Writing: expressing God’s beauty through the written word
By Sister Irene Hartman, O.P.
Charisms in the Lives of Contemporaries
From the looks of the hundreds of new books in the stores, it would seem that there must be also hundreds of people with the charism of "writing." But perhaps not all those who write have the charism of writing. This gift is the one which gives the Christian the ability to be God’s channel in using words of truth or beauty reflecting the fullness of human expression and bringing glory to God. Look again at the books in the corner bookstore. How many fully express humanity? How many of these books bring glory to God? How many of these writers have the gift of writing? Possibly very few.
In this age of technology, writing has to a large measure become outmoded. Cell phones, e-mail, phone cards, greeting cards, the use of the internet ... all these advances and many more tend to make writing letters outdated, requiring too much time and energy. But there is nothing like a letter to a friend or family member to express one’s love and bring glory to God. A certain freedom in writing enhances the quality of the letter, and the love of the writer shows forth clearly.
Writing can often put one into a spirit of prayer, thereby nourishing and enhancing one’s faith. Journaling about God’s work in one’s life can reawaken deeper desires for the presence of the divine. Then the writing can go a step further and serve as an inspiration and a source of healing for those whose faith has grown weak; they can be encouraged to again take up their cross.
Father Arthur Delp, S.J. spent his last Advent in a dark cell during the Hitler regime. But even though chained, he somehow managed to write meditations on the meaning of Advent and Christmas. He wrote: "Others have you in their power; they torture and frighten you. But the inner law of freedom sings that no death can kill us; life is eternal." And again, "Remember I am sacrificed, not conquered."
Faith can inspire heroic virtue; this was clearly demonstrated in the life and writings of the Austrian Franz Jagerstatter, a husband and the father of three children during World War II. As a common sexton of the village church and with a very simple education, he wrote in 1936: "I can say from my own experience how painful life often is when one lives as a halfway Christian; it is more like vegetating than living."
"Since the death of Christ, almost every century has seen the persecution of Christians; there have always been heroes and martyrs who gave their lives -- often in horrible ways -- for Christ and their faith. If we hope to reach our goal some day, then we, too, must become heroes of the faith."
After a thunderstorm destroyed his crops, he refused to accept government assistance and wrote, "Though we must bear our daily sorrows and reap little reward in this world for doing so, we can still become richer than millionaires, for those who need not fear death are the richest and happiest of all. And these riches are there for the asking."
When Jagerstatter was about to be drafted, he was encouraged by his friends to resist the draft. He wrote, "I cannot believe that, just because one has a wife and children, he is free to offend God by lying (not to mention all the other things I would be called upon to do)."
The death of Jagerstatter by beheading did not shake the earth; did not change the Hitler regime, but his written words will live forever. His letters of tenderness to his wife and children, his words of wisdom, give courage to future generations.