And Mary Pondered these Things...

Fr. Ronald Rolheiser

"This concept - of pondering, of silently carrying the tension so as to transform it - is both important and consoling. Like Mary under the cross, we can live without answers, without being able to justify ourselves, without being able to resolve things, bearing what seems unbearable.

"This can be consoling to know. We are too hard on ourselves because of our inadequacies. In many of the most intimate and painful situations of our lives we are precisely not able to fix things, be adequate, or redeem the situation.

"Sometimes there's nothing to be done ... but nothing can be enough, as it was for Mary, under the cross. Sometimes all we can do is to stand silently, in strength, bearing an bearable tension, waiting for our hearts do something our actions can't, namely, transmute misunderstanding into understanding, confusion into insight, anger into blessing, and hatred into love.
(continued from yesterday)

Fr. Rolheiser’s Weekly Email Newsletter