Sunday, August 9, 2009

Universal truths strike a familiar chord in any faith


The Sacrament

I read an article that really struck me. I want to save it and share it. It was written by Jerry Johnston. He referred to Henri J.M. Nouwen
“a Catholic who worked at a home for the mentally disabled in Canada where he died. His genius...lay in his ability to find universal truths in his own religion that could be translated effortlessly across into the faith traditions of others. Just as flowers come in a thousand shades and sizes, but have the same working parts—petals, stem, leaves—Nouwen could find the common element we all share” .
Referring to readings from Nouwen’s book, The Life of the Beloved , Johnson summarized:

“Nouwen’s feeling that when the Savior blessed the bread and gave it to his disciples at the Last Supper, he was doing more than showing them the purpose of his life. He was showing them the purpose of their own lives as well. Just as he took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it away, he was teaching his apostles what It meant to live a spiritual life. At some point, a religious soul must find himself taken by God; he must feel that God has claimed him as his own. Then he must be blessed and broken (
or, in the order of the LDS sacrament, “broken and blessed”) He must have his pride broken down, his appetites, his selfishness—everything that hampers spiritual growth. This can take some time.

Jerry Johnston added:
“I think, in the LDS Church, that is where the commandments come in
Fasting and chastity break down our natural desires
Tithing breaks down our attachment to money
Submission to authority breaks down our lust for power
And service breaks our quest for glory.
The world must eventually be abandoned.

Once we’ve been taken and broken—like the bread—we are blessed—blessed with new hearts. And then—like the bread—we are to be “given” away. We must go out and find others and bless their lives as well.

Nouwen says that, over the years he came to see the bread at the Last Supper as the key for his life. I don’t know if he ever thought his insights would end up in the Mormon section of a newspaper, but I suspect he wouldn’t be surprised by that. For Henri Nouwen, as with most spiritual souls, truth had to speak to every human heart to be of true value. He had spoken to my heart many times.”
This certainly gives me some food for thought and makes it all tie together with such purpose. I'm so grateful for the C.S. Lewis' and the Henry Nouwen's in this world who have such insight into truth.