The Other is My Blessing

I read a very beautiful and inspiring article “On Teachers as Angels: A Reflection on a Life in the Middle East,” Divyadaan 26/1-2 (2015) 111-126, by Stephanie Saldaña. I want to read the article once again. There are so many things I could write after having read it once. For the time being, I want to just say that Saldaña shares about her life-experiences, nay, her wisdom with regard to inter-religious dialogue. The article is nothing but a mature and profound reflection on her life spent as a Christian living among Muslims in the Middle East. Thanks to Ivo who had mentioned about her (and the idea that I'll talk about shortly) in the Lonergan conference at the Greg a couple of years ago. One of the inspiring moments for me was to understand that during the Visitation it is Mary who carries Christ, but it is Elizabeth who gives the blessing. Similarly, as Christians we carry the message of Christ within us, but it is the Other who gives us the blessing of God.

I want connect this to what Jean Vanier says. He remarks that Jesus did not say, "Blessed are those who care for the poor," but "Blessed are the poor." Henri Nouwen deepens this reflection by saying that it is nothing wrong with the desire to help and care for the poor. "But unless I realize that God's blessing is coming to me from those I want to serve, my help will be short-lived, and soon I will be burned out." [Henri Nouwen, Here and Now: Living in the Spirit (Mumbai: St Pauls, 2011) 81.] The Other is my blessing.