This, Too, Was a Gift

The legacy of the late beloved poet, Mary Oliver, was her rare and amazing ability to turn our usual thought patterns inside out and upside down.  As boxes of chocolates fly off the shelves for Valentine’s Day, a friend gave me one of Oliver’s modicums of wisdom.

 The Uses of Sorrow

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me

a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand

That this, too, was a gift.

 

Imagine someone you love, gives you a box of darkness instead of delicious chocolates for Valentine’s.  What would you make of such a gift?  Would you welcome it?  While I was reflecting on this poem, I happened to stumble upon Nelson Fernandez’s blog ‘A box of Darkness’.  Reflecting on Oliver’s poem, ‘The Uses of Sorrow’, he relates it to the testimony of someone who discovered how precious all of life is when he found his box full of darkness.  He writes:

I recently came across a comment from an individual who reported having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He concluded that although the resulting PTSD stuck with him for at least 4 years, the accident instantly made him decide to never waste the gift of life, so, he got both Post-Traumatic Stress and Post-Traumatic Growth. That accident became a defining moment for him.

This coined phrase, Post-Traumatic Growth, succinctly reinforces the gift of growth in darkness which is at the heart of Mary Oliver’s poem.  In reflecting upon my life, I too can attest to what I have discovered tucked into my own experiences of darkness. Within them, I grasped a deeper awareness of my own resilience, a greater sense of myself and even a deeper empathy for others. Usually, with time, the darkness of pain fades, but wisdom remains. Let me conclude with a quote by one of my favourite authors, Joyce Rupp. In her book Little Pieces of Light, she prays the following with a grateful heart: “Yes, I thank you for my darkness, (the unwanted companion I shun and avoid) because this pushy intruder comes with truth and reveals my hidden treasures to me.”

I hope someone gives you a beautifully wrapped box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.  However, one day someone may also bless you with the gift of a box of darkness. What gift of sweetness might you discover in such a gift?

 - Nancy Wales, csj

King’s University College Student Awards Ceremony

The cost of university education is out of reach for many students. Academic or sports scholarships are available for those fortunate students who have achieved success in these fields. However, many students may have been prevented from belonging to either group because of their background or lack of opportunity. Yet students who demonstrate great promise for future contributions to the welfare of our society may need financial assistance to enable them to continue their education.  I was heartened and amazed at the number and variety of donors, awards, and recipients at the King’s University College Awards Ceremony on January 24.    

Sixty-seven donors presented a total of 102 awards. Some awards were established to honour alumni or former professors. Others represented interests of donors in socialjustice, education, social work, economics, law, science, or community development. But what was most striking was the variety and quality of the students. I was in awe of the ability of recipients whose volunteer work in the community, part-time employment or involvement in student leadership and organizations was matched by their ability to maintain high academic standards. It was a joy to listen to the hopes of these students and the efforts they were making to prepare themselves to make our world a better place. A senior member of the faculty commented to me: “The generous students who work hard and donate their time are also the students who make good progress in their studies.”  May their example inspire people and organizations to assist our young adults to pursue university studies.

-Sr. Pat McKeon

The Burning Sun of South Sudan

On January 12, 2019, five women who are part of a small NGO called CASS (Canadian Aid to South Sudan) founded by Jane Roy and Glen Pearson, left Toronto to spend two weeks with the people of South Sudan.  We visited the people who live in the north west state of this very new and struggling country.  This was my second trip to this area.  I was moved by how the people warmly welcomed us with song, drums and music. The children greeted us at the plane and asked us, over and over again, to take a “photo”.  CASS has been coming for many years and each year the welcome seems to get warmer.  What I have come to realize, is that they do not welcome us only because we are able to bring a little aid with us, as helpful as that is, but that they welcome us as friends.  They seemed so grateful that we have not forgotten them.  In some small way we are witnessing their reality and they ask us to let others know.  They do not want to be forgotten by the rest of world.

The beginning of this new country is still very fragile, but a new peace accord has been signed by the factions in the country.  We attended a peace rally which was historic.  It was a very hot afternoon, and we sat through many speeches that I did not understand because of language barriers.   But I could understand the hope people had for a better future.  I saw in their faces, heard it in their music and dance, and witnessed it in the many hundred who showed up for this rally.

South Sudan has a long way to travel to become a fully functioning country.  The people are tried of fighting, the young want to go to school, and these people want their country to develop and become a fully functioning democracy.  They know it will not be easy, but they want to try.  Because of that, I am richer because I have met so many of these people. I am grateful that I can bring their stories back to  our country.  Together we stand in solidarity for peace because it is a longing living in the hearts of all of us.  - Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ

 


Weekly Pause & Ponder

Part of what needs to be remembered within us and between us is the beauty of our oneness.  We have lived a dismemberment, a tearing apart of what belongs together, East and West, spirit and matter, the well-being of one nation and the well being of another, the masculine and the feminine, the one and the many.  And as we re-member, … we will recover ….

 - John Philip Newell