God is so free and so marvelous {doing} wonders where people despair... tak{ing} what is little
and lowly and mak{ing} it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves
the lowly... God marches right in {and} chooses people as... instruments and performs...
wonders where one would least expect them.
In a talk about compassion, a former teacher of mine once said that practice prepares the mind, but suffering prepares the heart. Perhaps the final step in the healing of all wounds is the discovery of the capacity for compassion, an intuitive knowing that no one is singled out in their suffering, that all living beings are vulnerable to loss, attachment, and limitation. It is only in the presence of compassion that we can show our wounds without diminishing our wholeness. For those who have compassion, woundedness is not a place of judgment but a place of genuine meeting.
Knowing God is the source of compassion in our lives. We realize that our separation from others is artificial. We are neither separate from other people nor from Tao. It is only our own egotism that leads us to define ourselves as individuals. In fact, a direct experience of God is a direct experience of the utter universality of life. If we allow it to change our way of thinking, we will understand our essential oneness with all things.
In spiritual maturity, the opposite of injustice is not justice, but compassion. Not me against you, not me straightening out the present ill, fighting to gain a just result for myself and others, but compassion, a life that goes against nothing and fulfills everything.
The process of establishing ourselves in a habitual state of compassionate love takes place in the context of countless failure to be compassionate. But this proves to be no hindrance as long as we commit ourselves to being compassionate toward ourselve in our failings to be compassionate. Even our failures to be compassionate prove to be but new opportunities . . . This process of yielding to compassionate love unfolds and deepens over a lifetime of learning that when all is said and done, love is the playing field where we most truly meet ourselves and others as we really are, precious in our collective frailty.
~ from THE CONTEMPLATIVE HEART by James Finley, thanks to Liz Stewart
"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"
IN MEMORIAM
Nan Crerie Merrill, December 3, 1931—January 23, 2010
On January 23, 2010, at 11:15 p.m., Nan C. Merrill, founder and director of Friends of Silence, slipped through the veil to her Beloved. The daughter of Ernest and Merle Crerie, Nan was mother to 3 sons and 2 daughters; "Nana" to 6 grandchildren; and "Auntie Nancy" to 6 nieces and nephews. She is also survived by one sister and a whole host of friends and colleagues across the country and abroad.
Nan touched the hearts of thousands of people through her monthly publication of Friends of Silence. She started this newsletter over 22 years ago in Detroit, Michigan, where she spent several years as a lay volunteer in an inner-city church. FOS has grown from a beginning group of about 40 members who came together at the church to pray silently over the city to more than six thousand subscribers world wide.
Nan shared her deep spiritual insights and love of writing by authoring six books and editing numerous others. She encouraged and nurtured everyone who came into her path. Nan has led retreats, worked with inner city residents and been involved in prison ministry for many years. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was an avid sports fan who enjoyed watching golf, basketball and football.
Nan and I met by mail through her FOS newsletter nearly 20 years ago. As she did for so many, she mentored me by being my "pen pal" for several years before we met face to face. Nan assisted me along the way through the intense spiritual search in which I was engaged, lending an ear or a shoulder as needed. She became my dear friend and colleague as the years passed, and I will sorely miss her. Still, I am so aware that she is here, that she lives on, not only in her published work, but also in our memories and our awareness of her strong spiritual presence in our own lives. Friends of Silence will continue in her footsteps.
April 24, 2010, 1:00 p.m.
Holy Family Church
2103 Broadway
Hannibal, MO 63401
Reception in the fellowship hall following the service
It would be helpful to know how many to expect; please write FOS at 11 Cardiff Lane, Hannibal, MO 63401; e-mail annestrad@sbcglobal.net (please note “NAN” in the subject line); or call Anne at 573-221-4031 if you plan to attend.
Friends of Silence is interested in archiving Nan’s letters and other writings (poems, prayers, etc.). If you have any of these you are willing to share, please send them to Anne at 11 Cardiff Lane, Hannibal, MO 63401.
