2011 AUG Clothesline

Greetings to all on 10 AUG 2011


Word for the Day
Liturgy - A prescribed form or set of forms for public religious worship. [1]

Quote for the Day
"You don't think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking." — Henri J.M. Nouwen [2]

Website for the Day
http://www.henrinouwen.org/ Site for more information about Henri Nouwen

Thought for the Day
I just finished an encore reading of Can You Drink The Cup? by Henri Nouwen. He served as a Catholic priest for many years, teaching at Notre Dame, Harvard and Yale. During the last ten years of his life, Dr. Nouwen lived and worked among handicapped people at L’Arche Daybreak in Toronto. His willingness to step down from academia to work among the “least of these” always spoke to me about Nouwen’s life as a servant-leader. Like most of us, he had his own “demons” with which to contend, one of them being an ongoing battle with depression. He was born in Holland in 1932 and died, unexpectedly, from a heart attack in 1996.

Nouwen presents three stages to drinking the Eucharistic cup: holding, lifting and drinking. First, we must hold the cup, reflecting on what has been poured into our own cup. What joys and sorrows have come our way? What have we done with these events and emotions? How have they shaped our life? We must own them; we cannot ignore them or hope they will go away.

Just as the first drinks are lifted to toast a special occasion, we also must lift our cup for all to see its contents. We celebrate our life together – both the delightful and the painful moments. The toast often marks a new beginning; each Eucharist marks a new beginning for the Christian. We hold the cup in a moment of transparency so that all may see us for who we really are.

Finally, we drink the cup, not just a sip but all the way to the bottom. We accept our life even while offering it to God. We must gladly embrace the sweet aroma from the crushed grapes as well as the bitterness of the dregs. Sadly, our Eucharistic liturgy allows, even encourages, us to bypass all such reflections. Perhaps you could employ this practice within your small group.

May God Bless
Mike Toole
Adrienne Owen, ed.

1. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/liturgy
2. http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4837.Henri_J_M_Nouwen