UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO

R. Aloysio Sehnem, 186                               18 November, 2010       XL:3

UNISINOS

Cx. P. 101

93.001-970 São Leopoldo, RS

BRASIL                                                           e-mail:  [email protected]

Dear Family, Colleagues, Friends and Benefactors:

“Good-by!” (God be with you!), Vai com Deus! [Great way to start a message!]

Dating from antiquity, this declaration of exit has served as a gesture of departure in diverse cultures, regions and languages throughout the world. Short, profound and complete, it captures the essence of the spiritual ties that bond individuals in their migrations even as physical ties are stretched or even broken.

It also captures something of the essential flexibility to which man (humanity) is called in this life as we navigate a world that is both home and alien to us. Natural and attractive in its beauty and grandeur, this world presents perils to a species called to steward it through a self-discipline that is divine in origin. Frequently we fail in that stewardship not because of personal evil or design, but by confusion, ineptitude and lack of self-discipline.

Confusion can arise as we forget that Almighty God creates and places us here, not in retirement but in responsibility to recognize, understand, harness and direct the resources of the world through a personal dominance and application of our own unique talents and gifts. Those talents and gifts themselves must be discerned and developed through the self-discipline which in itself is in constant flux. The entire venture can be confusing and exhausting to the point where we are tempted to desist, QUIT.

Frequently we do so, merely seeking not only legitimate rest but complete escape, quitting on ourselves, on others and on God. Since the time of our first parents confusion, fall and escape have plagued humanity, always together, in tandem, never separate. Every sprit of evil in every temptation knows that these three perils must be combined, because notwithstanding our ignorance and frailty, we innately seek The Good and try to avoid evil.

Yet God never quits on us. He realizes our propensity for confusion, tendency to fall and proclivity to quit, desisting from the continuous navigation that should mark our progress in this world, meeting each other in HIM, forming personal communion with each other in HIM, yet departing physically from each other (taking leave of each other) as HE calls. HE forgives our sins and raises us. HE renews and reinvigorates us. HE journeys with us.

Even as we fell completely as a species, HE remained with us entering into our perplexity, bestowing salvation and the sacramental instruments to renew our spirit. We celebrate that Arrival and Presence in this Hanukkah-Advent-Christmas Season; God with us. Grateful for that presence through HIM and in all of you, I wish you

A Holy Christmas and a Blessed Year of 2011!

Yours sincerely in Jesus Christ

Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.