People who have faith in life are like swimmers who entrust themselves to a rushing river. They neither abandon themselves to its current nor try to resist it. Rather, they adjust their every movement to the watercourse, use it with purpose and skill, and enjoy the adventure.
– David Steindl-Rast
And surfers, likewise, trust themselves to the waves
The Spanish countryside and bright red poppies, with which St. Teresa would have become well accustomed on her journeys
Saint Teresa of Avila was a very strong woman who reformed the Carmelite Order, and is one of the three women doctors of the Church, along with Saints Therese of Lisieux (another Carmelite) and Catherine of Siena (a Dominican).
For prayer is nothing else than being on the terms of friendship with God.
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
– Thomas Merton
Le Louvre et le Pont-Neuf, by Maximilien Luce in Musee D’Orsay
I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to be found and lost than Paris. And the impressionist work in Musee D’Orsay is wonderful to behold. I found this piece to be especially inviting.
When we persevere with the help of a gentle discipline, we slowly come to hear the still, small voice and to feel the delicate breeze, and so to come to know the presence of Love.
Wholeheartedness is a precious gift, but no one can actually give it to you. You have to find the path that has heart and then walk it impeccably….It’s like someone laughing in your ear, challenging you to figure out what to do when you don’t know what to do. It humbles you. It opens your heart.
Dive deeply into the miracle of life and let the tips of your wings be burnt by the flame, let your feet be lacerated by the thorns, let your heart be stirred by human emotion, and let your soul be lifted beyond the earth.
In this image from the front of an altar in Toulouse, France, the artist has painted his idea of Our Lady giving the rosary to Dominic
This is very special feast for Dominicans (laity, sisters, nuns, and friars) all over the world. There is a story (which although is probably not factual, must be true, as all wonderful stories are) that Mary gave the rosary to Dominic and asked him to teach it to others so that the whole world would eventually pray the rosary.
OPreach 