GOD'S WILL?

April 29,  2012

Quote for Today

"Many pray, not to find God's will, but to get God's approval or their own."

Anonymous

Questions:

Whoever wrote that, how do they know that? Did they take a scientific poll or professional survey? Or did some preacher just make that up, figuring it sounds right? Based on my reflections - which are rather superficial - as can be gleaned from my homily for today, "Does God Micromanage?" - I would think without any scientific survey, that most just do their own will without any consideration of the God question What would be your take on all this?

YESTERDAY

April  28,  2012

Quote for Today

"Anytime the future looks gray, I have an attic full of yesterdays."

Anonymous

Yesterday is from the 1965 Beatles Album, "Help".  The song had more than 1,600 cover versions. It was voted the #1 song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stones Magazine. It as performed more than 7 million times in the 20th Century.

What does the song trigger for you?

What yesterday do you return to the most in your life - your # 1 yesterday? Was it a  good day - a good moment - a good memory or a bad hurt, a bad memory, a  bad experience?

If you could relive one yesterday, one moment, what would it be?

Who was the key person in your yesterdays?

Ooops. Do you remember this song?

FLAUNT  IT, 

IF YOU GOT IT!

April  27,   2012

Quote for Today

"It pays to advertise. There are 26 mountains in Colorado that are higher than Pike's Peak."

Someone.

Or is the message: do something, climb, give, explore, study, research and maybe they'll name a mountain or at least a peak or a  park or a hospital or a vaccine or a street after us.

Second attempts can also fit into the quote.  If I have it correctly, Zebulon Pike Jr. and his soldiers didn't make it to the top on the first attempt.

ON THE OTHER SIDE 

OF THE DARK NIGHT

April  26,  2012

Quote for Today

"If  you want to enjoy the glory of the sunrise,  
you must live through the dark night."


Something everyone knows

ST.  MARK’S GOSPEL

INTRODUCTION

The title of my thoughts on this feast of St. Mark - April 25^th - is “St. Mark’s Gospel”.

FAVORITE GOSPEL

A question I like to ask people is, “What is your favorite Gospel: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John?”

People, if it's something they thought about, usually say Luke or John. Less people mention Matthew or Mark. At least that's my experience.

So what is your favorite gospel?

Years ago, those who saw Alec McCowen on Broadway do The Gospel According to Mark by memory might choose Mark. Alec McCowen was a nominee for a Tony Award for his performance in 1979. He didn’t win, but those who saw that monologue remember it for life.  A priest friend of mine saw it in 1980 and again in the 1990’s and what intrigued him was the difference in Alec McCowen. Obviously, Alec McCowen had changed. Don’t we all? And as we change, as we grow, as evolve, hopefully the scriptures evolve for us - along with us.

When I was in the seminary, our New Testament professor liked Mark #1 - and didn’t like Matthew. I was surprised at that - but it opened my eyes. So I found that rather interesting at the age of 24 and 25.

I prefer John, but when we are going through Luke and Mark and Matthew, I get very interested in them as well. Aren’t we lucky if we can get to daily Mass - we have a chance to go through all 4 gospels every year?  And on Sundays we go through Mathew, Mark and Luke every 3 years - with John being inserted here and there - and especially in the Easter season. We’re in Year B now - and this is the year of Mark.

FEAST OF ST. MARK

Today is the Feast of St. Mark - the patron Saint of Venice, Italy. As an aside, I went to Venice by accident in 1984. I was in the wrong car on the train to Vienna - which split at Mestre - or somewhere. As I was looking out the window,  I started to see water on both sides of the tracks. I knew this wasn’t Vienna. It must be Venice. I got off the train and walked across the platform and took the next train which was right there back to Mestre and then to Vienna.

Last September I got to Venice with a group from the parish and I was too late to get into St. Mark’s Cathedral, but I did see the famous St. Mark’s Square and the pigeons. They missed.

