Hello everyone. I hope you are well and keeping safe.
I head up to Rockland County today to celebrate the funeral Mass of an old friend, Mike Mahoney. I am convinced that in addition to having cancer, he died of a broken heart when his wife died a few years ago. He was one of those quiet, loving, unassuming men who did their best and hoped to pass off the scene thinking nobody noticed.
Well, many of us noticed Mike!
Today I am happy to share a quote with you from the Franciscan Media Center that made me think of an old joke. You might have heard this before: Pope John XXIII was in his office one day when his secretary came in and told him that Jesus had returned and was making his way to the Vatican being only a town and a few minutes away. The secretary said with great discomfort, “What shall we do, Holy Father?” “What shall I say to the staff?” The pope replied, “Tell everyone to look busy!”
Enjoy the day. Here is the refreshing quote from Terry Hershey:
A Hasidic rabbi was interrupted by one of his followers while he was tending his garden, “What would you do, rabbi,” the student asked, “if you knew the messiah was coming today?” Stroking his beard and pursing his lips, the rabbi replied, “Well, I would continue to water my garden.”
So, before we decipher life, let us see life.
Before we wish for another life, let us feel this life.
Before we give in to “if only,” let us listen to this moment.
Before we succumb to “someday,” let us inhale this day.
Before we trade in this life for the life we “should” have, let us taste this life.
Each of the above is a choice; a choice to be open. To be available. To be curious. To be alive. To be willing to be surprised by joy. To know there is power in the word enough.
—from the book This Is the Life: Mindfulness, Finding Grace, and the Power of the Present Moment by Terry Hershey