MEDITATION TIPS (#266) — 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time,
August 24, 2025

“My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as a son” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

　Many people probably feel the truth of these words from the Bible when they look back on their lives. However, there are many people in the world who, after enduring unimaginable struggles that cannot be fully expressed by these words alone, have found the meaning of life and gave courage to many others. “Through suffering to joy” is a phrase that describes the life of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), hailed as the “Sage of Music” and the composer of countless masterpieces. Yet his life was nothing short of extraordinary. His father, a tenor singer in the court orchestra, was an alcoholic, and the family lived in poverty. His father, who recognized his talent, subjected him to harsh Spartan-style education day and night in an attempt to entrust him with the family’s future. His mother suffered from mental illness, and his grandmother, also an alcoholic, died in the hospital where she was hospitalized. He himself was mentally unstable and clumsy from a young age, and his dark personality made him the target of ridicule from the neighborhood boys.

　He suffered from family misfortunes, his own mental health issues, and, most devastatingly for a musician, a physical illness. Due to his illness, he began to suffer from extreme hearing loss in his late 20s. Mentally overwhelmed, he once considered suicide, but he held back. He wrote, “It was art that kept me here. I felt that I couldn’t abandon this world without fulfilling the work I felt was my mission.” In the midst of various misfortunes and the desperate plight of extreme hearing loss, he resolved to fulfill his mission and created one masterpiece after another.

　At that time, autocratic monarchies were reviving throughout Europe, and Austrian Chancellor Metternich was enforcing a reign of terror to suppress dissidents. In defiance of this, Beethoven composed his Ninth Symphony, which included the “Ode to Joy” sung by a choir, celebrating freedom. He wrote to his friend Countess Erdödy, “We are born to suffer and to rejoice. The best thing is to overcome suffering and reach joy.”

　Beethoven conducted the performance of his Ninth Symphony, which was the culmination of his musical and ideological achievements, for the first time at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna just three years before his death. After the performance, the audience went wild, giving Beethoven thunderous applause and cheers. The excited audience repeatedly demanded an encore, and it is said that they were finally stopped by the police on the fifth time. However, Beethoven, who was conducting with his back to the audience due to his deafness, had no idea what was happening. An alto singer standing beside him took his hand and turned him toward the audience, and for the first time, he saw the faces of the audience overflowing with joy and realized that the Ninth Symphony had been a success.

　Joy and sadness are two sides of the same coin. We cannot eliminate sadness and seek only joy. It is through sadness that we attain joy. Let us say “Thank you!” not only to joy, but also to sadness.

 　　　　　(Contributed by Father Yutaka Akabae)