Dear Friends,
We pray you are safe and well.
Today we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of Beethoven's Birth. Our meditation comes to us in the singing of Ode to Joy--the translated words are below the You.Tube link. The song celebrates the joy of all of us becoming one human family, drinking at Mother Nature's breast, searching for a Loving God.
We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in healthcare, in the workplace, in the Church--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.
In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that in God’s economy of abundance, when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.
We hope and pray that you and your loved ones experience genuine peace of mind and heart, and remain in good health during this challenging time.
May this Advent Season be a time of peace, of healing and hope, of the infusion of joy in your life!
With our love and care,
Ron & Jean
MEDITATION 227: Beethoven's Ode to Joy conducted by Andre Rieu
Andre Rieu
https://youtu.be/E9dLGDCdg3g
Schiller's Ode to Joy
Joy! A spark of fire from heaven,
Daughter from Elysium,
Drunk with fire we dare to enter,
Holy One, inside your shrine.
Your magic power binds together,
What we by custom wrench apart,
All men will emerge as brothers,
Where you rest your gentle wings.
If you've mastered that great challenge:
Giving friendship to a friend,
If you've earned a steadfast woman,
Celebrate your joy with us!
Join if in the whole wide world there's
Just one soul to call your own!
He who's failed must steal away,
shedding tears as he departs.
All creation drinks with pleasure,
Drinks at Mother Nature's breast;
All the just, and all the evil,
Follow down her rosy path.
Kisses she bestowed, and grape wine,
Friendship true, proved e'en in death;
Every worm knows nature's pleasure,
Every cherub meets his God.
Gladly, like the planets flying
True to heaven's mighty plan,
Brothers, run your course now,
Happy as a knight in victory.
Be embracéd, all you millions,
Share this kiss with all the world!
Way above the stars, brothers,
There must live a Loving Father.
Do you kneel down low, you millions?
Do you see your Maker, world?
Search for Him above the stars,
Above the stars he must be living.