ACTING SECRETS
February 20, 2010
Quote of the Day:
On acting: “Come to work on time, know your lines and don`t bump into the other actors.”
Spencer Tracy [1900-1967]
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
THEREFORE
CHOOSE LIFE
CHOOSE LIFE
INTRODUCTION
Today, the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, has two good readings for our reflection.
Today's first reading, Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, has one of the great texts and the great scenes of the Bible. Moses has the whole crowd before him and says, “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.”
He then goes on to spell out what will bring life and what will bring death. Then he says, “Therefore, choose life!”
So I would like to reflect on that theme: “Choose life!”
It's the basic theme of Psalm 1 as well as Robert Frost's famous poem, "The Road Not Taken."
GEORGE WALD
Many years ago I was driving somewhere and listening to the car radio. The late Dr. George Wald (1906-1997), a famous Harvard biologist, was giving a lecture on those words from Moses, “Choose life!” He said that is the goal of religion, yet there have been religions that have chosen death - killing people!
He said the choice is biophilia or necrophilia. We know the meaning of the Greek in these words: "bios" being the word for "life" and "nekros" being the word for "dead body" - and "philos" being the word for "love".
I remember Dr. George Wald spoke about the traditional scenario or question, “If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island for a year or for years and you could have only one book, what book would you choose?” I recently heard someone answer: “Boatbuilding for Dummies.” George Wald answered the question immediately and with surety. He said he would choose the Bible. And he loved this text from Deuteronomy: “Choose life!”
The Bible gives life!
THE BIBLE AS A WEAPON
Yet I would add that some people take texts from the Bible and slam others with them. Or they put people in hell. Or they use Sacred Texts to go around killing people in the name of religion.
QUESTIONAIRE
If you were stuck on a deserted island for a year and could only have one book, what book would you choose?
Or before answering that answer these questions:
Looking at your life, what gives you life? What gives you death aches?
Looking at your vacations, what vacations give you life, what vacations give you death? I did an evaluation on my vacations once and changed my vacation plans.
Looking at your Sundays, your Sabbaths, what ones give life? What ones kill you?
Looking at your evenings, what gives life? What brings on death?
QUESTION MARK???
The question mark is shaped the way it is for a reason. The purpose of a question is to hook us?
Some people avoid questions and they are all answers.
It’s good to start Lent with questions. Where am I? What’s going on? Why am I doing what I’m doing? Ooops – before that question: What am I doing?
Am I happy with my use of time? Do I have enough time? Who, where, what, is getting my time and my life?
This Lent do I need to go for more or less – emptying or filling?
Once, while wondering about all this I asked myself, “What am I going to do for vacation this year?” Then I asked myself, “What does a good vacation look like for me? What were my best vacations?”
I ended up deciding on vacations that included lots of walking and time with friends – hiking – camping – away from gadgets – were the best vacations in my life. I have fond memories of vacations in the Rockies in Colorado, the White Mountains in New Hampshire and part of The Long Trail in Vermont.
I also reflected on what kills me: too much sugar, that is before I found out I have Type 2 diabetes, getting to bed too late, not saying “no” enough, working too much, not taking my day off, not exercising, poor planning, putting off mail, etc.
It then hit me to ask the opposite question: What gives me life?
I jotted down answers: when working, work, when playing, play, when praying, pray, when eating, taste what you’re eating, when with friends, be with friends.
These simple questions got me – not all the time – but sometimes to be a better listener, not to look at my watch, to take more walks, to enjoy more sleep, to read smarter, and to laugh more.
These simple questions got me – not every time – to bring Jesus in the playground of my life – and I could hear him saying, “Study people: Notice old people don’t get as upset as younger people. Notice children – they know the importance of older people and relationships.
This is the stuff of wisdom. This is the stuff of prayer. Prayer often starts with good questions.
ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
St. Ignatius of Loyola [1491-1556], the founder of the Jesuits, was off on the paradox of life and death - pain and gain. At times what seems to give life sometimes kills us; at times what seems to kill us, can bring life.”
This paradox – became his principle of discernment. This paradox gets us to ask the simple question: In the long run, is this going to kill me or give me life?
It’s a cliché to say all this. Yet this message of death & resurrection seems to be lost in the shuffle at times because it’s so simple and so basic.
Jesus says in today’s gospel [Luke 9:22-25] that if we want to be his follower we must let go, deny our very self, take up his cross each day and follow in his steps.
That does not sound like choosing life.
Yet we know it’s true. We know that to master a sport, we have to do a lot of sweating and practice. To learn to master the piano, we must do a lot of practice.
Those who look at the pain and not the gain or the end result often avoid the pain and get nowhere.
CONCLUSION
So the message is obvious: “Therefore choose life!”
Choose Jesus, who said of himself, “I have come that you might have life and that you might have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
We who have chosen Christ, have chosen life.
Too often we haven’t. As the old saying goes, “If you are happy, let your face know it.” If you are alive, let us see Christ in you and your behaviors.
Teach remedial reading skills. Feed the hungry. Listen to the lonely. Work hard. Surprise! You’ll find yourself more alive almost immediately!
Die to self so others can rise.
This is a sermon I gave for some Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
SILENCE!
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Silence!”
In T.S. Eliot’s long poem, entitled, Ash Wednesday, he writes, “Where shall the word be found, where will the word / Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence.” [Ash Wednesday, 1930, V.]
T. S. Eliot in that same poem has the prayer, “Teach us to sit still.”
THIS HOMILY, THIS LENT
In this Ash Wednesday homily for this Lent, I’m making the suggestion to myself and to others to become more quiet as a Lenten practice.
