Jambo! (a common
Swahili greeting)
I love to read. It is
a hobby that brings me true relaxation.
I can escape from the world around me and be transported into another
world, sometimes one filled with danger and suspense as I love to read suspense
novels.
Since I have returned to the workforce, I found that I was
doing less and less leisurely reading.
This prompted me to start the Summer Book Club, now in its third
year. In searching for books for summer
reading, I rely upon advice from our Diocesan librarian, Carla Hlavac. She is a wealth of knowledge and seriously
brought me probably 15 books to consider!
She is amazing. One of the books
pulled at my heart strings because it documents a priest’s time (while studying
to become a Jesuit priest) serving God’s people in East Africa. Having sent a daughter half way across the
world to help build a school and run water lines in the Maasai Mara, I had to
read this book!
Recently a few St. William mamas (Swahili for mature woman) and I shared our thoughts on the
book, “This Our Exile” by James
Martin, S.J. He tells many of his
adventures while serving refugees in East Africa. One thing that really hit home to each of us
is what a privileged life we lead here in the United States of America. It is true that we have our share of poverty,
civil unrest, unemployment, homelessness; however, we also have access to shelters
and soup kitchens and government assistance.
It is eye-opening, at least to me, that most people in the world do not
have access to even the basic human need of clean drinking water.
Another aspect of the book that we all enjoyed was being
able to witness the transformation that happened to Fr. Martin. He went into Nairobi, Kenya because he was
ordered to do so as a two year learning experience. Like many men and women who embark on mission
work, he was filled with exuberance at the thought of how he would be able to
make positive change in the world. And,
like many men and women, he came back a changed man. In the words of Fr. Martin, “The refugees, as I said before, changed
me. They changed the way I look at
poverty. The refugees changed the way I
look at humanity. The refugees changed
the way I looked at God, too. The
refugees broke my heart, too. But they
broke my heart in another way: they broke it open, helping me to receive God’s
love in a new way from people I would have never expected to know so well.”
When I reflect upon these words of Fr. Martin, I think of
how we are each given the opportunity every day to be changed by the ways God
is revealing himself to us. We also have
the opportunity to be the catalyst of change for others. My Anna traveled to Nairobi, Kenya with John
F. Kennedy Catholic School and their relationship with the Me to We
Foundation/Free the Children. Their
motto is “Be the Change.” I pray that someone breaks your heart open to
receive God’s love and that you in turn can be that change for others.
Our next book club session will be held Tuesday, August 11
from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. We will be
discussing the book, Our Lady of the Lost
and Found. A Novel of Mary, Faith, and
Friendship by Diane Schoemperlen. I
encourage you to consider reading this novel and “meet me on the lawn” so that together we can see how our Mother
Mary may be waiting to break our hearts open for God just in time to celebrate
the Assumption!
Kwaheri kwa sassa, (goodbye
for now)
Tina
This our
Exile. A Spiritual Journey with the Refugees of East Africa. James Martin, S.J. ©1999, 2011 by The Society
of Jesus of New England. Published by
Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0302.
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