Jan 2018 The Road to Daybreak A Spiritual Journey by Henri J M Nouwen

(Continue from) Trusting the First Love   Tonight I celebrated my last Tuesday Mass for the English-speaking people in the community. Quite a few visitors came, and there was a spirit of quiet, joyful celebration. Coming "home" to Trosly has not been easy for me. After the long trip, I felt a need to be truly welcomed back. But with so many people coming and going, the permanent members of the community often cannot pay attention to everyone's needs. What I have learned is that God's unlimited love often expresses itself through the limited love of God's people. This means concretely that we broken, sinful people need to confess and forgive day in and day out, and thus continue to reveal a love that we ourselves cannot make true. Over and over again we experience moments of disappointment and disillusionment which can lead to resentment and feelings of anger unless we keep confessing our unfulfilled needs and forgiving each other for not being God for each other. Thus, a community in which confession and forgiveness is a way of life keeps us close to Jesus, who calls us together to make his divine love known. Today's celebration became an occasion for me to express my own struggles and help others recognize their own. As I looked around the circle, I realized that this small congregation contained representatives from at least six different countries. We knew each other only superficially, but around the word of Christ and his body and blood we became an intimate community of people able to express to each other the unlimited and unconditional love, the "first love" of God. I marvelled at this mystery, and I started to feel its healing effect in my heart.

- To Be Continued - © Copyright Shalom 2018. All rights reserved.