September 2, 2022

Thought for Today 

"Over all, rocks, wood, and water. brooded the spirit of repose, and the silent energy of nature stirred the soul to its inmost depths."

Thomas Cole [1801-1848

Essay on American Scenery [1835]

September 1.  2022

Reflection

THE  CRY  OF  GOD

Is God one loud cry, so loud, we can't here it; so long, we're deaf to it?

Babies cry when they need.

One moment they are okay.

The next moment they cry - anywhere, anytime.

They simply want what they want when they want it.

The prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures are God's cry - God's cry for fairness, God's cry for awareness, God's cry for an end to crazy prayer and meaningless worship.

To stand in the dark - in the dark outside - to look into the night sky - to see as far as I can see - to stand there and to listen - till we hear God speaking - God whispering - God shouting

God will speak. God will scream. God will whisper. God will cry.

Listen.

Sit. Lie down. Close one's eyes. Be alone. Listen to God within and without. Pulsating. Weeping. Screaming - streaming - the words: "You are your brother's keeper. You are your sister's keeper."

God still hears, when we hear.

God still is, when we are the word made flesh in the here and now.

Jesus still goes about doing good, when we go about doing good.

Jesus still heals, when he hear and heal and help.

Jesus still feeds, when we feed.

Jesus still changes water into wine, when we change water into wine.

Jesus still forgives, when we forgive.

Jesus still brings peace, when we are peacemakers.

Jesus is the Cry of God, when I am the Cry of God.

I am the Cry of God.

 

 September 1. 2022

Th0ught  for Today

"I would rather believe that God did not exist than believe he was indifferent."

George Sand

[Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin,

Baronne Dudevant] 1804-1876

 

INFLUENCES:

HOW’D I GET TO BE

THE ME I GOT TO BE?

 

The title of my homily is for this 22 Wednesday in Ordinary Time is, “Influences: How’d I Get to Be the Me I Got to Be?”

To me that’s a great question. 

Hopefully, if we spend time and prayer – yes prayer – yes more pondering - we’ll come up with some good answers to that question.

The question came to me after reading today’s first reading – just a part of the 3^rd Chapter of 1^st Corinthians 3: 1-9.

Paul is talking about the building up of the Christian Church at Corinth.

It seems there is a fight or a struggle going on between those who liked Paul and those who liked Apollos. Some said, “I belong to Paul” and some said, “I belong to Apollos.” That indicates some kind of conflict.

If you read the 4 gospels – and the Acts of the Apostles – and the Letters of Paul and John, you’ll pick up hints and comments – that there were personal struggles going on between people – in the early church.

I like to ask people which of the 4 gospels do they like the most.

I like to ask people which of the 4 gospels influenced them the most.

Of course, we should step back a step and say what Paul would say, “It’s Christ! Have the mind of Christ as we heard in yesterday’s first reading.”

I like to ask people: “Whom did we get the gift of faith from?”

Mom? Dad? A grammar school nun? A priest? A parish? A community? A retreat? A book? An author? A tragedy? A death? St. Alphonsus?

We as priests should ponder whom we’re imitating?  Whose sounds are we making? Whose sermons are we echoing?

I was taking a long car ride trip once. I grabbed at the last minute some audio tapes from way back when. Surprise! I’m driving along, I’m listening to a tape on which John McCall the Jesuit tells a story.  It was a cassette tape I hadn’t listened to for 25 years. I laughed at myself because I’m listening to a story that I thought I had made it up. Nope. Not me. It was John’s story. So, thank you John for your story. Or was it yours?

Ooooooh!  Ooooops. We borrow from each other.

I always loved the words from Tennyson in his poem, “Ulysses!” iin which he says, “I am part of all that I have met.”

A couple of months ago, I watched a 55 minute tape of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. They tried to do an album together  in 1976-77 and it just didn’t work. Then they did it again 10 years later – 1987 - and it was wonderful this second time.

On that tape, they talked about their roots, their stories, their development.  They talked about who influenced them. Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger were part of Emmylou Harris career, She didn’t come from a singing family – but she had a great voice. She got  into Rock – then country – meeting and singing with lots of people.

Emmylou Harris met Gram Parsons – who found her – and taught her so much – till he died from an overdose of drugs. Parson’s dad committed suicide and his mom died early of alcohol poison. Those were profound moments and experiences in their lives.

Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton grew up with music in their growing up – Dolly in Tennessee and Linda in Arizona.

