He would cough – three or four coughs in a row – sort of clearing his throat or chest – every hour or so. It told us he was there – sort of like the trains on the New Jersey Transit. I’m here. They’re there. Moving along – morning, noon and night. But coughs and train whistles are not enough. You’re more than that.I want to know who you are in that seat – in that skull – where you’ve been and what you thinking these last years of your life – before you come to your last stop.
“Passion
and prejudice govern the world, only under the name of reason.”
John
Wesley
Friday, December 4, 2020
December 4, 2020
WALKING IN THE
GARDEN
Green trees, grass, flowers, just walking, just listening, just breathing, just stopping, just looking, just doing nothing, finding a bench in this garden, in this quiet space and place, just waiting, simply waiting for You, O Lord. Adam hid.
Eve ate the apple and passed it to Adam. I’ve been there. Then you found me and asked me to walk with You in the cool of the evening. Here I am, Lord, in the evening of my life.
A frying pan, A fire, A coffee cup, A baseball bat, A “Hello!” An “I love you.” A rock, A soup spoon, A wave, A piece of paper, A diaper, A T-shirt, An oar, An onion, An aspirin, A Christmas card, God ....
“Saint
Francis saw Beauty itself in beautiful things.Follow the Beloved and you’ll see God’s footprints imprinted everywhere
on creation. They make everything a ladder we can climb and embrace God who is
utterly desirable.”
Saint Bonaventure
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
December 1, 2020
EMPTYCANVAS
Propped up on a wooded easel was an empty canvas – the size of a regular window in a house. Asked by models, buyers, family, down through the years, he said it was for my masterpiece someday. When he died at 67, the empty canvas still was empty and Van Gogh asked for that empty canvas and the next day ….
The title of my homily is “Brothers.” I thought that would be an appropriate topic and theme
for Andrew on his feast day – the brother of Peter. When we hear the word “brother” – obviously we have many
thoughts – especially if are not an only child – and if we are a brother and /
or if we have a brother or two or more. Brothers …. If we go into the greeting card section of a pharmacy or
Hallmark store we won’t find as many cards for brothers as others: Mothers – Dads – grandparents, nieces –
sisters – Wife ----- but brother’s less.That’s my observation. If we go into the Bible we’ll find a good variety of
brothers. There is Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Joseph and his brothers in Genesis.Then there is Moses and Aaron in Exodus. David had 19 sons – that’s a lot of brothers.
In the Gospels we have Peter and Andrew, James and John, and then there is the
Prodigal Son and his Older Brother – who won’t forgive him once – which is a
very far distance from 7 times 7 times. What’s your thoughts about brothers. I just happened to be in my brother’s house in Laurel
Maryland on Good Friday, April 20th, 1984 – the day he found out he
had cancer – and I asked him, “How are you going to handle this?”And he said, “I’ll let you know.” And just before he died in 1986 he said, “Remember when
you asked me how I would be able to handle this” well he continued, “I learned
3 things. “Think of others, have a sense of humor, and thank God mom and dad
gave us the gift of faith.” Andrew the Apostle in the Gospel of John brought his
brother to Jesus.I would think it was
my parents who brought us to Jesus and to faith. Andrew in the gospels brought the bread from some kid for
Jesus to help feed the hungry crowds.My
brother used to love to make bread and then give it to neighbors. I got bread
and great chocolate chip cookies from him. He also taught kids how to bake. There is not much more in the gospels about Andrew – and
his relationship to his brother. Hopefully we know a lot more about our brothers – and we
are thankful for their gift to our life. FIVE QUOTES
IN CASE NOTHING IN MY HOMILY GRABBED YOU! “ Being his real brother I could feel I live in his shadows, but I
never have and I do not now.I live
in his glow.” – Michael Morpurgo Help
your brother’s boat across, and your own will reach the shore.” – Hindu Proverb “The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard
that food came out his nose.” – Garrison Keillor “ My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.
Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.” “We’re not
raising grass,” Dad would reply. “We’re raising boys.”” – Harmon Kellebrew We are not only our brother's keeper; in
countless large and small ways, we are our brother's maker.Bonaro Overstreet
November 30, 2020
SO,YOU ALWAYS
WANTED
TO BE A POET? RIGHT?
Grab a ball point pen and some junk mail paper and start jotting down comments to these questions. Name an emotion – any emotion. Sad, glad, mad, joyful, joyful, joyful … wow, wow, bark, bark, woof, woof …. Grab a dictionary and just flip through it. Pick out words that are interesting: caramel, footbridge, hoopla, phoebe …. Jot down the names of different objects that you can see: refrigerator, couch, soup spoon, foot stool, book case, rug. Now you have on paper a few words that express feelings and you have a few words that sound or look interesting. Next – if you have a computer – read some poems. Pick short ones.Read them out loud. Can you spot a feeling or an interesting word? Or next time you’re near a library enter and find the poetry section. Read some poems. Hope you find one or two poems with a grab. Next using old envelopes or empty space on junk mail write down some short poems of your own. Don’t say, “I can’t do this!” Forget about rhyme or reason. Just jot down words – poets love words – till you have what looks like a poem. Sculpt words. Next time you’re in a supermarket – go to the aisle that has stationary and buy yourself a small spiral pad – 9 ½ x 6 inches. They are usually 108 or 150 pages. Put your first poem in there – and then your second and third and keep going. Keep reading other people’s poems. Keep writing your own poems. Slowly fill up your spiral pad. Don’t throw away your poems, but keep crossing out – and rewriting your poems. I rewrite at least 18 times. If you have a computer – type out your poems. If you have the money self-publish your best 108 poems.
“The passing years makes youngsters ponder why
Dad gets grayer and Mom gets blonder.”
Sunday, November 29, 2020
November 29, 2020
HEADING IN A NEW DIRECTION
We’ve all seen a movie scene when someone sneaks onto a railroad track and switches the tracks at a junction - so an oncoming train will go in a new direction – and end up elsewhere. So too in a relationship, a marriage, or a family, sometimes someone switches a switch without telling the other or others and surprise there is a train wreck or the relationships end up elsewhere.
