September 14, 2022
Thought for Today
"They had no conversation, properly speaking. They made use of the spoken word in much the same way as the guard of a train makes use of his flags or lantern."
Samuel Beckett,
Malone Dies,1951
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
September 13, 2022
Reflection
A MARRIAGE OF OPPOSITES
Jack didn't believe in a God or Jesus.
Jill did.
Jack went up a hill to fetch a hose for some water - for their backyard - which needed the trees and plants in it to be watered.
Home Depot is not the usual place for a couple to meet - but that's where Jack met Jill and Jill met Jack.
Jill went there to buy a pail. Honestly.
Jack went there to buy a hose. Honestly.
Time happened.
Conversations continued.
Jack had to make a decision. Do I go to church with Jill?
Jill had to make a decision. Do I go with someone who doestn't go to church - and doesn't believe in God.
He went.
Jill continued to go with Jack.
Jack got nothing out of the hour in church with Jill.
They went to the priest - when they got engaged.
He said to them, "You better get this figured out now - before you get married - because in 10 or 15 years - if not sooner - this question about Church is going to show up - especially if you're blessed with kids.
Jack and Jill heard that message - comment - warning.
They married.
Jack went to Church.
As he sat there Sunday after Sunday he wondered and wondered: "Is all this real?"
Do all these people really believe in God? Do they believe Jesus is God? Do they believe bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ?
He kept on getting on the boat every Sunday morning. Jill never said a word.
What happened.
Faith, grace, slid into Jack - but he didn't know it yet - he slowly made his first act of faith - to an unknown God.
Then came a pail of water - then a hose was turned on....
Monday, September 12, 2022
September 12, 2022
Reflection
DEATH AND THE DOMINO EFFECT
First it was the phone call: "Dad died yesterday afternoon at 2 o'clock."
"Of course," I said, "I'll do the funeral, but first I'll have to make some switches."
I had to get someone to take the 12:10 Mass for me.
Harry agreed. I'll take the 6:45 on Thursday morning for him.
Next I had to get someone to take the funeral I had on Thursday at 10 A.M.
At these funerals, we all have to make these switches. We have to re-schedule.
Every time when I'm driving and I see 10 or 15 cars in a funeral procession, I'm looking at a lot of rescheduling.
Then for the family of the person who died, there's the removal of the person's stuff - the tidbits of a person's life - the trinkets and the tokens.
Death certainly has a domino effect.
Then the realization - life has a zillion domino effects.
A word - a compliment - a curse - a complaint - can trigger the tapping against a whole string of dominoes.
Wounds can cause surprise repercussions.
Being late - being early - a smile - changing lanes - not taking care of one's car - can all cause - unforeseen results.
Does the waves from a boat off Africa - eventually hit the beach at Rio?
I wake up when the guy who lives next to me closes his room loudly.
My words - written or spoken - have implications.
How about my thoughts?
How about my attitudes?
Sunday, September 11, 2022
September 11, 2022
Reflection
HOT
The faucets handles are marked H and C - red and blue - hot and cold.
Amazing.
The weather can't be turned on and off. We take what we get - or buy an air conditioner or a heater - or move to Maine or Florida - or Rio or Mount Pocono.
It's hot today - March 27, 2007 and it was very cold - freezing last Tuesday - at this same time.
March. It's March madness.
Someone is hot and bothered - angry and burnt, furious and steaming.
So and so is cold!
Sometimes hot is negative - as in sweating - as in hot and bothered- as in angry and fuming.
Sometimes someone is cold - and it's a negative comment. Yet it could also be a compliment - as in calm, remaining cool and calculating - but it's usually negative - as in the newspaper description of the murderer - being a cold-blooded killer.
Notch it up a bit and cool is hot.
Hot seems better than cold when taking a shower.
Plants grow better in warmer temperatures - than they do in the Artic and Siberian Tundra.
Hot is the place where they have more people. Compare India to the North of South Poles.
In the United States people drive south to Florida or Arizona for the winter.
Hot is where the birds are chirping - and eating juicy worms - yet to present a curve here - there is the desert.
So hot cooks food and burns the meal. It kills germs - helps form pottery. It also melts plastic and iron.
It's simple - but tricky. We
And then we freeze our meats as well as thaw them if we want to cook them .
It's all very interesting.
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