CHALLENGED
Quote for Today - June 4, 2011
"No statue was ever erected to the memory of a man or woman who thought it was best to let well enough alone."
Anonymous
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
THE WEINSBERG
WIVES
Quote for Today - June 3, 2011
THE WEINSBERG WIVES
The wives who lived within the walls of the Weinsberg Castle in Germany were well aware of the riches the castle held: gold, silver, jewels, and wealth beyond belief.
Then the day came in 1141 when all their treasure was threatened. An enemy army had surrounded the castle and demanded the fortress, and the lives of the men within. There was nothing to do but surrender.
Although the conquering commander had set a condition for the safe release of all women and children, the wives of Weinsberg refused to leave without having one of their own conditions met as well: they demanded that they be allowed to fill their arms with as many possessions as they could carry out with them. Knowing that the women couldn't possibly make a dent in the massive fortune, their request was honored.
When the castle gates opened, the army outside was brought to tears. Each woman had carried out her husband.
The wives of Weinsberg, indeed, were well aware of the riches the castle held.
____________________________________
The drawing on top was by Hans Baldung Grien (c. 1484-85 to 1545).
I could not find the name of the sculptor of the work at the bottom of the folk tale. I found it on line under, "The Weinsberg Wives."
I found the above story, "The Weinsberg Wives" on page 157 in H. Jackson Brown Jr's book, Highlighted in Yellow - A short course in living wisely and choosing well. It's published by Ruthledge Hill Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 2001 - and is well worth having it on one's desk or coffee table for short reflections.
Now I don't know the truth of the story, but as people often say, "Every story might not be true, but every story has a truth." On Google, I discovered it's considered a classic folk tale.
I could hear a preacher telling this story in church - and I can hear comments from lots of people coming out of church about their husbands tummies - maybe even patting them. I can also see a few women walking out carrying their thin husbands in their arms and saying, "Father, Father, look! I could do it. My husband is a real treasure."
Thursday, June 2, 2011
GUERNICA
Quote for Today - June 2, 2011
"During World War II Picasso suffered some harassment from the Gestapo in Nazi-occupied Paris. An inquisitive German officer, coming into his apartment, noticed a photograph of Guernica lying on a table. 'Did you do that?' he asked Picasso. 'No, you did,' said Picasso."
From page 451 of The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, General Editor Clifton Fadiman.
Painting on to: "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso [1881-1973]
To get a fuller impact of the painting on top, "Tap, tap" the picture itself with your cursor arrow.
Here is the opening comment about the painting from Wikipedia: "Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Republican government commissioned Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display at the Paris International Exposition at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris."
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
SCENES FROM THE SEASHORE
INTROCUCTION
The title of my reflection is, “Scenes from The Seashore.”
The other day on “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio, the host, Melissa Block, said that they are once more going to offer a feature for the summer season: “Sounds of Summer” or something like that.
I don’t know if it’s going to be weekly or what have you. Well anyway I listened up. The host said they asked different writers to offer their remembrances of sounds of summer from their lives.
I found it very interesting. The four I heard were the clink of beer bottles by 17 year olders, the sound of a skate board, the sound of thunder in a summer camp for kids in Maine. The one that triggered the strongest memory for me from a gal who talked about growing up in the Bronx. In the summer it was no air and pllenty of muggy, hot, heat . All the windows were obviously open. In came the sound of boom boxes, kids screaming in the streets, basketball games, hydrants opened illegally – and then the wonderful sound of Mr. Softee – the bells from an ice cream truck. It was opera. It was magnificent. It was just perfect.
Driving along I wondered if they would run out of sounds of summer. I wondered if they did this every summer or what have you.
FEAST OF ST. JUSTIN
Today. June 1st, is the feast of St. Justin the Martyr [c. 100 - 167]. Justin, a philospher, met an old man in Ephesus as he was walking along the seashore. The old man, a Christian, told Justin that he couldn’t come up with knowledge of God without divine revelation – and especially that Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophets. Justin had studied the Stoics, Plato, the Pythagoreans, this and that, but it was by that comment from the old man at the seashore which triggered life changing events for him. He ends up becoming a great Christian philosopher, theologian, speaker and thinker.
SCENES FROM THE SEASHORE
Then it struck me – then I made a connection, “Hey next year or some other year, National Public Radio, could ask folks to come up with scenes from the seashore – scenes from the summer beach – ocean – waves – water – moments that had an impact on one's life.
Throughout history – there have been dramatic life changing scenes in people’s lives – that came from moments of revelation at the seashore or at sea.
I thought of Augustine meeting the little boy at the beach who wa trying to put the ocean in a pail - and Augustine telling him he couldn't do that. The countered that he could do it easier than for Augustine explaining the Trinity. That brought back memories of scenes of hundreds of kids at the beach in the summer with shovel and pail in hand. I thought of Hemingway’s Old Man and The Sea – which won him a Pulitzer Prize for literature. I thought of Moby Dick. I didn’t think of Jaws.
