Litany of Contradictory Things

Wheat and weeds:

       let them grow together…
Rich and poor, humble and haughty:
       let them grow together.
Those whose thinking is similar and contrary:
       let them grow together.
Those whose feelings are transparent or concealed:
       let them grow together.
Days of sparseness and days of plenty:
       let them grow together.
Winter, spring, summer, fall:
       let them grow together.
All the seasons of one’s life:
       let them grow together.
Joys and sorrow, laughter, tears:
       let them grow together.
Strength and weakness:
       let them grow together.
Doubt and faith:
       let them grow together.
Denial and commitment:
       let them grow together.
Preoccupation and freedom:
       let them grow together.
Virtue and vice:
       let them grow together.
Contemplation and action:
       let them grow together.
Giving and receiving:
       let them grow together.
The helpful and the helpless:
       let them grow together.
Wisdom of the East and West:
       let them grow together.
All contrarieties of the Spirit:
       let them grow together.
            –Excerpted and adapted from Michael Moynahan, SJ