Sunday, October 26, 2014

Singing for my daddy...

After a full weekend of family sharing, storytelling and sacred feasting, it is time to head home... I love these people so very much.
There is a gravitas in the second half of life, but it is now held up by a much deeper lightness, or “okayness.” Our mature years are characterized by a kind of bright sadness and a sober happiness, if that makes any sense. There is still darkness in the second half of life—in fact maybe even more. But there is now a changed capacity to hold it creatively and with less anxiety. It is what John of the Cross called “luminous darkness,” and it explains the simultaneous coexistence of deep suffering and intense joy that we see in the saints, which is almost impossible for most of us to imagine. (Richard Rohr)

4 comments:

Peter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peter said...

Maybe one of the differences between youth and age is that we of age perceive that darkness and light, sorrow and joy, are not separate, but parts of one thing. I wi with you, James.

Peter said...

"Wi" should read "sing".

RJ said...

Thanks, my man.

all saints and souls day before the election...

NOTE: It's been said that St. Francis encouraged his monastic partners to preach the gospel at all times - using words only when neces...