My husband and I belong to a choir and one of my responsibilities as a member of that organization is to select venues for our concerts.  I had obtained an invitation for us to sing at the Abbey of Vezelay, in Bourgogne, France. Our group of 40 people arrived one or two days prior to the concert and during a visit to the Abbey with our guide, we felt inspired to sing in the Abbey’s forecourt, which was allowed until 11 a.m. At some point, a nun arrived, running and visibly angry and began to lash out at our guide.  Following an very  unpleasant exchange which left our group extremely uncomfortable, the nun withdrew.  Later our guide explained to me that she and that particular nun had been fighting for years. I suggested to her that she bless the nun and gave her the copy of Pierre’s text “The Gentle Art of Blessing” which I had in my purse.  She did so. That very afternoon I received a phone call from our guide telling me that the nun had requested a meeting during which she apologized profusely for her attitude. This was a spontaneous reconciliation and the end of a power play between the two of them. In addition, during the final rehearsal, she showed up and in front of the entire choir apologized again, this time in German, a language she had refused to speak ever since an incident involving the Nazis during World War II.  The power of blessing!

E, Tyrol.