A00228 - Book of the Month for February 2024: The Story of a Soul by Therese of Lisieux
It is Sunday and I am back in Manila now. Since it is Sunday, I decided that it would be good to attend mass. As it happens, the Shrine of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus
is only two blocks from my hotel. I missed the morning mass but returned later on in the day for the evening mass. Unfortunately, the service was primarily conducted in Tagalog, a language in which I do not have any competence. Nevertheless, I did stand when the others stood and I did pray when the others prayed. However, during the actual sermon itself, I found myself reading about Saint Therese.
and became intrigued by the concept of the "little way of spiritual childhood" that evolved from her book The Story of a Soul.
It was Saint Therese's life as set forth in this book which inspired a great many people including a certain nun who took the name Teresa
in tribute to Saint Therese and whose saying
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."
is one of the scrolls that adorns my bedroom wall.
Given this connection, I am now inclined to learn more about Therese of Lisieux, the woman who is described by some as the Emily Dickinson of Catholic saints. And so, for the month of February, The Story of a Soul by Therese of Lisieux will be the book of the month.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Manila, Philippines
January 21, 2024
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com <skipjen2865@aol.com>
To:
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2024 at 01:55:03 AM PST
Subject: Cloud 9 on MLK Day
Today is MLK Day in the United States. It is also Martin Luther King's actual birthday, and it is also the day I chose to retire from the City Attorney's Office for the City of Richmond. I chose Martin Luther King's birthday for my retirement day so that I would always remember my retirement day by remembering Martin's most famous speech, -- the "I Have A Dream" speech
by remembering how Martin stirred the crowd on August 28, 1963, with this thundering conclusion
"And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
and by adopting Martin's last words in the speech as my own retirement motto:
"Free at last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Usually to commemorate my "Freedom" day, I like to go to Encinitas and meditate on the meaning of the day at the Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Garden. However, this year, for reasons personal and professional, I have ventured to the Philippine island of Siargao
which is home to the surfing mecca known as Cloud 9.
As I walked along the pier that ventures out into the ocean waters where the waves are generated so powerfully, I could only reflect on this Freedom Day with great appreciation and to contemplate a trailblazing song that won Motown it's first ever Grammy Award some 55 years ago.
Despite the hardships, sometimes Cloud Nine can be achieved.
Happy MLK Day everyone,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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