Faith & Life Inspirational Message

In a reading for class I hit a line in Kathleen Norris’ book, The Cloister Walk , that struck a chord in me.   I know I had read the passage before, but somehow it never hit me like it did this time.   It is in a chapter Norris calls, “Generations.”   The chapter talks about how there are generations of monks within a monastery, just like there can be generations within a family.   I never thought about that, but it rings true.             Norris begins a paragraph with these words.   “Monastic storytelling is a form of gossip, and like the best gossip, it often serves a moral purpose.” I had to laugh at that thought.   Most people I know probably do gossip (as I confess to doing on occasion), but probably most of us would deny that we do it!   Norris then moves on to indicate there are some dangers in the monastic life.   And I don’t doubt that.   Then she writes the line that I very ...

Stories often communicate big ideas more effectively than extended commentaries in flowery prose.   So let me begin with a story about language of the Spirit.   However good the story is, its connection to the language of the Spirit is implicit.   I will have to offer some commentary to make that clear. I’ll preface the story by saying that I know a few languages.   At one point, I was nearly fluent in German, having spent a year in Germany at a university.   However, like so many things, if you don’t use it, it becomes very rusty.   When it comes to speaking and reading German now, I feel like a cripple.   And I can read two or three other languages, thanks to requirements to get my doctoral degree.   The story I want to tell necessitates knowing some Portuguese, which I do not. Portuguese is necessary because the story took place in Brazil.   On numerous occasions I joined my colleague for a short teaching excursion to Curitiba, B...