Break those patterns...Look for the light / light side!

Dear Dan,

We just got back from a vacation at the Italian firefighter's retreat station in northern Italy (Trentino). It was wonderful, great to spend time with these firefighters (colleagues of my husband) and their families, people who (like yourself) get to experience God/life/death in "first person".

We have some great news...on Feb. 19 our new ITMS Italy chapter met in Assisi and a monk from the Carnaldolese order announced that we have been given space for a "Merton meeting/study point" in the library of a beautiful hermitage located near Umbria and the Marche regions in Italy. It will be open to all, how wonderful to have a place in Italy where Merton fans from around the world can meet.Unfortunately we have no money to buy books so we are searching for donations...I am praying that someone can help us in honor of Merton's anniversary March 19th (simple vows, solemn vows and "illumination" at 4th & Walnut), Saint Joseph and Lent. In fact I think
this "opening" may be a Lenten gift.

I hope that this news somehow brightens your day, I see from your blogspot that you are dealing with difficult patterns right now. I find that looking for the light / light side and coincidences often help me to break out of a tailspin...grace is often all around us. For example, yesterday I was at the grocery store in line to buy bread and noticed an unusual man (long hair, dangling cross earring) ahead of me in line. He was joking with the clerk (they were friends) and I said nothing, but after we both lined up again at the meat counter (it was funny, it seemed as if I was following him around!) I struck up a conversation with him about our new ITMS chapter
and Merton's new book (L'Esperienza Interiore, released this month).

He mentioned he was a musician -and comes from the area of Italy near the Carnaldolese monastery! - and has done benefit concerts for nuns; this was interesting because I have been wondering how to honor Merton's aniversary next week, with music perhaps?

Anyway, returning home all of a sudden the song "If" popped in my mind, I heard it play over and over (how strange,I hadn't actually heard this song in over 20 years and I don't own that music either). I started to ask myself "who wrote that music?" and I remembered David Gates and BREAD! I checked on the internet and found that song "If" was first released on the "Manna" album in 1971, but the group Bread was formed in 1968, the year of Merton's death!

This song can also be found on their more recent cd, "Retrospective"...and this made me think about the e-mail I sent for Merton's 90th Birthday - "Together In Spirit, Best Wishes for Thomas Merton's 90th Birthday - January 31, 2005 - Retrospective..."!So then I just had to look up the lyrics to "If",somewhat surprising,
I had never noticed the end of that song before, how strange...and all this
began simply because I was buying bread (all these repetitions of bread - Bread -
Manna) at the grocery store! Oh oh is this another "Revelation"...?!(Remember Merton's "Revelation" plaque at 4th & Walnut in Louisville,I am still in shock over the resemblance to the one in Rome after we placed the wreath and rose...)

Many blessings and lots of light, love and life!

--Sherri Mcferranrusso

(p.s.) James Griffin another member of BREAD died recently in Nashville. I had prayed for him while he was in the hospital !!!