Now there are many things we can do for Lent. We can do do’s and we can do don’ts.
As the poet, T.S. Eliot, indicated in his Ash Wednesday poem, maybe we’ll hear the word more if we practice more silence and quiet in our lives. Maybe we’ll hear God more and each other more.
I don’t know about your life, but I’m feeling the need for more space and quiet in my life and I don’t even have a cell phone. Does that make me a Neanderthal? However, when I’m on duty, I carry the duty cell phone with me – so I know what a cell phone is.
We begin Mass and movies and lectures now with the announcement: “Would everyone please check their cell phones and put them on quiet.”
That’s easy compared to putting our inner chat, chat, chat, on quiet.
But cell phones could be a visible way of becoming more reflective.
Looking around I see lots and lots of people on cell phones – on the street – while driving – while eating.
Today’s Baltimore Sun in a front page article says young people from 8 to 18 years old – according to a study – spend on the average 7 ½ hours per day with electronic devices: TV - 4 hours 29 minutes; music and audio devices (iPods, etc.) - 2 hours and 31 minutes; computers -1 hour and 29 minutes, video games 1hour 13 minutes, etc. etc. etc. [Feb. 17, 2010]
The plus side could be parents had it easier during these locked in snow days. That’s young people, but what about all people?
Like food – electronic devices can be great – enjoyable – but like too much food – we can become fat and bloated with our intake.
I’m suggesting fasting – make fast exits from too much chat, chat, chat, games, games, games, computer, computer, computer, text, text, text, twitter, twitter, twitter, TV, TV, TV., E-mail, e-mail, e-mail.
Someone e-mailed me today saying she heard robins. Can spring be near? Do people with things in their ears hear the twitter of robins?
Lent is a good time to fast from too much – and reflect on our life.
The hope for Lent is that we do something to improve our lives as Christians and the lives of others during these 40 Days of Lent. Jesus went into the desert – alone – into the quiet – and heard God his Father as well as life’s big temptations – big time – and he came out of the desert after 40 days a changed and charged person.
The hope for Lent is that we do something to improve our world – our homes, our places of work – our places of recreation – our neighborhood – starting with ourselves.
One suggestion: Silence – a very difficult experience at times.
There is something in us that doesn’t like someone doing this to us: “Silence” [Finger of lip gesture] or the dreaded word, “Shush!” or the angry words, “Shut up!”
Lent is a good time to become silent, to shush, to shut up.
The plus side could be parents had it easier during these locked in snow days. That’s young people, but what about all people?
Like food – electronic devices can be great – enjoyable – but like too much food – we can become fat and bloated with our intake.
I’m suggesting fasting – make fast exits from too much chat, chat, chat, games, games, games, computer, computer, computer, text, text, text, twitter, twitter, twitter, TV, TV, TV., E-mail, e-mail, e-mail.
Someone e-mailed me today saying she heard robins. Can spring be near? Do people with things in their ears hear the twitter of robins?
Lent is a good time to fast from too much – and reflect on our life.
The hope for Lent is that we do something to improve our lives as Christians and the lives of others during these 40 Days of Lent. Jesus went into the desert – alone – into the quiet – and heard God his Father as well as life’s big temptations – big time – and he came out of the desert after 40 days a changed and charged person.
The hope for Lent is that we do something to improve our world – our homes, our places of work – our places of recreation – our neighborhood – starting with ourselves.
One suggestion: Silence – a very difficult experience at times.
There is something in us that doesn’t like someone doing this to us: “Silence” [Finger of lip gesture] or the dreaded word, “Shush!” or the angry words, “Shut up!”
Lent is a good time to become silent, to shush, to shut up.
If you are here in Annapolis, drop into church or the Eucharistic Chapel when it’s quiet or if there is a church near where you work – drop in for some quiet time.
If you have a quiet place in your home – if you have a good place to hide – hide and pray. Do you have a man cave or a woman shrine?
You heard Jesus say in today’s gospel, “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And the Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
Jesus was talking from experience. He often escaped to quiet places.
This Lent take long walks by yourself. This Lent enjoy quiet time.
Think about Pascal’s intriguing comment, “I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, our inability to sit still in a room.” Pensees [1670], # 139
If you have a quiet place in your home – if you have a good place to hide – hide and pray. Do you have a man cave or a woman shrine?
You heard Jesus say in today’s gospel, “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And the Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
Jesus was talking from experience. He often escaped to quiet places.
This Lent take long walks by yourself. This Lent enjoy quiet time.
Think about Pascal’s intriguing comment, “I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, our inability to sit still in a room.” Pensees [1670], # 139
Try leaving your cell phone and your worries in another room.
We are living in a world of increasing calls and interruptions.
CONCLUSION – THE RESULTS
The results of silence can be peace – insight – understanding.
We are living in a world of increasing calls and interruptions.
CONCLUSION – THE RESULTS
The results of silence can be peace – insight – understanding.
The results of silence can be we’ll hear a lot more after silence.
The results can be we’ll discover an old a new novel – or a non-fiction book or the scriptures that has great insights for our spiritual life.
Enough. Silence. I better practice what I’m preaching.
Enough. Silence. I better practice what I’m preaching.
REPENTENCE
February 17, 2010
Quote of the Day:
“Repentence is not self-regarding, but God-regarding. It is not self-loathing, but God-loving.”
Fulton J. Sheen [1885-1979], Peace of Soul, 1949
Picture is part of the background painting behind the main altar in the main chapel of Malvern Retreat House, Malvern, Pennsylvania. Picture includes St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Maximillian Kolbe, Frederick Ozanam, St. Martin de Porres.
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