A Great Word: Celebrate

I heard a funny story of an ancient monastery charged with copying old books and scrolls for the faith.

One day, Father Florian, who headed the work of the scriptorium, was asked by a new monk: "Does not the copying by hand of other copies allow for chances of error? How do we know we are not copying the mistakes of someone else? Are they ever checked against the originals?"

"A very good point," Father Florian agreed. "I will take one of the latest books down to the vault and compare it to the original."

After a day had passed and the priest had not returned, the monks began to worry. When they went to the vault, they found him weeping over an ancient manuscript.

"What is the problem, Father?" asked one of the monks.

"A mistake," he sobbed. "The word was supposed to becelebrate!"

We can be assured that "celibate" was never confused with "celebrate," but do we tend to leave celebration out of spirituality? For some people, it is all about following the rules and practices. For others, it is a celebration of love.

Would you say your life is more like a guest at a party, or like the one who cleans up after someone elses party? Would the joy of a friends wedding or the obligation of yet another committee meeting more closely describe your approach to living?

Not that we can be, or ought to be, happy all the time. There is much growth in pain. But "celebrate" is one of those great words that leads to great living. If you think you could use more celebration, today is a great day to begin!