"I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb" (Psalm 22:10a). This line from the psalm calls to mind the absolute vulnerability of young life, how absolutely dependent we all are at birth. And then I think of a Franciscan friend. Gerry Straub, ofs, is a Hollywood producer turned Franciscan filmmaker who now runs an orphanage in Haiti. Nice write up of him available here: https://magazine.nd.edu/stories/a-life-unscripted/
I have so many memories of Gerry, but the one that always rises to the top when I think of him is the way he would talk about his absolute dependence on God. I've never known anyone like him, constantly emptying himself out to serve others, always operating on a shoestring with no personal resources to his name, often in situations where death by disease or violence was distinctly possible. And there he'd be sitting across the table from me at one coffeeshop or another, laughing his fool head off.
My own faith is a faint shadow in comparison.
— Parulidae
I have so many memories of Gerry, but the one that always rises to the top when I think of him is the way he would talk about his absolute dependence on God. I've never known anyone like him, constantly emptying himself out to serve others, always operating on a shoestring with no personal resources to his name, often in situations where death by disease or violence was distinctly possible. And there he'd be sitting across the table from me at one coffeeshop or another, laughing his fool head off.
My own faith is a faint shadow in comparison.
— Parulidae
Such a gift to have someone like that in your life. People like Gerry are icons reminding us of who we want to be, while never surrendering our own uniqueness in the world. Thank you for this. cw
ReplyDeleteAlso, Parulidae, based on what I've seen of your writng, I strongly suspect you are far, far more than "a faint shadow" of faith-witness. cw
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