Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation

There is a story about the renowned symphony conductor, Arturo Toscanini. It is said that during the rehearsal with a symphony orchestra, Toscanini suddenly stopped the whole orchestra in mid-measure and announced accusingly, “I cannot hear ze second floot!” In the flood of music of a hundred-piece orchestra, Toscanini’s refined ear had perceived that a sound was lacking: the sound of a secondary instrument. Those missing notes of one line of music distorted the whole harmony. It was not that the second flute was playing the wrong notes. There was nothing incorrect in its line of melody. It was simply not bearing its part of the harmony, and it is the harmony that makes the symphony.

One of my favorite Scripture verses for Christmas is from the Wisdom of Solomon: “For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne.” (Wis. 18, 14-15) To me, those words perfectly describe the intense anticipation that we feel as we wait for Christmas Midnight Mass to begin. Of course, I know that for the past nine months, Jesus has been curled comfortably in Mary’s womb peacefully sucking his thumb, but there is still that breathless waiting for the instant when heaven leaps down to earth and we realize that he is here now! Emmanuel, forever inseparably one with us!

November is the month when we remember those who have “run their course” here on earth, who have “finished the race” in this world and who have passed on to their eternal home. On Nov. 1, we honor those who have fulfilled their journey and now rejoice in the infinite love of God. On Nov. 2, we commemorate those who have still some preparation to accomplish in order to share fully eternal life in heaven.

Once, during a trip to Philadelphia, I joined a guided tour of the City Hall. The Philadelphia City Hall is the magnificent blue and white edifice standing at one end of the Benjamin Franklin Partway facing the Museum of Art. It houses the various governmental offices, but it is also a work of art with many sculptures and the iconic statue of Billy Penn on top of its 500 ft. tower.