Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Robert F. MorneauApril 05, 2010

Here is the coin carried by John of the Cross.
On one side: todo—everything—the gift.
On the other: nada—nothing—vacant space.
He fingered this penny every day,
touched the gift of God’s impinging love,
caressing the pain and suffering of empty space.
Well worn, this copper piece,
calluses on both thumb and forefinger.
John was in touch with the mystery,
the paradox of everything and nothing,
of life coming through Jesus
and a dying unto oneself.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

What is happening to migrants in courtrooms across the country is a complete embarrassment to the justice system and an affront to human dignity.
Being a kid in the summer is all about existing in an eternal present moment, a feeling of freedom and potential that it will never go away.
John DoughertyJuly 11, 2025
Father Thomas Hennen, vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, has been appointed Bishop of Baker, Oregon.
OSV NewsJuly 11, 2025
My writing during these past five years is filled with memories of my long journey with God over a lifetime; but very significantly, it is the expression of my prayer at this later time of my life.