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Mysteries, Yes

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood…
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs…
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.1

Mary Oliver

A few weeks ago I made an appointment with the Doctor; I had developed a rash around my waist. She told me I had shingles. I blithely inquired as to how that could be since I already had shingles some years back and I understood that a person developed them only once. But yes, we can get them again!

The Doctor works with a therapist who was available to see me there and then. I was reminded yet again that the body knows and she was telling me that all was not well. The Spirit, alive in me, was offering a moment of insight; what was needing attention in my life?

Two experiences came to mind. While painful to have them emerge so clearly in consciousness, I now have this rich vein of past experience to re-visit and integrate more fully into my life. Mysteries, yes.

God shows up in our lives in infinite ways and forms – all we need to do is tune into the Spirit alive in us. As I wrote many years ago, in a poem of my own:

Divine Maestro, your flute is ready
blow, breathe, bestow
your breath in me;
blow surely and strong
freeing me of those fetters which tie me still;
I want to sing, harmonize, make music;
birth in me anew, your rhythm and tune;
breath of God, recreate me and transform me
at every moment into that disposition of
surrendering myself into your hands;
to render a melody that is new and full of You!

1 Mary Oliver. Evidence: Poems by Mary Oliver, Beacon Press, 2009.

Christina Cathro is a New Zealander and a Sister of Our Lady of the Missions (RNDM). She holds an MA in Formative Spirituality from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and a Doctor of Ministry from the Toronto School of Theology.

Christina is an educator. Besides teaching, her ministry has included being RNDM novice director in New Zealand, and serving as spiritual director, retreat leader, and group facilitator in several countries. She has additionally served on both the RNDM Canadian and New Zealand Leadership Teams.

To all her involvements, Christina brings a passionate sensitivity for beauty and transformation. She carries a strong sense of the Spirit working with, in, and among us, to create a world where all of life is able to flourish.

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2 years ago

Thank you Christina for sharing this experience and your poetic insights, weaving diverse strands of life together. Truly “God shows up in our lives in infinite ways and forms.” Your reflection encourages me to ongoing attention.

Wendy MacLean
2 years ago

Christina — thank you very much for this! I needed some of the reminders in this piece!