Friday, November 25, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Good-Byes
From an e-mail to two friends days before leaving St. Louis:
Hello my dear A and L,
Okay, one week countdown! It seems so crazy and sometimes, if I think TOO hard about it, it makes me want to cry a little...
Regardless, because of that I really want to make sure that I organize myself well so that I have time to pack, meet with dear friends (like you!), buy a few more things for the voyage
(plus figure out this diploma and apostille thing)
Sooo... I was wondering when L got to STL- and when would be the best time/day to grab some coffee or whatever... I do want to make sure I write some sort of farewell card/letter and to do it all with plenty of time and with peace
In the meantime how are you girls doing?!
Peace and Prayers,
Sofia
Okay, one week countdown! It seems so crazy and sometimes, if I think TOO hard about it, it makes me want to cry a little...
Regardless, because of that I really want to make sure that I organize myself well so that I have time to pack, meet with dear friends (like you!), buy a few more things for the voyage
(plus figure out this diploma and apostille thing) Sooo... I was wondering when L got to STL- and when would be the best time/day to grab some coffee or whatever... I do want to make sure I write some sort of farewell card/letter and to do it all with plenty of time and with peace
In the meantime how are you girls doing?!
Peace and Prayers,
Sofia
I can still close my eyes and picture L and A, of places in St. Louis (or even the U.S.) I know I would have liked to have seen with them. I still remember the pressure of the "one week countdown", in my mind (and heart) knowing I wasn't quite sure when I would see those things I loved again. I am grateful for trying to rejoice as much as I could those few last months in St. Louis because it forced me to value that much more what was once a routine. I am grateful today, 7 months later after sending that e-mail, grateful of the richness and growth it has brought, grateful that even if a few years must pass before I can see and touch all that I left, God is blessing each person, making him/her more like His image, or so I pray. And yes, even 7 months later, if I think about it TOO hard I still want to cry a bit...
Thursday, November 3, 2011
A Word on Trancendence....
A friend of mine shared with me the video below. It's a simple (and yet beautiful!) clip of a few Dominican friars praying in Washington D.C. the U.S. capital. I had seen this video about a year ago, while still in St. Louis and before actually visiting D.C. myself a few months later.
I was reminded of transcendence in three aspects:
1- The actual beauty of the clip, the solemnity of the instrumentals, the solitary presence of the barren trees in the background, the long black flow of the capuces, the frigid air you can almost feel from simply observing their prayer. The clip has a timelessness, an essence of the depth of prayer and our own solitude, of our own solidarity in prayer, for others, with others.
2-I was reminded of prayer with the Dominicans in St. Louis, of their formation for prayer in the hallway, of their brief chant. I was reminded of snow, of a Thanksgiving reception at their formation house and those same black capuces being present there with the same frigidness as of the clip. I was reminded of a beautiful formality and ritual. A city where a 15-year old Sofia had experienced Gregorian chant with Benedictine monks at a candle-lit All Saints Vigil, where 18-year old Sofia had been blessed to share the anticipation of Christ's arrival in an Easter Vigil with a community of Carmelite sisters shortly before her departure. The video reminded me of a transcendence in my own faith formation in the past and the events in which God had given me obvious consolations and gratitude.
3-I was also reminded that although I appreciated the beauty of the clip, with all of the cinematic aspects that contributed to the sense of transcendence, I recognized a more "raw" transcendence. A raw transcendence in knowing that whatever nostalgia arrived from the clip was truly simply one aspect of the fullness of faith, devotion and truth. I, writing this, am far from the place, culture, climate etc depicted in the video and yet, in the small parish a few blocks away, in the solitude, in the loneliness, lack of structure/formality of religious ceremonies, in the dullness of daily life, in the apparent "disenchantment" I have found a greater honesty with myself. A realization that transcendence is simply an honest desire to relish in God and to be patient enough to allow for it before my own fears/stubbornness/incredibility corrupts that disposition.
Alas, here is the clip, enjoy!
** De Profundis, ("Out of the depths") the title, makes a reference to Psalm 130, and is traditionally sung/prayed when remembering those that have passed away, at least with my experience of prayer with the Dominicans in St. Louis.
I was reminded of transcendence in three aspects:
1- The actual beauty of the clip, the solemnity of the instrumentals, the solitary presence of the barren trees in the background, the long black flow of the capuces, the frigid air you can almost feel from simply observing their prayer. The clip has a timelessness, an essence of the depth of prayer and our own solitude, of our own solidarity in prayer, for others, with others.
2-I was reminded of prayer with the Dominicans in St. Louis, of their formation for prayer in the hallway, of their brief chant. I was reminded of snow, of a Thanksgiving reception at their formation house and those same black capuces being present there with the same frigidness as of the clip. I was reminded of a beautiful formality and ritual. A city where a 15-year old Sofia had experienced Gregorian chant with Benedictine monks at a candle-lit All Saints Vigil, where 18-year old Sofia had been blessed to share the anticipation of Christ's arrival in an Easter Vigil with a community of Carmelite sisters shortly before her departure. The video reminded me of a transcendence in my own faith formation in the past and the events in which God had given me obvious consolations and gratitude.
3-I was also reminded that although I appreciated the beauty of the clip, with all of the cinematic aspects that contributed to the sense of transcendence, I recognized a more "raw" transcendence. A raw transcendence in knowing that whatever nostalgia arrived from the clip was truly simply one aspect of the fullness of faith, devotion and truth. I, writing this, am far from the place, culture, climate etc depicted in the video and yet, in the small parish a few blocks away, in the solitude, in the loneliness, lack of structure/formality of religious ceremonies, in the dullness of daily life, in the apparent "disenchantment" I have found a greater honesty with myself. A realization that transcendence is simply an honest desire to relish in God and to be patient enough to allow for it before my own fears/stubbornness/incredibility corrupts that disposition.
Alas, here is the clip, enjoy!
** De Profundis, ("Out of the depths") the title, makes a reference to Psalm 130, and is traditionally sung/prayed when remembering those that have passed away, at least with my experience of prayer with the Dominicans in St. Louis.
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