Beauty and Ugliness

A reflection 

Beauty and Ugliness

Everyday, I encounter beauty.
Beauty that is worth celebrating, and sharing.
Beauty that inspires, energizes, amazes.

Everyday I encounter ugliness.  

Ugliness that I am tempted to deny and downplay.  

Ugliness that drains, disappoints, depresses.  

Both are reality.  

This is true not only here in Haiti.  

Beauty and Ugliness co-exist in every situation, society, system; 

every country, culture, community;  

even our churches and charities 

each organization and each individual.  

What is out there is always also in here

co-existing within my own heart.  

Let us see, celebrate and share the beauty 

without denying or downplaying the ugly.

Let us nurture encourage and grow the beauty 

that it may take over and transform that which is ugly everywhere

may I have the courage to begin within.      

Updates 

The political situation has yet to be resolved.  Most days I receive emails from the US embassy telling me where there are demonstrations taking place mostly, in Portauprince.  There have been some locally, although I personally have not encountered them.  I had agreed to attend a conference for religious that was supposed to have taken place last weekend, but due to the unrest especially in the capital where the gathering was planned,  the event was cancelled.  Please continue to pray for a just and peaceful solution to the current political situation.

Yesterday was World Day for Consecrated Life.  Religious women and men residing in the diocese of Cap Haitian gathered at a school yesterday afternoon.  Carrying red and white candles while singing we marched  to the nearby cathedral for a lovely, lively (and lengthy) liturgy.  During masses for special celebrations the music is often exceptional and there are typically liturgical dancers, who bring an additional dimension to the prayers.  

It was well after 8 pm when we returned from mass to find a few inches of water on the first floor of the convent due to a leak from a toilet.  Fortunately the water was not soiled.  Using cups and containers we repeatedly filled and emptied buckets and basins attempting to remove the water from the floor.  We seemed to pour a lot of water out into the yard, but when looking at the floor it was hard to notice any significant decrease in the water level.  After a while the local coordinator of the house decided that the employees could finish in the morning so that we could eat and go to bed. 

Lately I have been pretty good about posting an update on Tuesdays.  The long liturgy and flood are the reasons I did not post the blog yesterday; I had started writing and figured I would finish after mass, I am always underestimating the length of liturgies here and none of us anticipated the necessary bucket brigade that followed.     

  

 Have a good week!  Take care!  Many blessings!