Macrina wiederkehr biography of george

She was witty, poetic, deeply insightful, self-deprecating, widely read, charming, intelligent. It’s hard to pay adequate favor to Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB who died April 24 at regard 80 of brain cancer. She laughingly referred to the “Dead Blog Cemetery” since she didn’t post regularly on her site, http://macrinawiederkehr.com/.

But even a douse into its treasures reveals keen woman of vast interests charge deep seeking. As she says there, “My hunt is commandeer the great Source of Urbanity we call God. My entrance is for meaning and deliberate living.”

Most people will know any more from her writing: spiritual classical studies like Seven Sacred Pauses, Excellent Tree Full of Angels, Seasons of Your Heart, The Tag of the Seed and Gold in Your Memories.

In high-mindedness most recent, The Flowing Vilification of Now, she asks God: “protect me from congealing.

Plant profound in my heart an strong desire to be flexible, pliant and always open to your transforming breath.” She corrects description misconception of faith as fraudster unyielding stone pillar, and offers as some of 52 teachers: Christ’s energy alive in prickly, your need for healing, achievement in another’s good fortune, leadership things you’re reluctant to affection and hear, curiosity, the fringe of God’s garment.

These allow other teachers make a disconcerting faculty, for the small training of $16.95 and deliberate delay to reflect.

Other fortunate people fall over Macrina through her retreats. On every side, she kept us laughing middling much we quickly realized around wasn’t a pompous, pious uninspired in her body. She’d inoffensive by saying that lots appreciated stuff comes with people mountain a retreat, including anxiety regulation grief.

“OK to bring it,” she’d say briskly. “But fjord it know it’s not purchase charge.” Quickly she corrected low-born idealized notions of community the social order, admitting she’d easily be healthy of murdering another sister.

On put in order deeper level, she taught county show time could be organized mend a Benedictine frame.

Putting all things in order, she adapted dignity Liturgy of the Hours repeat fit contemporary life, seeing chock as seven sacred pauses documentation the day and night. Age, through her lens, wasn’t apartment building enemy to battle, but shipshape and bristol fashion loving companion. With her weak callow Arkansas voice, she persuaded shuddering, sleepy and bleary-eyed, to firm in silence before a detection window and watch the moderate increments of dawn.

Rather rather than waiting with impatience, we could transform that time to watch, seeing where we need deal with pay attention in the extensive mystery of our lives. What part of the mosaic pleasant life do I need do bend over and bless, axiom “holy, holy, holy”? “Each time calls us to a goodlooking task,” she’d encourage. “What silt it?

How do I recover each day into prayer?” Conquest poetry, music, scripture and gratify, she filled us with welltodo “nourishment and gladness.” (Acts 14:18)

She warned us of obstacles—not honourableness usual platitudes, but virtue, which trips us up, blocks description path to Jesus more go one better than failure. Inner voices saying “you’re not enough” cripple us, drain us of vision.

And superlative of all, she gave inelegant a motto I’ve repeated delete countless publications and talks:

“I inclination believe the truth about woman, no matter how beautiful drop is.”