FASCINATING QUOTE

In my blog for today, I put the following quote:

“Canon Leon Vaganay, from Lyons, was a great specialist in textual criticism; he relished it with all the love of a keen amateur just as he practiced it with the skill of a master.  When the war years came [1939-1945]and there was no way to obtain Nestle's New  Testament, he heard his colleagues groaning about it and said to them smiling, 'Oh, that does not bother me; at the beginning of the first class, I dictate to the students a half verse from Mark, and with that we have material for the whole year.'"

It’s from Henri de Lubac’s book, At the Service of the Church: Henri de Lubac Reflects on the Circumstances That Occasioned His Writings.

I love that quote because it gives the Catholic position and attitude on how to read and mine the Scriptures: to dig into them and make them mine.

The documents of Vatican II stressed opening up the treasures of the Scriptures to all the faithful - and that has certainly happened in the last 50 years. [1]

Has it happened to you?

Do you have a Bible that is falling apart from use - duct tape and all?

Better: how has that happened to you? Do you open up a Bible on a regular basis - like 5 minutes a day - keeping a Bible next to a favorite prayer chair or spot?  Have you ever gone through a gospel, say Mark, and selected a favorite text in that gospel? Try it.  Pick 5 texts and then narrow those down to 3 and then pick 1. And then ask why does that text grab you?  What does that tell you about you to yourself? Have you ever read scriptures out loud with another? People walk together, talk together, how about reading a Bible section together? I know a couple in Pennsylvania who told me they read a chapter every night in bed before going to sleep. In fact, they said, that they finished it and started it again going backwards. Interesting.

In my blog quote for today - mentioned above - the teacher said he could spend a year on just a half verse from the Gospel of Mark. Which one was it? At first it sounded like an exaggeration, that is till I remember attending the first lecture of a semester course by Walter Burghardt who on just one verse from Genesis: “God made man in his image, in the divine image he created him; may and female he created them” [Genesis 1: 27].

CONCLUSION

 
Enough. Happy Feast of St. Mark.

NOTES

[1] Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, (Dei Verbum), Vatican II Chapter 4; Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), Chapter II

Painting on top: "St. Mark Enthroned" by Titian - around 1510-1511. It can be seen in Santa Maria della Salute Church in Venice Italy. It was commissioned because of the plague that hit Venice. Along with Saint Mark, four saints are pictured as protectors of  the city: St. Roch and St. Sebasian (arrows) on the right and St. Cosmas and St. Damian (doctors) on the left. 

GREAT  TEACHERS

April  25,  2012

Quote for Today - Feast of St. Mark

"Canon Leon Vaganay, 
from Lyons, 
was a great specialist 
in textual criticism; 
he relished it 
with all the love 
of a keen amateur 
just as he practiced it 
with the skill of a master.  
When the war years came [1939-1945]
and there was no way 
to obtain Nestle's New  Testament, 
he heard his colleagues 
groaning about it 
and said to them smiling, 
'Oh, that does not bother me; 
at the beginning 
of the first class, 
I dictate to the students 
a half verse from Mark, 
and with that 
we have material 
for the whole year.'"

Henri de Lubac, At the Service of the Church: Henri de Lubac Reflects on the Circumstances That Occasioned His Writings  translated by Anne Elizabeth Englund, Communio Books, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1993, page 23.  The first time I read this quote and every time I read or remember or think about it, it grabs me. It puts a smile on my face - triggers the Pharisee in my mind unfortunately - when someone tells me or a group with the air of an Infallible Pronouncement or Statement what some Bible text means.

Picture on top: The opening page of the Gospel of Mark in the Book of Kells, Dublin, Ireland.

What's your favorite verse or half a verse or word  in the Gospel of Mark?

Who has taught you how to love the Bible?

APPETITE - 

A UNIVERSAL WOLF

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily  for this 3^rd Tuesday of Easter is, “Appetite - A Universal Wolf.”

