A candlelit embrace
A friend, a monk from Eastern Europe, told me these days about how his monastery is dealing with increased bills. Every evening, the lights are turned off, and candles are lit in gathering and prayer places.
His brothers are not enthusiastic; there are many complaints about the global situation, government decisions, and the lack of attention to the community. However, he is seventy years old and tells me, “When I became a monk, we had no electricity and hardly any other conveniences. Every evening, we lit candles, and the entire monastery filled with deep peace. Our prayers, our hearts immersed in God without resistance. Now I observe these young people chatting and wonder if so many years of light have not blinded them to the gifts that the journey presents to us.”
How right he is. Every adversity that life puts before us touches our hearts and weighs down hope and fear. So that everyone can consider themselves either punished by their destiny or put in a position to realize it.
Remember this: the more your heart opens, the more beauty you will be able to see in the world, and the more beauty you can see, the more your heart will open.
A candlelit embrace
