Reading Through Life's Changes

 

St Bernard of Clairveux

I love St Bernard. My return to the faith came slowly slowly through books. The first was Fully Human by Steve Biddulph, which is essentially a self-help guide to life. He talks about living fully on all four floors of your house: your body, your emotions, your mind palace and the open top garden of your mansion house is your spirituality. Which could be anything... He wrote thst he was a Christian because it was the most culturally appropriate form of spirituality for him as an Australian of Western decent, but another man might just as easily fulfill his spiritual potential doing yoga and attending the odd meditation workshop. I look back on that now and see clearly what a good and gentle, patient Father we have in heaven. He came a long way down the road to meet his prodigal daughter where she was at and bring her home! 

Soon after (I read the New Testament and a few other things in between) I picked up This Tremendous Lover by Fr Eugene Boyle. And the whole of the last chapter, drawing together everything the author had said about how a lay person might live in relationship with God was, word for word, quoted straight from St Bernard; about love, and clearly written in such love and with such a love for the reader. It was a real blessing to me. And at a later date I discovered that as a young Abbot, St Bernard was really harsh and critical of his spiritual sons and brothers. And it was actually in working on and praying about this fault, that he learned to love so deeply. So that gives me hope! 

Recently I read Catherine of Sienna by Sigrid Undset which is a ridiculously provoking read. Incidentally though, the author compared one of Catherine's revelations with Julian of Norwich's hazelnut: I think Catherine also saw, not even a nut, but the shell or the husk of a nut cradled in God's hands, to represent creation, and the author suggested that they both may have been inspired by a certain prayer in the book of hours. 

I was born in Norwich and I have never read Julian of the aforesaid or even visited her cell. Mea Culpa. Maybe we could go together this summer? 

I loved what you said about St Bernard emphasising a personal and experiential friendship with Christ. In that book I lent you, a Very Unusual Journey into Play by Ben Kingston-Hughes, the author argues that play gives children maximal impact in terms of neurological growth because we humans are EXPERIENTIAL learners; and through play children can experience being in a besieged castle or discovering a new species of lobster, or, um, sharing and taking turns! without travel, funds, and even without adult intervention...! 

Those words have actually been my mantra throughout the move. 'Children are experiential learners, we are giving them good new experiences to grow their brains.' It helps me. Especially when I have to talk certain of my children out from under the bed to be dropped off at school 30mins late! Like a cat that sees the carry-box come down from the loft, and knows they are off to the vets! 

Here are my kids first French words, in order from the eldest first:

'Allez!!' Whilst flying down the stairs and out the front door with a friend.

Casually, 'my teacher put it in my sac' (not even noticing using a french word!)

And, shouted from a first floor window 'Bonjour! Poo poo head!' 

At bed time I am reading The Wind in the Willows. We have attempted this before, but only now seem to have hit on the right age for it. (All my read alouds are aimed at my eldest. If he is spellbound, everyone else will take their cue from him). 

Listen to this beautiful description of the trees in winter, "He had got down to the bare bones of it, and they were fine and strong and simple... the billowy drapery of beech and elm seemed best away," 

And I leave you with this question: the hazelnut lasts and will last because God loves it, but the elm trees almost all died. Why?