Alleluia for all that was, is, and will be! – Jeanne Connolly

As I write this final reflection, my heart is full of sadness, confusion, fear, and perhaps a tad bit of anger that it “didn’t have to be this way.” My heart is also full of joy, excitement, curiosity, love, and profound gratitude. My sense is that many of you may be feeling a heart full of mixed emotions.

In their book, Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia for All That Is, Joan Chittister, OSB, and Archbishop Rowan Williams invite us to sing alleluia to the changes that free us from the predictable. They write, “Alleluia means simply ‘All hail to the One who is.’ It is the arch-hymn of praise, the ultimate expression of thanksgiving, the pinnacle of triumph, the acme of human joy. It says that God is Good—and we know it.” (p.xi) This reflection is an alleluia to what was, is, and what will be.