense the presence of God in life and around me and in other people gives me a very deep gratitude. Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, May 6, 2011 If contemplation is gratitude, it may be that [...]
Category Archive for 'Goodness'
Wonderful God
Posted in Cenacle, Goodness, Religious life on Sep 20th, 2009
The expression “good God!” is often not a prayer. But when Saint Therese Couderc used the words, “good God” – and she used them often – it was with reverence. She knew God was good. And she knew that all that God has made is good. Saint Therese, co-founder of the Sisters of the Cenacle, [...]
Random Acts of Kindness
Posted in Goodness, Religious life on Oct 7th, 2008
Well acquainted with the everyday graciousness of my Cenacle community, I tend to take their kindness for granted. The kindness of strangers, however, can reawaken me to the Goodness at the heart of the universe. Here are four recent examples — small actions, but not insignificant, for kindness is never insignificant: After I filled the [...]
June 2006 Sister Elizabeth and I recently returned from New Orleans, our first visit there since Hurricane Katrina. Our own house, the Cenacle Retreat House on the lakefront in Metairie, was spared major damage. Unlike other parts of town — Lakeview and St. Bernard Parish in particular— most buildings in our neighborhood look unchanged — [...]
What Does the Resurrection Mean for Us?
Posted in Goodness, Mercy, Resurrection on May 17th, 2006
What does the Resurrection of Jesus mean for us? And why does it mean something for our own lives and not just the life of one holy God-man? First, the Resurrection shows us that Goodness is in control of the universe. Huston Smith puts it this way: “Jesus’s resurrection was not about the fate of [...]