By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--October 17, 2016
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Surpassing all stories pressed upon us in these most troubling of times, are the rarely discovered true ‘Stories of the Soul.’
These are the stories that are most easily overlooked because in the mainstream media malevolent maelstrom of lies, their call for attention comes only in the most easily missed humble whispers.
Coming across the reminder of The Anne Frank Tree from retired Catholic Priest, Fr. Victor Brown, O.P. , in the midst of the evil that now faces the Western World , was akin to unexpectedly happening upon a friend during a long, lonely walk along one of life’s darkest roads.“In the end, though, they were discovered and most of them died in Nazi extermination camps, including Anne herself. “However, she left behind her diary which has become a milestone in the history of oppression and suffering; in it, she records the thoughts and feelings of an adolescent living in terribly difficult circumstances, and always with the possibility of death hanging over her. “One of the few bright elements in her long incarceration was a tree that grew in the backyard of the building in which they were hiding; it, and the birds that flew by, were the only living things that Anne could see from her windows. “It spoke to her of life, freedom, growth, joy, and the goodness of the God of creation. “On my recent trip, I found an article in an English-language newspaper in Europe, which I found very moving. That tree that brought some joy to the young Anne is dying, and the people of Amsterdam have formed a committee to try to keep it alive. I hope they succeed. Some trees like olives and redwoods live for centuries, but most die before that. As I read that article, I thought of all the trees that we have here on the grounds of this monastery in east Texas. There are HUNDREDS of them: pines, oaks, elms, sycamores, sweet-gum, crepe myrtle, mimosa. Each of their leaves and needles is a tongue that speaks to us of God; of beauty, life, freedom, growth, joy—just as the tree in Amsterdam spoke to Anne Franck. “This morning at Mass, I gave the Sisters the assignment of looking out the windows and really LOOKING at the trees which we all see all the time. We call ourselves contemplatives; it is therefore necessary that we be alert, aware, awake to God’s beauty, goodness, and truth in all his creation. “You, too, my friends. Look very seriously at a tree today and allow the words of Kilmer to speak to you along with the tree itself: “Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”
"Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs," she wrote on Feb. 23, 1944. "From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind. As long as this exists, I thought, and I may live to see it, this sunshine, the cloudless skies, while this lasts I cannot be unhappy.”Anne’s chestnut tree lived on to come into bloom many years after she died.
“Over the years, the tree deteriorated significantly due to both a fungus and a moth infestation. The Borough Amsterdam Centrum declared that the tree had to be cut down on 20 November 2007 due to the risk that it could otherwise fall down, but on 21 November 2007 a judge issued a temporary injunction stopping the removal. The Foundation and the neighbours developed an alternative plan to save the tree. The neighbours and supporters formed the Foundation Support Anne Frank Tree which carried out the suggested supporting construction and took over the maintenance of the tree. (Wikipedia) “On 23 August 2010, the tree was blown down by high winds during a storm, breaking off approximately 1 metre (3.3 ft) above ground. It fell across a garden wall and damaged garden sheds but did not damage anything else. The tree was estimated to be between 150 and 170 years old.”
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