5 things I am grateful for today include:
1. A "late" wake up at 6:30 am Mass and Starbucks Coffee
2. 8:15 am Mass and the wisdom of Jesus in the Word ("Give to Caesar what his Caesar and to God what is God's") and his Eucharistic body and blood.
3.) Quiet, centering prayer after Mass
4.) The leisure to write two thank you notes to two good friends
5.) Despite the pain, having good dental care, an appt. today
Scriptural "dart" that also caught me ear this AM: "And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation." (2 Pt.3:15) God of Truth and Love, you have certainly been patient with me; help me be patient with myself and others. In Jesus' name. Amen
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tanka poem
Bread Company sacrament
A wee bird chirped
sitting on black fence, craning
neck, quick, flitting head
switching back and forth, hoping
for communion crumb from me
A wee bird chirped
sitting on black fence, craning
neck, quick, flitting head
switching back and forth, hoping
for communion crumb from me
Grateful Today: 5 things
What am I grateful for today?
For my job that combines both intellectual challenges - creating a power point on "conscience" for the Religious Ed Institute - and managerial/personnel issues like planning our Religion Dept. meeting tomorrow - with a faculty whose last day it is! How to overcome the built in "checked out" mentality? Bagels and cheese - free in the AM!
For racquetball, a sport I have known and played for nearly 40 years (thanks Dad! thanks Bill!) - great sweat today against a worthy opponent, John L. 5 games, major sweat, a "good tiredness"
For the desire to pray, to slow down, to read the Word slowly, prayerfully, thoughtfully, for the quiet time after Evening Prayer
For morning Mass this AM and the gospel of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, and his modeling of discipleship - at once in dire need, yet called to faith that moves and energizes and he follows Jesus "on the way." Help me do the same, Lord Jesus, as I wrestle with my own weaknesses, defects, and sin. Let me never be too proud to cry out to you.
For boys' baseball and the overall class of 2010 at Bishop DuBourg, what a stellar group they are! I miss them already. Kudos to the boys for going to Springfield for the state championship. Go Cavs!
For my job that combines both intellectual challenges - creating a power point on "conscience" for the Religious Ed Institute - and managerial/personnel issues like planning our Religion Dept. meeting tomorrow - with a faculty whose last day it is! How to overcome the built in "checked out" mentality? Bagels and cheese - free in the AM!
For racquetball, a sport I have known and played for nearly 40 years (thanks Dad! thanks Bill!) - great sweat today against a worthy opponent, John L. 5 games, major sweat, a "good tiredness"
For the desire to pray, to slow down, to read the Word slowly, prayerfully, thoughtfully, for the quiet time after Evening Prayer
For morning Mass this AM and the gospel of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, and his modeling of discipleship - at once in dire need, yet called to faith that moves and energizes and he follows Jesus "on the way." Help me do the same, Lord Jesus, as I wrestle with my own weaknesses, defects, and sin. Let me never be too proud to cry out to you.
For boys' baseball and the overall class of 2010 at Bishop DuBourg, what a stellar group they are! I miss them already. Kudos to the boys for going to Springfield for the state championship. Go Cavs!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Communion of Saints: feeling it
Tonight I attended my niece Theresa's graduation at Chaifetz Arena on St. Louis University's campus. It was a wonderful event, but it brought to mind memories of her baptism in 1992 for which I was her godfather. She was initiated into her life of grace explicitly in Christ at her baptism and she remains a faithful believing Catholic to this day - with questions, sometimes hard ones - that any adult wrestles with. I not only share family ties and affection for her, but we are united at another, deeper level in Christ. While I have been part of her life and her family for these past 18 years, seeing her 18 years after her baptism at this culminating event touched my heart deeply. I realized how privileged I have been to be part of her life and her family.
On the other side of life, this morning I had 6:30 am Mass with about 30 people and the intention was for Fr. Jim Krings, an Archdiocesan priest who died of cancer last year. As a youth, Jim was a member of the parish in which I now serve. Several people there knew Jim's parents, Art and Casey - long since deceased. Tomorrow I have Mass with the intention for Msgr. Bob Krawinkel, a friend of mine and Jim's who died in 2004. Both of these men I knew to be holy and wholesome priests who intellectually wrestled with the Word of God in their preaching and tried to live integrally. I admired both men; each, in his own way, served as a role model for me in the priesthood.
Young and old, alive at 18 (Theresa) and dead at 64 (Jim) and 74 (Bob), today I felt and knew the Communion of Saints through you in a poignant way. And I am grateful. Thank you God for family and friends.
On the other side of life, this morning I had 6:30 am Mass with about 30 people and the intention was for Fr. Jim Krings, an Archdiocesan priest who died of cancer last year. As a youth, Jim was a member of the parish in which I now serve. Several people there knew Jim's parents, Art and Casey - long since deceased. Tomorrow I have Mass with the intention for Msgr. Bob Krawinkel, a friend of mine and Jim's who died in 2004. Both of these men I knew to be holy and wholesome priests who intellectually wrestled with the Word of God in their preaching and tried to live integrally. I admired both men; each, in his own way, served as a role model for me in the priesthood.
