Monday, May 4th, 2020
The beautiful blessing of “community” is on my heart. Hope Upon Impact recognizes the gift of others lovingly serving us – true hands and feet of Christ. Two years after Evelyn’s accident, I learned that when my friend Emily Finlason received my urgent text asking for prayers for Evelyn’s head injury, she bee lined to my home to scoop up Henry and Vivian to help my family. Her daughter Josie, Evelyn’s friend, was picked up from soccer practice shortly thereafter at Kansas City Christian school. The PE teacher approached Emily, inquired about the extra children Emily had in tow, whereupon Emily broke down. Emily shared, “She grabbed a few other teachers and parents in the parking lot and we circled around and prayed.” At Josie’s
soccer game the next morning, parents knew of Evelyn’s accident and were praying for her. Thank you for your prayers! There is power in prayer. Emily said members of the KCC community asked about us many times and that one circle of prayer set in motion the prayer chain that still exists at the school! Good came from Evelyn’s accident.
This morning I heard the quote, “Man’s adversity is God’s opportunity,” by Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B. Do you know people who always take learning to the next level? Olivia once wrote an essay and included that when she asks her dad for the time, he’ll teach her how a watch works. In book club, Cori consistently pulls up maps or short videos to enlighten us on
background context for a WWII historical fiction book we’re discussing. LaShelle, our diligent researcher, whips out her phone nearly each time Scripture study meets to educate us when questions arise. Today, I took their cue while listening to a School of Faith Daily Rosary Meditations podcast to learn about Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, the quote’s author. He was a German monk credited with founding the first Benedictine monastery in the US in 1846. God wink.
Stability, fidelity to the monastic way of life, and obedience are key Benedictine principles of “community,” the very topic I woke up thinking about this morning. I know my dad will smile when he learns that Archabbott was an active, not contemplative, monk at Saint Vincent in Pittsburgh where his community ground its own flour, grew crops, mined its own coal and brewed its own BEER. Dad has some wildly amusing stories of his own “brewing gone wrong.”
Additionally, Paraclete Press, my publisher, is a ministry of the Community of Jesus on Cape Cod. The Community of Jesus is an ecumenical Christian community in the Benedictine monastic tradition. Members make professions of commitment according to their Rule of Life, including vows of obedience, stability, and conversion of life. I had the privilege of meeting many members in fall 2019 when I stayed at the tranquil Bethany Guest House while recording my audiobook at Paraclete Press. Most of the professionals tasked with moving Hope Upon Impact through the publication process are members of the Community. They are caring, faith-filled, compassionate intellectuals, and it has been a privilege to associate professionally and personally with each of them. They exemplify all the good that community has to offer.
An old friend’s 16-year-old son, Carson, in fighting for his life in the ICU with a new Rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosis. I know his sweet mother and family have been encouraged by prayers from the hearts of the faithful – a massive prayer army behind them. The same is true for 20-year-old Reese battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Modern medicine, fervent prayers, and the patients’ fighting spirits will aid these young men, just as Evelyn was lifted. I am reminded about a quote in Hope Upon Impact from a Bishop Barron homily: “We fight of course, not with the puny weapons of the world, but with the weapons of the Spirit; by God we fight.” So let us not take one another for granted during times of life’s trials in which we have no control over our difficult circumstances. May we believe in our ability to lighten the load for one another by uniting as a community of faith in action. God hears our prayers. Let’s pray for the strength to trust his will with belief that he brings good from all things. Community makes all the difference!
– Julie Overlease
