Tantur Newsletter: July-December 2017

Tantur Newsletter: July-December 2017

Tantur_logo.pngJourneys, by Dan Koski, Tantur Staff

“Life is a journey. When we stop, things don’t go right.”

That’s a quote attributed to Pope Francis that I ran across while searching for something meaningful to write to a colleague of
mine who was preparing to leave the Holy Land. The quote didn’t work well for what I wanted to write, but it stuck with me as an apt way to both end the year and send Nativity greetings from Tantur.

We often refer to Tantur as an oasis in both an abstract and literal sense. Intersecting with this thought, the concept of journeys comes to mind when I think of Tantur as a location, as an institute, and as an experience. Tantur is indeed an oasis along many journeys, and was perhaps one for the Holy Family when the Nativity of Christ occurred. An oasis may be a “stop” in the modern sense of the word for the traveler or pilgrim, but it is in a more accurate term, a place for resting, for collecting needed resources, of encounter, and perhaps a moment’s reflection before continuing on. If the Holy Family did indeed pass through Tantur, perhaps it is theit blessing that enables us to welcome – and bid farewell – to so many scholars, students, clergy, laity, pilgrims and residents throughout the year, whether they stay for a day, a month, a year, or a lifetime.

This December, as the Tantur community prepares for the celebration of Christmas, the Feast of the Nativity, we wish all of our friends and colleagues blessed journeys of any and all kinds, and we look forward to continuing our own journey of faith, study and fellowship in the coming year.

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