Young and old, alive at 18 (Theresa) and dead at 64 (Jim) and 74 (Bob), today I felt and knew the Communion of Saints through you in a poignant way. And I am grateful. Thank you God for family and friends.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Rumi
I See the Face: A Christian Dialogue
Rumi: Lydon
I see the face (the Beatific Vision, before time began)
that was my home. (“I in Him and He in me,” before the world began)
My loving says, I will let go (Surrender: risk loss and pain and insecurity)
of everything for that. (Even my identity, my schemas, my obsessions, my addictions)
My soul begins to keep rhythm (I was created for beat, and my heart keeps time)
as if music is playing. (Body-mind-spirit dancing, the Holy Spirit sings)
My reason says, What do you call (My reason-mind questions everything!)
this cypress-energy that straightens
what was bent double? (Jesus! Healer of bent women, full of vibrant energy)
All thing change in this presence. (If I am open, disposed, suspended in judgment and critique)
Armenians and Turks no longer know
which is which. (Who is who when one in weakness?)
Soul keeps unfolding inward. (never sleeps, infinite echo, through the ages)
The body leaves the body. (meant for resurrected glory, these bodies for real)
A wealth you cannot imagine (“more than you can ask or imagine”)
flows through you. (Divine love conduit, channel, “of use” to Him and others)
Do not consider what strangers say. (They know not you or Him; guard your boundaries fiercely)
Be secluded in your secret heart-house, (the “mantle” near your sternum, thump-thump!)
that bowl of silence. (Like“ a freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow” on Colorado mountain)
Talking, no matter how humble-seeming, (Beware of those who speak too much or too nicely)
is really a kind of bragging. (Self-referential, self-congratulatory, beware)
Let silence be the art (In silence is humility and truth: our stance before God)
you practice. (Daily come hell or high water: ultimate reality)
Rumi: Lydon
I see the face (the Beatific Vision, before time began)
that was my home. (“I in Him and He in me,” before the world began)
My loving says, I will let go (Surrender: risk loss and pain and insecurity)
of everything for that. (Even my identity, my schemas, my obsessions, my addictions)
My soul begins to keep rhythm (I was created for beat, and my heart keeps time)
as if music is playing. (Body-mind-spirit dancing, the Holy Spirit sings)
My reason says, What do you call (My reason-mind questions everything!)
this cypress-energy that straightens
what was bent double? (Jesus! Healer of bent women, full of vibrant energy)
All thing change in this presence. (If I am open, disposed, suspended in judgment and critique)
Armenians and Turks no longer know
which is which. (Who is who when one in weakness?)
Soul keeps unfolding inward. (never sleeps, infinite echo, through the ages)
The body leaves the body. (meant for resurrected glory, these bodies for real)
A wealth you cannot imagine (“more than you can ask or imagine”)
flows through you. (Divine love conduit, channel, “of use” to Him and others)
Do not consider what strangers say. (They know not you or Him; guard your boundaries fiercely)
Be secluded in your secret heart-house, (the “mantle” near your sternum, thump-thump!)
that bowl of silence. (Like“ a freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow” on Colorado mountain)
Talking, no matter how humble-seeming, (Beware of those who speak too much or too nicely)
is really a kind of bragging. (Self-referential, self-congratulatory, beware)
Let silence be the art (In silence is humility and truth: our stance before God)
you practice. (Daily come hell or high water: ultimate reality)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Todo y Nada
Todo-Nada
Here is the coin carried by John of the Cross.
On one side: todo – everything – the gift.
On the other: nada – nothing – vacant space.
He fingered this penny every day,
touched the gift of God’s impinging love,
caressing the pain and suffering of empty space.
Well worn, this copper piece,
calluses on both thumb and forefinger.
John was in touch with the mystery,
the paradox of everything and nothing,
of life coming through Jesus
and a dying unto oneself.
(Bishop Robert Morneau, auxiliary bishop
of Green Bay, Wisconsin, America, April 5, 2010)
This brief poem describes the paradox of St. John of the Cross’ mantra, “todo y nada” as an imaginary coin that we all carry. And knowing that alone is precious. It is as close as our hands.
The gift – side of the coin is the gratuity of life itself, but more, the Giver of life, who desires a friendship with each one of us – God. The vacant space – side is our spiritual poverty, our restless souls, our human emptiness that we can also occasionally glimpse and feel.
St. John of the Cross “fingered” this coin, felt its presence – todo y nada – all and nothing – every day. He plumbed a profound spiritual life and worked with St. Teresa of Avila in renewing the Carmelite order at great personal cost in 16th century Spain. He was imprisoned by his own order and given bread and water to drink. He imposed strict mortifications of the flesh on himself as well – throughout his priesthood.