Then I found myself as a kid Coney Island, Brooklyn. It was summer. It was paradise. It was everyday. It was family. It was water and sun and sunburn and blisters on my shoulders and being warned to “Cover up!” It was having a Nathan’s hotdog and their orange drink before the long subway ride home with sand in our sneakers and the feel of salt water still on our skin. It as was the Bay 18 section of Coney Island where “our kind of people settled in”. It was the raised water fonts on the sand – cool, clear, delicious water for us at any time. It was the ropes and 3 red barrels out in the water to protect us in between the rock jetties – and then the wide open sea.
I remembered the story of a man who told me he had no faith till one morning on vacation he was walking the beach. It was way before all his family rose. He saw the sun rising in the east –up out of the ocean – and Christ the Son of God – rose in his life – and all changed.
It remembered reading the book, The Star Thrower (1978) by Loren Eisely about the man who walked the beach every morning tossing star fishes that landed on the beach back out into the ocean to save them.
I began thinking about the reality that for 7 years of my life right, I lived right on the ocean – in a retreat house. The ocean was to be seen every day – at any time – but after my first 6 months stationed there – the ocean began to become unnoticed – triggering thoughts that can the same can happen with a new baby, a marriage, becoming a Catholic, Eucharist – prayer or what have you.
CONCLUSION
Today take some time to think about your sounds of summer and your scenes from the seashores you have walked. Amen.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
VISITING ST. MARY’S
CHURCH -
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
The title of my homily is, “Visiting St. Mary’s.
Since today, May 31st, is the feast of the Visitation – Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth – I began reflecting on the theme of visitation.
At times I’ve wondered what folks think when they visit our church.
I’ve only met two people so far who didn’t like the stars up on our ceiling – and neither of them were visitors – but regular parishioners.
Most people who visit us like our church building. When they ask how old it is, I like to say, “The cornerstone was blessed by St. John Neumann in 1858. Check it out on the way from church today. It’s just outside the front door – sort of covered up however.”
Then I add that St. John Neumann was supposed to come back for the dedication on January 15th of 1860 – but he died on January 5th, 1860.” Then I add how big our parish is and that we have another church building just 3 miles out of town – St. John Neumann’s Church. Check it out.
I would hope people from all over town would see the gold covered cross on the top of this church – as well as out in the bay – and get hope – get inspiration – that being the purpose of a spire.
I would hope people out in the water would hear the Bells of St. Mary’s and pray for someone whose funeral Mass just finished – or someone on a Sunday out in the water might say, “Ooops. Church?”
I would hope that if they met any of us, we would be very welcoming.
I see people looking at the bronze plaque outside on the walls of this church – as well as the plaque explaining the Carroll house – and its background for the parish, our state and our country.
I would hope people might drop into the prayer garden and the Eucharistic Chapel – and wonder – wonder - wonder.
I would hope people would walk into this church and pray. So I would hope this church would be a house of prayer and be a so called, “Gate of Heaven”.
I love the scene in the Acts of the Apostles where Paul walked around Athens and checked their religious monuments. Then he said in a speech that he was walking around town and saw their many holy places – and in one place he saw that they had an altar that was dedicated, “To the Unknown God.”
This was his lead and way into proclaiming to them Jesus Christ as that Unknown God – but there is no letter to the Athenians and no mention of an early Christian community there. Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose; hopefully we always try.
I would hope people would walk in and look at all the beautiful stained glass windows here – all ones along the side walls here showing scenes from the life of Mary – and maybe spot the Visitation scene up there on this side over here [POINT].
I would hope people would come up to the front over there and wonder about the Our Lady of Perpetual Shrine – and read the sign there and find out what that’s all about. I would hope Catholics would stop there and say a prayer at Mary’s shrine – and if they had at their wedding going over to a Marian shrine to place some flowers there and pray for their marriage, they would say one more prayer for their marriage as well as all those married here.
I would hope they would see the old wonderful wood and statues of the 12 apostles at our communion rail – and see how some have lost their limbs – and maybe say a prayer for the handicapped and wounded in wars.
Then I hope people would sit down and say some prayers in these very uncomfortable benches – and feel the presence of God here – in Jesus in the tabernacle – as well as in the prayers and the presence of the millions of people who have prayed here in this place.
I would hope they would then walk out saying in their own words the Magnificat of Mary from today’s gospel, “My soul magnifies the Lord” and then go out into the streets of Annapolis and our world and do just that. Amen.
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Photo on top: St. Mary's Church tower. Picture right below from Duke of Gloucester Street. Someone asked the question if the picture on top was that of St. Mary's. Yep! And check the picture of St. Mary's from the Spa Creek Bridge - at the top of my blog.
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