debilitating effects.
In reading and editing the copy for this issue, I was struck by
the German philosopher Josef Pieper’s preoccupation with the
“relationship between work and play . . . how festivity involves the
whole of existence, and . . . affirmation is at the very heart of all
Chri stian worship.” Redemptorist Dennis Billy says in his article on
Pieper: “He saw the Eucharist, first and foremost, as a time for rejoicing
in the love of Christ and thus a festive celebration.”
Jesuit Peter Schineller encourages us to see the spirituality inherent in
the seasons of summer and fall, summarized in the following sentences
from his reflection: “Summer invites us to a more contemplative
approach to ordinary things”; “Tis easier to find God in the summer”;
and “Even as we delight in autumn’s beauty, we also feel a sense of
impending loss. Perhaps there is a sense of beauty even in letting go.”
Some years ago, I heard a psychologist urge an assembly of priests
and deacons he was addressing at a diocesan convocation to strive
for balance in their lives: ministry, prayer, study, exercise, meals, loving
relationships, and rest.
Jesus, who was supremely devoted to the proclamation of the
kingdom and to his ministry of availability to others, especially to
those in need, nevertheless found time for prayerful communion
with the Father in the cool of the day, for table fellowship and rest in
the home of his friends Martha and Mary and Lazarus in Bethany, for
sharing with his disciples as they journeyed along the roadsides, and
for pausing to appreciate the beauty of God’s created world. Ought
we not to do the same?
Anthony Schueller, SSS
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