"The success or failure of any historical age is the extent to which
those living at that time have fulfilled the special role that history
has imposed upon them."Thomas Berry, The Great Work:Our Way into the Future

Last week was quite a blur for me. Being involved in the many events that have surrounded our son's graduation from high school have kept me swimming in a sea of delightful details. In the midst of all of it, I was aware that one of the great voices of our time had passed on into eternity. Thomas Berry,writer,cultural historian,geologist and wisdom figure,died June 1st at the age of 94. His work and words has influenced so many to nurture the relationship between our faith traditions and the scientific world, a relationship that has often been under attack. One of his most famous quotes, "The Universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects." shows his great love for the universe into which he was born, where he lived out his call to awe and wonder, and his dedication to passing on that message to the world. 

Two years ago I had the privilege to be present in a beautiful hall named in his honor on the grounds of the Whitbey Institute near Seattle. The space seemed to be hollowed out of an enormous tree, trees being a symbol often used in his work. This large tree hall was used for worship, lectures, concerts, dance, and the play of children. Its very architecture was about the relationship in which we are all involved, whether we notice it or not. Thomas Berry's work was to remind us of the scared nature of our reliance on all the relationships of our living. From atom to air, from soil to sun, from human to humus, we exist in an interdependence in the unfolding universe that is mostly invisible to us. Yet what is unseen, the Mystery, is what holds us together. Berry's words and wisdom are a great reminder.

So today, now that the blur has cleared for me a bit, I will celebrate the life of Thomas Berry by reminding myself of the invisible lines of connection that hold us all and keep us dancing in this amazing universe. His earthly work, his Great Work, may be finished but his invitation to us continues. I encourage you to seek out his writings if you have not done so as we carry into the future the gifts which he placed in our hands.

"The excitement of life is in the numinous experience wherein we are
given to each other in that larger celebration of existence in which
all things attain their highest expression, for the universe, by
definition, is a single gorgeous celebratory event. "