Good morning all.

Just wanted to share this beautiful reading about Cosmic Tears by Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

that I’ve just meditated on during my time of centering prayer:

Cosmic Tears – Tears in which pain and joy flow together.

Are you alert to the stirring of such tears? We tend to overlook or quickly forget them, but they are a surpassing gift. They prepare our hearts to let life take hold of us and guide us. Most of the time, we keep our hands rigidly on the steering wheel. But at those poignant moments when rigidity melts into tears, life gets a chance to take over. And life knows best.
If we shut our hearts to the pain of the world our celebrations become superficial. If we let that pain overwhelm our hope, we are lost in the dark. Tears in which pain and joy flow together do justice to life in its fullness. Indeed, we are lost, but Life knows the way home.
This, then, is what I wish you most fervently: to notice these special tears when they come. They cleanse our eyes and let us see that it makes sense to trust Life and to trust in one another.

2023 Christmas Letter: Where Pain and Joy Flow Together
Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB