Leadership
What Stories Are We Missing?
by Fr. Joe Nassal, c.pp.s., Provincial Director
In Richard Russo’s novel, Old Cape Magic, Jack Griffin returns to Cape
Cod, the place he remembers as a boy that his parents were the happi-
est. Or, at least, the one place where they seemed to get along. He carries
their ashes in the trunk of his car as he intends to scatter their remains
and perhaps for the first time in his life escape his past.
When the book was published, National Public Radio interviewed
Russo. He said that when he taught creative writing he would often tell
his students that a major flaw for many beginning writers is not quite
comprehending the truth of the story they are telling. He said this is the
deepest fail ure for most writers. The host of the program suggested that
is true for people in general. We all have stories to tell but we often miss
the point of our own stories.
For the past several months, we have been gathering in groups as
members and companions telling stories of our life together as we pre-
pare for our Provincial Assembly and the Community Life Symposium
later this summer in Rome. In this process of telling our personal and
communal experiences, what stories are we missing?
What grief haven’t we quite grasped or at grappled with?
What wound have we kept concealed, hidden even from ourselves, that
may carry the story and the meaning that will provide a missing piece to
our life’s puzzle?
What event holds a truth we’ve been missing?
Sometimes it is difficult to get at the truth of one’s story because we
have not dug deep enough. Like those disciples making their way from
Jerusalem to Emmaus “conversing about all the things that had oc-
curred,” we sometimes fail to make the connections. This is especially
true, as it was for those two disciples on the road to Emmaus, if we are
struggling with grief.
Recently in the New York Times there was a powerful piece about a
family that tried “to sweep tragedy under the rug” and the damage it
caused. In the article, “The Accident No One Talked About,” Jessica
Henriquez reflects on an accident her brother Alex witnessed many years
before. He and his best friend Jonathan, both 15 years old, were walk-
ing back home from fishing. While crossing a busy street, Jonathan was
hit by a landscaping truck and killed. Alex saw his friend die. Before the
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May 2017 • The New Wine Press • 3