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Online continuation of spiritual life magazine Published 4 Times a Year Volume 3 Number 4 ? Winter 2017

Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst 1590 ? 1656

Editor Edward O'Donnell, OCD EdODonnell@

Publisher Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars,

Changing Your E-mail Address or Adding a New Address: Please go to our website and enter your new e-mail address at: spiritual-life.co

94 Editorial

95 Christmas Message of Pope Francis

98 Winter Retreat By Sally Leighton

107 Committed to Memory By Marc Foley, OCD

110 Precious Gift By Carollyn Humphreys, OCDS

121 Book Notices 122 Books from ICS Publications

spiritual life/Online is the continuation of the print edition of spiritual life (1955?2014) (ISSN 0038-7630). spiritual life/Online is a Catholic four-timesa-year electronic publication: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. ? 2017 by the

wWinastheinrg2ton0P1r7ovince of Discalced 9Ca3rmelite Friasrps,iIrnict.u, 2a13l1lLifienc/olOn Rnolaidne

NE, Washington, DC 20002-1199. Tel: 1-202-832-6622.

Editorial

Edward O'Donnell, OCD

HOW CAN WE GIVE EXPRESSION to the beauty of Christmas? We sing! We sing of the great gift of the Incarnation: "Jesus Christ is Born Today. Alleluia!"

The songs we hear during the Christmas season tell us of our joy that God has become a human being, that Jesus has come to us as our Savior and friend, that we no longer need feel alone because Jesus is always with us. Incarnation, Salvation, Abiding Presence. These are the enduring gifts we celebrate at this season and throughout the year.

Perhaps the words of St. John Chrysostom, in a homily dated from the year 386, can increase our joy in the Incarnation of the Son of God:

"Behold a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below, and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised."

So let us celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us open our

hearts to his joyful message of joy and peace. Let us

once again sing, "Joy to the world, the Lord is come,

let earth receive her King."

Edward O'Donnell

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CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OF

POPE FRANCIS

Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Christmas!

Christ is born for us, let us rejoice in the day of our salvation!

Let us open our hearts to receive the grace of this day, which is Christ himself. Jesus is the radiant "day" which has dawned on the horizon of humanity. A day of mercy, in which God our Father has revealed his great tenderness to the entire world. A day of light, which dispels the darkness of fear and anxiety. A day of peace, which makes for encounter, dialogue and, above all, reconciliation. A day of joy: a "great joy" for the poor, the lowly and for all the people (cf. Lk 2:10).

On this day, Jesus, the Saviour is born of the Virgin Mary. The Crib makes us see the "sign" which God has given us: "a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger" (Lk 2:12). Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, may we too set out to see this sign, this event which is renewed yearly in the Church. Christmas is an event which is renewed in every family, parish, and community which receives the love of God made incarnate in Jesus Christ. Like Mary, the Church shows to everyone the "sign" of God: the Child whom she bore in her womb and to whom she gave birth, yet who is the Son of the Most High, since he "is of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 1:20). He is truly the Saviour, for he is the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the sin of the world (cf.

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Jn 1:29). With the shepherds, let us bow down before the Lamb, let us worship God's goodness made flesh, and let us allow tears of repentance to fill our eyes and cleanse our hearts. This is something we all need!

He alone, he alone can save us. Only God's mercy can free humanity from the many forms of evil, at times monstrous evil, which selfishness spawns in our midst. The grace of God can convert hearts and offer mankind a way out of humanly insoluble situations.

Where God is born, hope is born. He brings hope. Where God is born, peace is born. And where peace is born, there is no longer room for hatred and for war. Yet precisely where the incarnate Son of God came into the world, tensions and violence persist, and peace remains a gift to be implored and built. May Israelis and Palestinians resume direct dialogue and reach an agreement which will enable the two peoples to live together in harmony, ending a conflict which has long set them at odds, with grave repercussions for the entire region.

...To our brothers and sisters who in many parts of the world are being persecuted for their faith, may the Child Jesus grant consolation and strength. They are our martyrs of today.

