It All Begins with Longing

The basic human feeling of openness begins with longing, as described by writer and poet Nelly Sachs. Everything that is, or is allowed to become, is followed by this feeling of longing. This is my interpretation of her poem anyway. Maybe it does not coincide with Nelly’s. She wrote, “It all begins with longing, there is room in every heart for more, for beauty and for grandness.

Response to Longing

Any kind of longing or desire can also become a restlessness and an escape from reality. Nelly goes on to say that "this is mankind’s greatness and distress: longing for calmness, for friendship and love." It is my belief that when a person finds a human response to his own longing, he will come closer to the true nature of his being: a person who loves and wants to be loved.

God Incarnate

Are we talking and thinking of God in much too humanly terms when we follow Nelly’s writing, “Did not your incarnation, God, begin with this longing for human kind?” This description of God’s longing, this incarnation, moves and inspires me. Those who are enamored and inspired by this longing open their heart toward heaven.

It Begins with Longing

I believe that longing is the starting point of passion and love. Like no other liturgical feasts, Christmas and Easter remind us of God's love for his children. The parish team of Good Shepherd and Gut Hirt wish you an uninflated and relaxed time of preparation filled with the longing for the Incarnation of God. May unexpected and happy moments open and enrich your lives