I am taking the freedom to post the prologue of a book that touched my heart in a powerful way. This book allowed my heart to see other hearts that have experienced suffering, and were broken into tiny pieces, but became a wonder over time (and with a lot of inner work). The book I am referring to is called “Finding Mercy in this world – A memoir” and it is written by Catherine Johnson (our Catherine).
Dear Caminoheads,
I just leave you here with the first page of Catherine’s book. If you haven’t read it yet, you are missing quite something… Surely you can get a sense by reading how it starts…
Take a deep breath…
Prologue
For 1500 years, people have been making this pilgrimage.
Our footsteps follow theirs, just as others will one day follow ours.
In the solitude I hear them, feel them moving all around me. It is as if I have entered an invisible, timeless, ever-flowing river of souls. There have been so many moments walking, when I was sure I heard someone coming up behind me, but when I turned to look, found no one there.
Perhaps though, it is the eternal One who is everywhere, and all the seekers that ever were or will be, including me, are simply part of that great Mystery.
(Journal entry: April 17, 2015, Camino de Santiago, Spain)
A number of years ago during a faculty lunch, a colleague quipped, “There are two questions and one spark that ignite the fire of spiritual seeking. ‘Does God exist? And, does He know my name?'”
“And the spark?” I asked.
“Loss”, he said. Then, in a softer voice of one who has known its pain, “A loss big enough that it rends the fabric of your life, so that all you thought you knew is shredded by the tear.”
…
“Finding mercy in this world” by Catherine Johnson. 2018
“Our loss brought us here*” Loves,
Cris
If you haven’t read Catherine’s book yet, do yourself a favor. It is wonderful. <3
Wow. Just Wow, thank you Cris and Catherine. This thought of how much difference Phil’s leaving our tent has made on my every thought about life has occupied my mind since I read the news that Sunday. I’ll have to read that book and see how it reshapes the fabric of my life.