Today on the Solemnity of our holy Mother, St Teresa, we were blessed to have our archbishop, Godfried Cardinal Danneels, as celebrant. In his homily he placed side by side St. Teresa and St. Damien as two people enamored by the same love and yet expressing it in different ways. He said, "St. Teresa looked up to God while St. Damien look sideward to those suffering people. We have the two capacities in us and we must try to find the balance. But it seems today we tend to emphasize more the "doing" and not the "let it be done". (in Flemish he beautifully coined it in these words "doen" en "laten doen"). He encouraged the around 30 pastoral health workers who were present for his talk, before and after the mass, and who prayed the Divine Office with us, to cultivate more this very important and yet often neglected aspect of our life.
He was in the Canonization of St. Damien in Rome last Sunday and is expected to attend the next celebration in Hawaii.
Anecdote on the feast of our holy Mother, who is known for her sense humor.
While the two novices were preparing the decoration for the refectory, it was announced that the Cardinal will enter the enclosure because his car had to park in our garage and from there he would pass the way where the two placed all their materials and garbage. So, hastily they hurried to place everything in the tiny cellar nearby. Unfortunately, one novice was still inside while the other one, who was in panic, closed the door because the Cardinal was already in sight. Wthout their knowing it, the Sister-portress informed him already that he would see the two novices along the way. But since he saw only one, he asked where is the other one? The two could not answer that the other novice was inside or else he would see all their mess. But he was so discreet just to proceed to our monastery-basilica, even perhaps if he heard the knocking of the second novice. We had a good laugh at table when they recounted to us the incident. Holy Mother must have laughed with us at this funny incident.
