Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Happiness in Any Circumstance



Like many of you, I receive a daily reading from
Inward/Outward, a ministry of the amazing Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C. When I saw today's caption, I groaned ~ please not, on my birthday, someone trying to tell me to make the best of things.

And then I saw the name of the writer and knew how wrong I was. Alfred Delp was a Jesuit priest imprisoned and executed for his resistance to the Nazis ~ one of those people who has the right to speak to any situation.

****************

It does happen, even under these circumstances, that every now and then my whole being is flooded with pulsating life and my heart can scarcely contain the delirious joy there is in it. Suddenly, without any cause that I can perceive, without knowing why or by what right, my spirits soar again and there is not a doubt in my mind that all the promises hold good.... Outwardly nothing is changed. The hopelessness of the situation remains only too obvious; yet one can face it undismayed. One is content to leave everything in God's hands. And that is the whole point. Happiness in this life is inextricably mixed with God. Fellow creatures can be the means of giving us much pleasure and of creating conditions which are comfortable and delightful, but the success of this depends upon the extent to which the recipient is capable of recognizing the good and accepting it. And even this capacity is dependent on our relationship with God.


~ Father Alfred Delp, S.J.

6 comments:

Elaine (aka...Purple) said...

Happy Birthday, Gannet.

Dr. Laura Marie Grimes said...

Birthday blessings...may the joy somehow outweigh the pain.

Michelle said...

A Jesuit friend shared a short bit of Alfred Delp's writing from prison with me, which led me to read the rest. I was struck by the rawness of it, he does not pull any punches -- much like Job.

About halfway through, I realized that one of the men tried and executed with Delp was part of my husband's family.

Happy Birthday!

Karen said...

Really eloquent, inspiring words spoken by one whose life earned him the credibility to speak them. A challenging devotional on this special, but painful day. Wishing you comfort on this first birthday without your beautiful boy. We are also learning thru experience how to be happy in any circumstance.

Blessings on you beautiful woman.

Hot Cup Lutheran said...

i hope your birthday was filled with unexpected blessings... and that your weekend will be too...

Jennifer said...

Good wishes on your birthday.