...Where God is born, hope is born; and where hope is born, persons regain their dignity. Yet even today great numbers of men and woman are deprived of their human dignity and, like the child Jesus, suffer cold, poverty, and rejection. May our closeness today be felt by those who are most vulnerable....

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Nor may our encouragement be lacking to all those fleeing extreme poverty or war, travelling all too often in inhumane conditions and not infrequently at the risk of their lives. May God repay all those, both individuals and states, who generously work to provide assistance and welcome to the numerous migrants and refugees, helping them to build a dignified future for themselves and for their dear ones, and to be integrated in the societies which receive them.

On this festal day may the Lord grant renewed hope to all those who lack employment ? and they are so many! ay he sustain the commitment of those with public responsibilities in political and economic life, that they may work to pursue the common good and to protect the dignity of every human life.

Where God is born, mercy flourishes. Mercy is the most precious gift which God gives us, which we are called to discover that tender love of our heavenly Father for each of us. May the Lord enable prisoners in particular to experience his merciful love, which heals wounds and triumphs over evil.

Today, then, let us together rejoice in the day of our salvation. As we contemplate the Crib, let us gaze on the open arms of Jesus, which show us the merciful embrace of God, as we hear the cries of the Child who whispers to us: "For my brethren and companions' sake, I will say: Peace be within you" (Ps 121[122]:8).

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Sally Leighton

Winter Retreat

I T WAS A FEBRUARY MORNING AT 7:00 A.M. One moment I was sitting on the end of my bed in the dark, having put on a robe and slippers, leaning back a bit on my right hand for support for rising--so I thought. The next second I was on the floor in great pain. I had misjudged the location of the side of the bed.

I don't know if I cried out. I did know right away I needed help. I remembered having programmed the phone next to the bed for my condo neighbor. After catching my breath, I managed to crawl a few feet to it and punch, "Toni." After that, memory fails.

Retreat Begins

We've all heard about senior citizens who fall and break hips, arms, or legs, but mostly hips. That was what I thought had happened to me. Not so. My fall had ruptured a pelvic blood vessel and needed emergency care. Suffice it to say Toni and her hus-

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band Steve rushed to the rescue, found the key to my place, called 911, my nearest son, and other neighbors to alert them while I was whisked away in an ambulance.

Toni had also found the things she thought I would need, packed them in a bag, answered the questions of the emergency crew, and fielded calls. Then she had to go upstairs and take care of her small children so Steve could go to work. That's when my winter retreat began.

Well known at my community hospital--having worked there as a counselor for years--I felt sure that my stay, however grim, would be accompanied by visits from old buddies bringing sufficient comfort to see me through the sea of pain. I was wrong.

Alien Setting

After the evaluations were done, it was judged that my condition was too serious and complicated for that facility. I could die. I had to be transferred to a university hospital miles away, where there were specialists who could do a certain dangerous procedure should it become necessary. So I was taken there to be cared for by strangers in an alien setting. Alien setting, alien attendants, white ceiling, and white lights glaring down all elevated my sense of abandonment, even as I was being cared for gently. Hours later it was determined emergen-

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cy surgery might not be necessary but that several days in the trauma unit would be required. More strangers. More living in the midst of the hanging gardens of such scenes: IV poles, blood transfusions, catheters, and oxygen tanks on standby.

In the midst of this, though mercifully sedated, I had a nightmare. In it, I watched relentless black waters from multiple rivers rushing into a bottomless abyss, oblivious of my fear. An impersonal force, it felt not so much malignant to the dreamer as unheedful of her. It was overwhelming.

As I lay there for several days, one reality of the crucifixion was borne in on me for the first time: the Lord of the Universe, stripped and tormented, willing to be helplessly open to whatever fate was in store. All the years of living as a Christian had not taught me of Christ's ultimate, willing, humiliating vulnerability. Even then, one option was left open to me; I was asked to sign a paper if I would give permission for either a male or female attendant to sponge-bathe me. This was a teaching institution. I signed.

Healing Environment

A week later, feeble and unable to walk or function on my own, I was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. There I would have the time to meditate on all of this and more, much more. Blessedly, a cous-

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