It has been 8 years since the that tragic day in America. I imagine I will always remember how many years it has been since the day planes destroyed the World Trade Center and the parts of the Pentagon. I'll remember because it will always be the same number of years as the age of my oldest son. I'll probably always remember nursing my infant as I watched the tragedy unfold on TV that morning. It was a scary way to begin motherhood.
But today, eight years have passed, that infant is a third grader and a big brother. And, for good or for bad, there was no mention of the World Trade Center over our family breakfast this morning. But there was mention of September 11. Why? Because it's the feast of St. Euphrosynos the Cook! We spent our breakfast reading this wonderful book, which my boys (especially my oldest) have grown to love over the years. I think they love the stories about St. Euphrosynos as a boy and his difficult but rewarding relationships with the other monks in his monastery. And I'm sure they love the gorgeous illustrations. But this morning as I read it, I thought about St. Euphrosynos' humility and his forgiveness. Euphrosynos was treated poorly by the others as a child, and by other monks as an adult. But he was patient, humble and forgiving. And that spirit of forgiveness seems a perfect model for today, the anniversary of a day when many people were wronged and violated. And I know it's a good model for me today, this week and this month as I continue to struggle with how to relate to those who wrong me, my children, my friends. Forgiveness is hard, hard, hard, but it's worth it, not only in eternity, but even in that very moment. 
And then, several friends posted this lovely story today from the NPR archives. It's from the "This I Believe" series and is about forgiveness after a tragedy in Vietnam just a few years before I was born. It is certainly a perfect image for us today.May we all learn to embrace forgiveness in our daily lives through the prayers of the humble young monk Euphrosynos!
3 comments:
We too love this book and have the humble saint's icon in or kitchen. Forgiveness is a good lesson for this day. Forgiveness and concentrating on our own repentance.
Much love in Christ,
Katherine
I remember thinking what sort of future (if any, thought it was possible the END) lies ahead for my first born, who was almost 3 months old. It was scary. May God protect us all and bless America, land of the free and home of the brave!
I'm embarassed to admit I didn't realize that book was about St. Euphrosynos.
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