Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

In Nablus, in the West Bank, at the Church where we find Jacob’s Well there is a wonderful saint of a man. He is quite elderly now. He recently finished building his tomb, there at the church, so that he will be there to watch, bless, and pray long into their future.

He has spent thousands upon thousands of hours painting the church with loving care (a few pictures are below). He serves in a place where it is dangerous - even deadly - to be a Christian. One of his priest colleagues, not that long ago, was slain with an axe by Jewish religious extremists right on the steps leading down to Jacob’s Well. He too was beaten this past January and left quite injured.

It is a rare place that is a beautiful gem in the midst of harsh times, harsh realities, and so much division.

He was asked, in a group I was traveling with, “What do you think the secret of a good life is?”

His answer was as simple as it was profound. He said, “The secret to a good life is to make sure your neighbor has a good life.”

How much richer and deeper would our world be if that were our benchmark for a good life? So much seems at war with that simple premise - that our neighbor’s good is our good. I will be thinking this week on how I can live more deeply into his simple advice and I invite you to the same.

Let us pray that we might live a good life together.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert