Many people live Br Charles’ intuitions: it’s what L Sr Norma from the community in Havana, Cuba discovers.
« Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise… ».
It’s with these words that we begin our prayer each morning, just as all kinds of noises surge surround us: the voice of the bread vendor, the tinkle of the neighbour’s bell as he greets his divinities, the crowing of cocks, the sound of cats and dogs, the gurgling of the coffee machine etc.
Br Charles’ conviction that, « Jesus made daily life a meeting place with God” is the central intuition in the lives of many people who, though they are perhaps not aware of it, live it through their meetings and exchanges. You just need to go out to meet those who are on their way to work or the bakery to buy bread for breakfast or their midday meal. It’s the first queue of the day… On the street corner Lazarus is proudly announcing his son’s first jokes to his friends. Further along, a lady is showing her neighbour where she can find some oil, some picadillo (a local dish made with mince meat) as well as cigarettes, which have become such a rare and precious commodity these days… She adds, « You won’t find a lot of variety, but surely you will encounter a lot of people.”
In the afternoon, in the courtyard or just in front of our house, people get together for some fresh air, or to play or drink. Their voices, both loud and soft, give an idea of their conversations…life is bubbling up and can’t be stopped by the difficulties.
In the evening, after a time of silence, we give thanks for all we have lived: meetings, visits, events, joys, tiredness…and finally we end with the prayer of abandonment which reminds us that we are loved by the Father as much as those young people who come out with their instruments almost at the very moment that we are going to bed. Yes, I go to bed with a grateful heart and with the wish that those young people too will soon go to sleep.
L.sr. Norma