Frederick Franck turned to the door of the building, a massive wooden sculpture in the form of the sun and its rays, and pushed it open.I saw that it turned on a central axis, so that only one half of the door was open at any one time.To remind us, he murmured, that we step into this sacred space as we walk into life, alone and silently . . .I looked around me and marveled at this ninety-year-old man from whose hand had sprung everything I could see.He had carved the door, made the stained-glass windows and every other object in sight.Pacem in Terris, I realized, was one man’s act of artistic faith: a work of art outside the parameters of the art world, and also a religious statement unconfined by any religion.
I wonder if gratefulness is the
bridge from sorrow to joy,
spanning the chasm of our
anxious striving. Freed from the
burden of unbridled desires, we
can enjoy what we have,
celebrate what we've attained,
and appreciate the familiar. For
if we can't be happy now, we'll
likely not be happy when.