Living with Paradox

-

 

Paradox: A seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which, when investigated, may prove to be well founded or true. –The Oxford Dictionary

 

On January 2, 2023 I lived with paradox. My youngest brother, Dan, died and was born into new life. His death is a blessing and at the same time it is a great sorrow. Have you experienced this mystery of paradox in your life? Can you embrace opposites in feelings, thoughts, relationships, in life itself?

 

Over the years I’ve been intrigued by the reality of holding opposites at the same time. Dwelling in the mystery of paradox is transformative. I have learned by living in the mess of unknowing I discover the gift of wisdom by going through the messiness, arriving with new insights for living.

 

In the gospel parables Jesus often uses paradoxes. “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”  “To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what s/he has will be taken away.” “Those who love their life will lose it; those who hate their lives keep it for life eternal.” When I come across these sayings I ponder them and find the truth of these sayings in my lived experience or in what others have shared with me.

 

It is not easy to live in ambiguity. Often we see things as ‘either/or.’ Life is not that simple. When we choose to embrace ‘both/and’ we receive a great grace.

 

Listen to the voice of God within and trust even in the midst of uncertainty.

 

~Mary Therese Johnson, OP

Dominican sister of Sinsinawa

On mission at Sinsinawa Mound


Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 14, 2023 at 10:20 AM

    beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2023 at 3:33 PM

    Mary Therese, thanks for your reflection. My only brother, Dan, died very suddenly a few years ago, so I can relate to your sorrow. But the paradox is truly a mystery and I’m glad you shared your thoughts on life and death. Have a beautiful lent! Sincerely, Jean Drumm. (Former...a few crowds ahead of you!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 28, 2023 at 6:05 PM

      Hi Jean, just wished to reconnect and am hoping you are well. Caroline, crowd of '65

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJuly 10, 2023 at 7:51 PM

    I went for check up and the result shows negative and i was treated of this deadly disease within a 2 week, I am now free from Herpes. You can contact him …………….robinsonbuckler11@ {{gmail}} com,, ..............................


    Shingles,

    Cold sore,

    HPV,

    HSV1&2,

    Epilepsy,

    Leukemia,

    Fibroid

    Erectile Dysfunction

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nuns can have nose rings? (and other frequently asked questions)

-
Image
One of my favorite things about being a young sister-in-formation is allowing people to ask me their burning (and sometimes silly) questions about religious life.   Questions like: Do nuns have jobs?   Can you still go dancing and swimming?   You mean you get to keep that nose ring? Becoming a sister right now is an interesting thing: religious life has changed drastically in the past fifty years, but many people’s stereotypes about it haven’t.   Many of these stereotypes seem superficial (ie- all nuns wear habits; nuns don’t dance) but they may reflect deeper misconceptions about religious life… like the idea that sisters are somehow more holy or less human than “normal” people.   For a long time, my own misconceptions kept me from really considering religious life. And so I enjoy the questions.   I love making people feel free to ask them, and I love surprising them with the answers.   After all, they aren’t really asking about my nose ring; they want to know about this way
Read more

Happiness and Joy in Religious Life?

-
Image
I never wanted to be a religious sister (nun) because I felt I would never be happy.     This calls me to reflect on what is happiness.     Some say that happiness is a feeling.     It is when you feel good and cheerful about something that happened or is happening in your life.     However, I think that true happiness comes from when you make others happy.     After I went out of my way to assist someone and they unexpectedly tell me how much my helping meant to them.     I experience an unexpected warm feeling inside.     True happiness I think is a sense of fulfilment you feel even if what you did was not acknowledged, yet you know that deep down inside you did and gave of your best to help someone without any conscious ulterior motive.     You did it because it was the right and necessary thing to do at the time. Everyone searches for happiness and many know that true happiness cannot be found in things, but in how we help others just because they need help.  Many sisters in religi
Read more

Where are my...(fill in the blank)?

-
Image
Okay, I’ve finally learned to put my car/home/office keys in the SAME place when I get home.  But I still haven’t learned to remember where I left my glasses or my latest crossword puzzle or the flyer about a concert I now think I missed or that needed phone number I jotted down on a piece of paper – and I have a LOT of pieces of paper sitting around.  Yes, I am one of those people.  But that litany of “forgets” got me thinking about the important things I forget about until I really need them – like prayer, quiet time, reading something challenging instead of easy, actually calling my elderly cousin instead of saying, “I should really call Ruth,” and never doing it, working through a situation instead of avoiding it.   I challenge myself this week – and you – to take action, one small action, to overcome this very human weakness of losing, forgetting, neglecting something that we know is really important.  Is this easy?  Is there a shortcut I can take?  I’m afraid not.  But if we trul
Read more