by Katie Guertin-Anderson
| Celebration in the Light Here at LTH, we celebrate people really well. We remember birthdays and anniversaries; we go big during holidays and community traditions. Celebrating the big moments and milestones in our lives is important, yes; but that is not why we are so good at celebration in L’Arche. In an interview he gave in 2010, Jean Vanier said: “Life together is, itself, celebratory.” Jean is talking about something deeper and more significant here than throwing birthday parties and anniversary barbeques. I think he is saying that what rests at the very heart of human beings sharing life together is celebration. On Monday, nearly 30 of us gathered around the Welcome Center labyrinth to bless and send our friends who were going away to the Abbey. We had to wait quite a while before everyone arrived, and in the waiting something organic and delightful and beautiful happened. Michelle and Shann started singing and clapping, which unearthed a tangible joy around the circle, which then led to Amanda and Shann leading the whole group in the Hokey-Pokey, which provoked Ricky to enter the middle of the circle and dance with a rhythm and a set of moves that surprised even those who live with him, which then inspired the strange transition into a collective singing of the Star-Spangled-Banner… and the celebration just went on and on. I think that this is what it means to live with a heart of celebration. Many of us may have learned that the Lenten season is not a time to celebrate – we have to wait for Easter for that, right? Rather, Lent is a somber, sobering, contemplative, fallow time of winnowing and withholding. But can it not be both? I think that we show that to one another every day at LTH. Even when we’re exhausted, frustrated, spiritually empty… the friendship and the love at the core of our community continue to offer us small glimpses of hope and tiny moments of celebration that have the power to carry us a long way on our journey. So, what small joys or gifts are you celebrating today? What is it that is keeping you on your Lenten path and saving you from getting lost in that deep, dark cave? Have you found a glimpse of the sunshine? A long and quiet walk? The reminder of an “I love you” from a friend? The promise of new life on the farm? A heart of celebration is not sourced or fed by big and obvious moments of joy and accomplishment. It is born from and sustained by holding tight to the hokey-pokeys and the star-spangled-banners and the silly dance moves when we feel like we are living underground. It is dwelling in the moments when our hearts swell up with the joy of being together, simply because we have chosen to share this path, at this time in our lives, together. As we dig deep together we ask: For the courage to show up, Patience for the journey, Trust in the darkness, Celebration in the light, and compassion for ourselves and one another. |
