Beginning anew. A Farewell
Friends and fellow pilgrims,
Two days ago we arrived at Saint Benedict’s monastery, MN for a writing retreat. When walking to prayer every day in our monastic community we were greeted by the nativity scene in the gathering space before the prayer hall. It sits in front of three huge evergreens, welcoming us with their aromatic scent every day.
On Epiphany the incense of frankincense and myrrh filled the space marking the celebratory end to a long journey. It also marks the end of our journey together, having joined the wise (wo)men on their search for the Divine child. And like the wise (wo)men, as you (and we) travel home again from this Christmas season, we are sure it will need to be by “a different way.”
Looking back on the travel
Whoever has been traveling with us through the 12 Days of Christmas has probably experienced it. The Christmas story is a story of travel. And as daily travel tires you out, and makes your feet hurt and your mind wander, so too does journeying into the Christmas story. Still, we are on the way seeking the Divine. And already, each day of doing so, there were some hints of it: Practicing the presence of God, pondering Mary’s gaze, pausing and reflecting at the threshold to the new year, cradling the Divine within us, tending to our dreams and sorrows; and you can add to it what you have come across on the way.
Some women point out rightly that if it had been three wise women, they would have brought different gifts to the holy child, perhaps a blanket and some food, and they might have watched the baby so Mary could sleep. But bringing frankincense and myrrh might after all be not so bad an idea either. Not only do hold these gifts cleansing and healing properties but they also mark the most precious gifts the pilgrims could bring after their long journey.
And here is how Hildegard of Bingen has it:
Touched by this Divine encounter, the wise travelers open their treasure chests to offer what they have. And behold, their treasures have been transformed, too, just as their hearts. So they bring their gold, which is their openness to getting to know God, their frankincense, which is the humble realization of our shortcomings and failings, and myrrh, our compelling desire to give our entire self to the Divine.
And what precious gifts do you desire to bring?
And how might this giving transform you as you head into the “ordinary time” with all its cares, calculations, and surprising generosity?
Do write us to let us know.
Giving Thanks
Friends, today, we want to bid our farewell. And we do pray that each of you will fare well on your path.
We are grateful you have been with us. We are humbled you would read our reflections born out of daily inspiration with a dash of pilgrim’s despair. And we have welcomed the letters some of you have sent us about your Christmas pilgrimage and your lives and insights. They provide sustenance for us and help us to tune our reflections to your journey. We are thankful to St. Benedict’s Monastery and the women of God there who support and sustain us. We are thankful to those of you who sustain us, both with life-giving words and financially. Do please see the link below to join in support of our work, giving your gift to make our gifts possible.
If you have meant to offer a gift in return for the 12 Days of Christmas journey you can still do so. We suggest an offering of 25$; but every offering, smaller or larger will be greatly appreciated. It will help us sustain (and improve) the infrastructure for this project and keep it accessible to all. Thank you, thank you.
Bidding Farewell
We look forward now to our upcoming Passion Week Consolations, to seminars on Hildegard & Kierkegaard, and to gathering again with you in dialogue and reflection. We will update you on this.
Finally, we offer you this poem from Herman Hesse on sustaining ourselves through life’s transitions.
Chuck reads it for you in the short recording below. It is our blessing and farewell to you with which we send you into “ordinary times”.
Click below to listen to Chuck reading the poem for you
Stair Steps
Like every flower withers and every youth
Fades to age, so blooms every step of life.
Every wisdom and also every virtue
Blossoms in its time and may not last forever.
The heart, it must at every stage of life
Be ready to bid farewell and start anew,
And with fortitude but without grief
Give itself away, again, to other bonds,
For in each new beginning dwells a mystery
Protecting us and helping us to live.
We should then cheerfully pass from space to space
And not depend on any one like home.
The Spirit will not shackle us, nor close us in,
From stair to stair he wants to elevate and broaden us.
We are hardly at home in any stage of life
And when comfortably settled in, weariness threatens.
Only the one ready for departure and the journey
May escape the crippling habit.
Perhaps the hour of our death itself
Might send us in youthfulness to newer places.
Life's call to us will never cease.
Be whole, my heart, bid farewell and heal!
Hermann Hesse
(transl. by Huff/Furchert 2014)
We bid you farewell! Be whole, and heal.
And may Christmas find you where you are.
Almut & Chuck with little one
This post is part of our 12 Days of Christmas Series 2021/22: “Always we begin again…”, a Contemplative Journey towards the heart of Christmas. To enter our virtual dwelling place click here. To share your thoughts with us, write us here. We love to hear from you! For personal guidance visit our PathFinder.
The 12 Days of Christmas Contemplations are a donation based online retreat. Your donation, any size, will help us pay this gift forward, to sustain this labor of love and keep it accessible to all.
Thank you, thank you.
Peace and Blessings, Almut & Chuck