His “dark night of the soul,” forged his poetry, describing the soul’s relationship with God in his three major poems and commentaries: The Ascent of Mt. Carmel-The Dark Night; The Spiritual Canticle; The Living Flame of Love. These inspired poems and commentaries earn him the name, the “Mystical Doctor.”
This copper coin, the double dimension of divine gift and human vacancy, caused calluses on his digits. Morneau’s poem moves from the coin itself to John’s thumb and forefinger, opposing digits, which work together in unison, a primate evolution, and mimic the dialectic of the gift – vacancy in the human soul. Calluses assure us that this daily work of the spirit is a tiresome, but necessary, labor indeed.
The interplay of God – human soul is a mystery with which everyone must wrestle – especially the Christian who claims to follow Jesus. For the great gift of eternal, abiding life we proclaim in His resurrection is accessible only by our surrender, our death – to – our – way – of – doing – things. And that is hard for any adult – especially in 21st century America, so confident in our autonomy and gadgetry.
Eternal life, beginning now, in faith, is everything. To access that life means I have to reduce to nothing and die to my willfulness this day and everyday – and get calluses on my fingers, like John. Faith in Christ, surrender to Him and His Way, remains our primary work.
________________________________________
Here is the coin carried by John of the Cross.
On one side: todo – everything – the gift.
On the other: nada – nothing – vacant space.
He fingered this penny every day,
touched the gift of God’s impinging love,
caressing the pain and suffering of empty space.
Well worn, this copper piece,
calluses on both thumb and forefinger.
John was in touch with the mystery,
the paradox of everything and nothing,
of life coming through Jesus
and a dying unto oneself.
(Bishop Robert Morneau, auxiliary bishop
of Green Bay, Wisconsin, America, April 5, 2010)
This brief poem describes the paradox of St. John of the Cross’ mantra, “todo y nada” as an imaginary coin that we all carry. And knowing that alone is precious. It is as close as our hands.
The gift – side of the coin is the gratuity of life itself, but more, the Giver of life, who desires a friendship with each one of us – God. The vacant space – side is our spiritual poverty, our restless souls, our human emptiness that we can also occasionally glimpse and feel.
St. John of the Cross “fingered” this coin, felt its presence – todo y nada – all and nothing – every day. He plumbed a profound spiritual life and worked with St. Teresa of Avila in renewing the Carmelite order at great personal cost in 16th century Spain. He was imprisoned by his own order and given bread and water to drink. He imposed strict mortifications of the flesh on himself as well – throughout his priesthood.
His “dark night of the soul,” forged his poetry, describing the soul’s relationship with God in his three major poems and commentaries: The Ascent of Mt. Carmel-The Dark Night; The Spiritual Canticle; The Living Flame of Love. These inspired poems and commentaries earn him the name, the “Mystical Doctor.”
This copper coin, the double dimension of divine gift and human vacancy, caused calluses on his digits. Morneau’s poem moves from the coin itself to John’s thumb and forefinger, opposing digits, which work together in unison, a primate evolution, and mimic the dialectic of the gift – vacancy in the human soul. Calluses assure us that this daily work of the spirit is a tiresome, but necessary, labor indeed.
The interplay of God – human soul is a mystery with which everyone must wrestle – especially the Christian who claims to follow Jesus. For the great gift of eternal, abiding life we proclaim in His resurrection is accessible only by our surrender, our death – to – our – way – of – doing – things. And that is hard for any adult – especially in 21st century America, so confident in our autonomy and gadgetry.
Eternal life, beginning now, in faith, is everything. To access that life means I have to reduce to nothing and die to my willfulness this day and everyday – and get calluses on my fingers, like John. Faith in Christ, surrender to Him and His Way, remains our primary work.
________________________________________
Ascension: worth doing badly
Chesterton said, "If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
I think of his proverb today on the Feast of Ascension because Jesus trusted his apostles - one of whom betrayed him, another who denied him, and the rest who abandoned him - to continue His ministry of the forgiveness of sins and proclamation of the kingdom. Humanly speaking, the apostles were failures, as was Christ, nailed upon the cross, symbol of Roman oppression, power and terror. Dead meat slung upon a cross.
But in the greatest reversal of human history, Christ trumped death and called his disciples back together - to try again. This time He sent the promised Holy Spirit to help them. And what started out badly moved forward boldly, in fits and starts. This paschal process of suffering - death - exaltation verifies Chesterton's maxim and punches the air out of perfectionism:
"If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
I think of his proverb today on the Feast of Ascension because Jesus trusted his apostles - one of whom betrayed him, another who denied him, and the rest who abandoned him - to continue His ministry of the forgiveness of sins and proclamation of the kingdom. Humanly speaking, the apostles were failures, as was Christ, nailed upon the cross, symbol of Roman oppression, power and terror. Dead meat slung upon a cross.
But in the greatest reversal of human history, Christ trumped death and called his disciples back together - to try again. This time He sent the promised Holy Spirit to help them. And what started out badly moved forward boldly, in fits and starts. This paschal process of suffering - death - exaltation verifies Chesterton's maxim and punches the air out of perfectionism:
"If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
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