Jen and I returned today from Sylvania, Ohio (near Toledo) where we were attended a Gala and were honored last evening with the St. Clare Award by the Sisters of St. Francis. The beautiful award (see photo) was presented during a 5pm church service along with the St. Francis Award (recipient Kathy Griffin who is Executive Director of
Bethany House). After this was the Gala with fantastic food, 60's & 70's live music, and dancing! Did you know that Nuns can dance?!? Many doctors can't (that's a known fact and I'm a prime example) but nuns can! We came away from the day incredibly encouraged, and we heard wonderful stories about many of the Sisters (who we then got a chance to meet! So many unsung heroines!!) It was a fantastic evening.
This was my second visit to the campus and Jen's first. Since my first visit I have had opportunity to read more deeply about St. Francis as well as St. Clare, and our kind 'tour guide' (Sister Carolyn) shared more insights and stories about the two remarkable individuals from Assisi, Italy who lived in the early half of the 1200's AD.
The Sisters of Sylvania taught us about beauty in surprising ways. The inside and outdoor walls of their buildings are embedded with artwork...Everywhere you look there are ceramics, metals, gems, stained glass...Some windows have etchings; there are murals and paintings and statues. We could have spent a very long time admiring all the work done by careful and artistic hands. During one stop on our tour, as we were standing under the dim lights and exposed rafters of the small replica of the "
Portiuncula", Sister Carolyn made a comment about the connection of justice and beauty. We learned that St. Bonaventure defined justices as "restoring to beauty what has been deformed." This quote resonates deeply with me and I hope to think on this more in the coming days. I read a book (by Perry Yoder) on the Hebrew word "shalom". Here's a bit, "...the major thesis of this book is that shalom, biblical peace, is squarely against injustice and oppression...In the Bible, shalom is a vision of what ought to be and a call to transform society." How things should or ought to be. "That all may be well with you"...all your relationships, your dealings, your undertakings, the work of your hands....may all this be well with you.
We see something unjust, for example, in the horrible sites and photos that come from the land of Haiti. A malnourished child's expressionless face has her beauty diminished, degraded, and perhaps in jeopardy of being lost. There is something 'wrong' in the picture, something that is not beautiful but that should be beautiful. Beauty and justice are connected, though I had never seen it that way before. Providing food and water, ensuring basic education and health care...that all may be well for them...these are adding again to the beauty that has been deformed.
We at Thriving Villages International are committed to working with those like the Sisters of St Francis who are helping to restore beauty in the land of Pestel, Haiti.
On our ride home we found that this song, "Add to the Beauty" by Sara Groves, fit this theme well:
Ben and Jen
PS: Special thanks to our friend Sister Fidelis who wrote a really nice description of our work for this award, and to whom we remain forever thankful because without her persistence we would never have met Nelson (whom she kept alive by ensuring that he had necessary medications until he came to the US for heart surgery), and we would never have gone to Pestel....and the rest of our history in Pestel would be unwritten.
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President, Thriving Villages International
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