Friday January 17, “what amazes you with joy”
I’ve found the week’s news wore me down some. Lots of slam-bang excitement at the new-look Cobo Center’s auto show; a roller-coaster ride with Detroit’s bankruptcy proceedings as its process approaches deal makers and deal breakers; Congress passing a spending bill that lasts longer than 4 weeks; first moves by Detroit’s new mayor; sifting the governor’s State of the State for clues; waiting for word about UDMPU/UDM; 2 young basketball teams playing & learning in Calihan . . . boatloads of events looking for attention.
I need to pay attention to more ordinary commitments as well: a friend’s teen ager who passed her state math test second time around, thrilling herself and her mom; another friend whose supervisor passed along the Springsteen-Buffet slam on Governor Christie’s traffic jam, knowing that their tastes are similar, “a good supervisor for me”; loads of friends sick and tired of being sick and tired; some friends living with grief over a beloved presence passing. Friday is a good day to breathe a little, and savor a week full of living, to notice stuff.
Many Jesuits consider Pedro Arrupe one of their life heroes. He was elected Superior General in 1965 and led the world wide Jesuits out into a new identity — to fall in love with the world and commit ourselves to living “a faith that does justice.” He died in 1981 and comes close to defining what the word “saint” means to me. Here’s a saying attributed to him. Have a good weekend.
john st sj
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you will do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love; stay in love,
and it will decide everything.
Pedro Arrupe s.j.