It got me thinking.  I couldn’t help but wonder about whose preaching  - whose writings – whose conversations – whose life formed my life.

Enough….

A conclusion for this homily: it would be gratitude, more pondering, more prayer, more reading, more conversations about my opening question and the title of this homily: “Influences: How’d I Get to Be the Me I Got to Be?”

Whoever you are: Thank you!

August 31, 2022

Reflection

HIBERNATE

It was winter.

I found myself saying, "I'm tired."

I found myself saying, "It's cold."

I found myself saying, "I need to hibernate."

Then I laughed  - trying to remember if the Latin word that sounds like "hibernate" means "winter".  It does. "Hibernare" is the Latin verb for "to pass the winter".

Do bears have it right? Even though they wear those big fur coats, do they know the importance of hibernation?

Does the human body know we must sleep more - bundle up - hide - get under the covers - in the cold weather?

I know I don't get enough sleep - but do I need more sleep - in the winter?

Living in a 4 season zone on the planet, I have learned to appreciate each season - so bring on the cold - bring on the chill - bring on the ice breaking Spring - the March winds, the April showers - the hot summer - the Autumn leaves - the Prima Nix [Latin for the first snow of winter].

Balance: the seasons teach me balance.

Variety: the seasons teach me variety.

Deja Vu: every year  the seasons teach me repetition.  I've been here before - a year older - hopefully knowing cycles, circles, that much better.

Variety - repetition - getting used to - the experience of learning by experience.

Sleep and dreaming - walking while figuring - working to  make my dreams come true.

My body ages - with the seasons - with the years - and I need to settle in at times for long winter naps - knowing  some night will be the long sleep.

Bears wake up.

All of us need to wake up.

We need to know that the Resurrection and new life - is always on the other side of the lake.

 

August 31, 2022

Thought for Today

"We cannot tear out a single page of our life,   but we can throw the whole book in the fire."

George Sand

[Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin,

Baronne Dudevant] 1804-1876

in Mauprat [1837]

 

DIFFICULT  SURGERY

VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE  REALITIES

 

The title of my thoughts for this 22 Tuesday in Ordinary Time  is: "Difficult Surgery - Visible and Invisible Realities."

 

Today’s readings are excellent because they both talk about the Spirit – the Spiritual – the deep inner invisible stuff inside all of us.

 

A surgeon, a MRI, a X-ray technician, or a sonar person in a hospital can see what’s inside a person. So too we can see what’s in a person’s wallet.

 

But, it’s the inner stuff – the invisible stuff – that’s tricky. We don’t see inner realities  till we spend some good time with each other.

 

St. Paul in today’s wonderful text from 1^st Corinthians – chapter 2 – talks about the Spirit of God. Listen to this sentence: “And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.”

 

The Holy Spirit is the great teacher in the classroom called Life.

 

St. Paul says the natural man does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God. Paul says that he sees that as foolishness, He cannot understand it.

 

In today’s gospel a man walks into the synagogue in Capernaum.

 

At first he’s part of the crowd. People can see him by his height, shape, clothes. They see the outer man.

 

Then the inner man starts screaming.  Luke tells us he has unclean demons inside of him.

 

Listen to this statement in today’s gospel from Luke: this man cries out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us. I know who you are – the Holy One of God.”

 

The Holy One of God – Jesus of Nazareth – sees what’s inside of us,  It’s the invisible stuff – our invisible realities. He can come to the inside of us and surgeon out the demons we have and enhance our gifts.

 

He has come to restore us – not destroy us.

 

What we need to do is to come into this synagogue – this upper room -  and let Jesus see and hear our spirits and our demons: a spirit of gratitude or the demon of ingratitude, a spirit of healthy anger or the demon of nasty anger about our everyday things we can’t control, the spirit of forgiveness and kindness or the demon of revenge and holding onto.

 

We need to let Jesus of Nazareth help us with envy, jealousy, pride, pain in the buttness, horses rear view mirrorness, etc., etc., etc.

 

In the last few years, I’ve heard politicians and others talk about giving our better angels the dance floor.

 

Last night I looked up who used and liked and proclaimed that image of better angels.  Lincoln gets big credit. But I read that he borrowed it from Dickens who used it in Barnaby Rudge.

 

So whoever, we need the grace to let our better angels dance inside us – and come out of us to fill the rooms we enter each day with the Peace and kindness of Jesus. Amen.