Crystal Rain

Coming from New England, I am always amazed at Virginia's weather although I have lived here since entering our monastery over thirty years ago.  Winter in the Old Dominion is particularly fascinating.  A few weeks ago, we were treated to a nighttime freezing rain that coated every leaf and twig with a glassy coat of ice.  But with dawn came a clear sky that allowed the rising sun to transform the great outdoors into a glittering wonderland.  Now here is the difference between New England and Virginia:  in the former, one could look forward to weeks of enduring ice, but the Virginian winter sun has warmth enough to begin an immediate meltdown.  As I emerged from our choir after attending Holy Mass, I found in our cloister courtyard a crystal rain.  I tried to capture the moment in the above picture.  The beauty was fleeting, but the memory will be with me forever.  All joys in this life are a foreshadowing of eternal joy which will not pass away.  We can let go of passing pleasures in peace, for we hope to receive them back again and infinitely more besides in our union with God from whom all beauty and goodness flow.