"Elizaveta Iurievna Kuzmina-Karavaeva Skobtsova, later known as Mother Maria, was a Russian Orthodox religious thinker, poet and artist. Her multi-faceted legacy includes articles, poems, art, and drama. In the 1910s she was part of the literary milieu of St. Petersburg and was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. She fled Russia soon after the Bolsheviks' takeover and lived in Paris, where she became a nun. In 1935, she participated in organizing the so-called Orthodox Action, which was designed to help Russian immigrants in France. She and her fellow-workers from Orthodox Action opened a house for homeless and sick immigrants in Paris. During the Nazi occupation of the city, the house was transformed into a refuge for Jews and displaced persons. Mother Maria and her son were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and died in the Ravensbruck camp in Germany. Mother Maria's selfless devotion to people and her death as a martyr will never be forgotten. In 2004, the Holy Synod confirmed the glorification of Mother Maria." - from Columbia University Libraries Special Collection link

What Actions Do You Take

When I think of the connection that I have had over the years to the stories of people like Mother Maria, stories of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Thomas Merton, Mother Theresa, Catherine DeHueck, Dorothy Day, and the like, I ask myself what drives my actions. Will my actions ever read like tales from the deep that are meant to inspire other people - throughout time.  Right now, I would have to say "I doubt it."

So often we see our lives as here, now, for this moment and for this act, but in the greater scheme of things our lives are a part of the cosmic drama of life.  We are but small and integral pieces in the larger whole of life.  Do we remember our acts are here to forge the words for the tales that will be told ages and ages hence.  Our lives will meld with history and be the stories told by future folk.

I know I often forget that.  Reading stories and sharing tales around the fire bolsters my spirits and my connection to the greater tale that life is really all about.  Being a member of this human family throughout time is ennobling and deepening.  Especially when we consider our place in the Kingdom of God that runs through, in, and around everything that is a part of human life.

Ciao!

TJM+


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