A boulevardier, bien sur

Just to prove I’m here…

I’m sitting at a table outside the Cafe Central, trying to be very cool as I eat alone. It’s a very long time since a did this, and while it is welcome to have some time with be one’s own thoughts after the intensity of the east few days, I’m reminded what a blessing a shared life is. I don’t care if one lives with one’s beloved, or one lives in community — and I think we should reappraise the value of religious communities and consider now they can be part of the future of the church in new and vibrant ways — sharing the journey is important. I’m hanging out for a call home.

There’s a tangent: you’ve only got to look at the Cor Novum team to see what incredible potential there is in that kind of community, men and women with a shared commitment to a common goal. I just don’t find that in the workplace — there really is something missing,it is probably formation. But then I looked at how all of us came to dote on the children of one of our pilgrims, and I really thought that we sell ourselves so short. These lovely kids, one of them a boy with Down’s syndrome, often brought out the best in us. Such gorgeous kids, and so often the focus of attention for all the right reasons. This is a vey easy group of people to come to appreciate for their hearts — we all seem to be singing from the same song book. As the newest MSC person, I have a long way to go.

There’s another bloody reason for sharing travel — this gorgeous girl with her rather left bank boyfriend are enjoying a bottle of wine, not just a carafe, and this girl is so much the one in charge in this relationship! Ahh, to share a bottle and converse over its merits…