Rejoice with those who are rejoicing

The Rev. Mark Rutenbar, Rector of Church of the Holy Communion, joined the St. Mary's community on Monday and shared a series of stories revealing, perhaps, one of the darker sides of our personalities: the tendency to resent our neighbor's success.  With a Gospel parable and a Jewish folktale illuminating the same message, he encouraged us to resist the temptation to begrudge another person's accomplishments and instead to rise to the occasion to celebrate the joys of our friends and companions.  Students and faculty recognized the reality of his message, and many shared reflections throughout the day that followed about sharing in the happiness of others' good fortune.