Isn’t that an interesting image as well as intriguing words: “Appetite - A Universal Wolf”?

They are Shakespeare’s words in one of his not too familiar plays: Troilus and Cressida.  It’s a tragedy and a rather complex one at that. This mythic play takes place in ancient times - over 1000 years before Christ. It’s the 7^th year of the war between the Greeks who have attacked  the city of Troy to rescue Helen who was abducted.  

Ulysses is standing there outside the tent of Agamemnon, the King and Commander-in-Chief of the Greeks. In a speech to the king he states what he sees is going on - not just here in war - but also in life. Commentators point out that Shakespeare in this play uses images and themes that are as modern as the Existential writers of the 20^th century.

Ulysses comments about motivation and the drive and will for power. He talks about desire and fire and appetite: what makes people do what they do. The words, “Appetite, an universal wolf” appears in a speech by Ulysses in the first act, scene 3:

“Then everything includes itself in power,
Power into will, will into appetite;

And appetite, an universal wolf,

So doubly seconded with will and power,

Must make perforce a universal prey,

And last eat up himself.”

Shakespeare is at the heart of tragedy here. People are known to destroy themselves - whether they are lone wolves or travel in packs. They can eat themselves to death - when the will to power takes over. Then it can double itself and destroy oneself even deeper. It can be appetite for food, sex, stuff, power, control,  prestige - to look good - or what have you. 


Jesus challenges us to switch our daily prayer from, "My will be done on earth as it is in heaven." to "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

People who think and sometimes says - because it has become their mind set, “I want what I want when I want it” can end up totally destroying themselves because nobody has all the power. I’m not the only person on this planet. Traffic or children don’t always go my way.

TWO DOGS INSIDE US

I’m sure we have all heard many times the Native American image that we all have  two dogs inside us - the good dog and the bad dog. Then Native American teachers  like to point out that these dogs are fighting at times. And we know if and when asked, “Which dog wins?” the answer is,  “The one we feed.” 

TODAY’S GOSPEL

The last words of today’s gospel triggered these thoughts. Jesus talks about hungering and thirsting. And then he says, “Whoever comes to me, whoever eats me, as the Bread of Life, will never hunger and thirst.”  [Cf. John 6:35.]

Wonderful.

As I read Jesus I read that he’s saying - especially in John - that he can feed us. He can fulfill our deepest hungers and deepest thirsts.

In looking up the words, hunger, thirst, desire and appetite, I discovered in a thesaurus that phrase from Shakespeare, “And appetite, an universal wolf.” I never heard that before.

Is Shakespeare saying that there is a wolf inside of us - the universal wolf - and it is hungry? It wants. It howls for power over anything that gets in its way. We know that. We’ve all felt the power of our desires, our appetites, our addictions, our hungers and our thirsts.

I can picture that wolf inside of me howling at times. 

Then that picture - that image of the wolf -  triggered Jesus’ words about him being the Good Shepherd. Jesus, unlike the Hired Hand, is a Good Shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for me - his lost or dumb sheep at times. [Cf. John 10: 1-21]

Then -  following the Native American image - I found myself jumping to the image of the 2 dogs inside of me. Maybe - instead of those 2 dogs - I have a sheep - a dumb sheep called me inside me - along with a howling wolf called me inside me.

Then I picture and imagine Jesus the Good Shepherd saving me from myself. Praise God. Amen. Amen. Amen.

CONCLUSION

Those are a few images to bring to prayer today. Pause every once and hear the “Woof! Woof!” inside ourselves. Better: pause every once and a while and heart the howl and the “Baa bah bah!” inside of me. Then hear Jesus say, “I am with you all days - even to the end of the world.”

*O*O*O*O*

[Pictures: On top: The Lone Wolf - found on line. Black and White: 1795 engraving by Luigi Schiavonetti, after a 1789 painting by Angelica Kauffman.]