It is written that God took 7 days to create the world … at least as we think we know It.
We are just realizing anew that this world is not even a speck of all that God created. We have trouble wrapping our heads around the latest discoveries that creation extends at least 92 billion light years.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk, I limit myself to two days that changed the only “world” we experience.
Two days that changed our lives
A reflective article in America points out..
On Aug. 6, we wrestle with the dramatic extremes of good and evil, as symbolized by the ancient glory of the Transfiguration and the utter destruction of that first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
Since 1945, however, the observance of the Transfiguration and the bombing of Hiroshima have shared this date in history. I sometimes think of Aug. 6 as the ultimate meeting of simultaneous positive and negative energy.
The gospel narrative of Jesus’ beauty and glory stands in stark and awful contrast to the memory of the searing light that radiated nearly a quarter-million people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the center of Japanese Catholicism.
Ever notice the similarities in these very different events?
In an earlier Mindwalk, I wrote…
The light of creation dazzled the disciples at Jesus’ transfiguration. The light of destruction blinded those present at the explosion of the atomic bomb. They were both amazing in what they signified.
Initially, many celebrated the atomic age they thought would bring about the ending of violence. Yet we still live with the specter of nuclear holocaust. And we are being consumed by flames dividing us. [Think today of the flames of a post-truth society characterized by a fierce and unspoken personal infallibility!]
The thunderous, roaring clap of the explosion echoes the thunderous voice of God that spoke from the clouds above the mountain. Peter, James, and John knew something wondrous happened. But it was only much later that they understood the transfiguring power of the Resurrection… Jesus’ and ours.
Which wolf wins?
A grandfather once sat beside a crackling campfire with his grandchildren. He told them a story of a fight between two wolves. He described the two wolves as being polar opposites.
One wolf represented anger, jealousy, resentment, frustration, anxiousness, negativity, hatred, insecurity, stress, lack of self-belief, and self-loathing.
The other wolf represented the opposite. He stood for self-belief, certainty, security, love, honesty, fun, fulfillment, compassion, joy, peace, integrity, abundance, and laughter.
The grandfather held their attention, describing the fight between the two wolves.
But then he cautioned his grandchildren that the fight was not going on only between the wolves. “That fight”, he told them, “is going on inside each and every one of you.”
The children gasped, and after a few minutes of silence, one of them asked, “Granddad, which wolf won the fight?”
The grandfather swiftly responded, “The wolf that wins the fight is the one that you feed the most!”
Which vision will we feed?
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Have a blessed Holy Week!
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Father John, Blessings to you as you step cautiously down that new path. Grace and Peace be with you!