Pauca Verba is Latin for A Few Words.

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Ending the Year and Beginning Again




This short but delightful video was passed on just before Christmas; I thought you might enjoy it too. I send it with good wishes that we might all learn light-heartedness and gentle compassion anew.

Some folks still make New Years Resolutions this time of year, but may I suggest a more spiritual approach to this time of ending and beginning again. Are we able to take a few minutes to consider:

  • A time when God seemed to be particularly close this past year.
  • An occasion that deserves a very focused gratitude.
  • Some interaction where forgiveness might be in order - perhaps even forgiveness for myself.
  • And is there some little prayer I want to make at the start of the New Year, asking for guidance, strength, courage or insight about this or that?



Thursday, December 27, 2018

Intercessions ~ Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

UK Refugee Gospel Choir ~ Church of the Immaculate Conception ~ London

At the start of a New Year,/ we pray to forgive anyone who has caused us trouble or sorrow this past year./ We pray as well that we would be forgiven for our own mistakes,/ foolishness or offenses against others./ May we grow in goodness this year./ We pray to the Lord.

January First is called the World Day of Peace./  In our world of hatred and war/ we pray for the courageous souls who offer their lives for the making of peace./ May we live as peacemaking children of God./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for families in crisis,/ for those who live where there is no peace,/ but only conflict,/ fear,/ pain and disorder./ We pray for industries which make huge profits off the militarization and weaponization of our world./ May we learn this year to value human life over money./ We pray to the Lord.

At Christmas,/ God comes to be with us as a little child,/ and so we pray for the children of the world in all their need./ For the children who hide from bombardment,/ who hold-on in sea crossings,/ who are pained by hunger,/ who are abandoned and fearful./ We pray to the Lord.

At Christmas we pray for our families/ and entrust them in their concerns to Mary's maternal care/ and God's great kindness./ asking for good health/ and the resolution of problems which prevent growth and balance./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the sick,/ the vulnerable and the weak/ to be supported in friendship and care./ We remember the people who have died this past year,/ mindful of the many who died recently in the Indonesian tsunami./ May those in mourning know the restoration of joy and peace./ We pray to the Lord.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Psalm 30 ~ Trusting God in Times of Distress ~ "On the feast of Stephen..."



Talk about stress and distress, read the account of Saint Stephen's trial and martyrdom in Acts 6-7. Stephen's feast day is today, December 26. Strange, but not really, as his liturgical feast day is actually older than Christmas. 

The Responsorial Psalm at Mass is Psalm 30, a long psalm, which the Latin Rite Mass truncates to about six verses. The Anglican liturgy keeps the psalm intact - all 25 verses. I wonder if we do that because we don't like struggling spiritually with the difficult bits. 

Anyway, click on the late 15th century, painted wood statue of Stephen above (he holds a Gospel Book and stones) to hear the psalm read. Below are some thoughts about the verses - all of them.

Verse 1-3: Right out of the gate, the worn down psalmist is declaring he's all wrapped up in troubles and shame. He asks God to rescue him, speedily.

Verse 4: The psalmist uses vivid language reflecting the depth of his plea: "Be a refuge, stronghold and rock; lead me; guide me." 

Verses 5-6: This fellow is in some kind of trouble unknown to us. It doesn't really matter; we know life is hard, dangerous and sometimes menacing. We can each identify this personally. We hear the words of Jesus on the cross, "Into your hands I commend my spirit." They are not quite the same as "Thy will be done," but they are God-pleasing.

Verses 7-8: God detests the empty gods we create: money, pride, militarism, power-lust...you name it. The psalmist disowns these false deities and declares his happiness is found in God's love.

Verse 9: His trouble is deep indeed - he says he's soul-sick. Who is the enemy he's troubled by? We don't need to know. Rather, to live on this planet is to experience at some time or other, a personal problem that is niggling and enervating - something that could take me off my feet.

Verse 10: Is the psalmist exaggerating the depth of his problem? He's crying over it. This is poetic language to describe a person who is broken-hearted or heart-sick.

Verse 11: This trouble has afflicted him for years, leaving him worn out and wasted. Could anything really be so bad? Ask a depressed person, or a parent who has lost a child, or a war-damaged soldier, or someone who can't get out of poverty, or has an addicted spouse or child...

Verse 12: What an awful condition this fellow is living in! His life-picture is one of lonely alienation. I think he is setting us up for some spiritual surprise.

Verse 13: The psalmist feels "Like a thing thrown away."  And I am thinking of how the world throws God away, like a worn out or broken thing we consider garbage. Throwing God away in our cultural thinking, in our politics, in our hatreds. It's increasingly hard to find a Christmas card with a nativity scene on it. 

Verse 14: The poor fellow is riddled with fears. He feels there's even a plot to take his life. Have I ever felt overwhelmed with fear? He hears he's being slandered. "Every priest has his detractors" a pastor told me when I was a young priest.

Verses 15-16: Ah, there it is, the spell has been broken! Despite all his sorrow, "You are my God, my life is in your hands..."

Verse 17: The psalmist loves the idea of seeing God's face, which he likens to light. He is pleased that God has love in store for him, but he can't imagine yet that God loves his enemies as well.

Verse 18-19: He still wants God to do his bidding and to take out his revenge on these enemies. Oh my! "Let them be silenced in their graves, strike them dumb." It's not the Christian way, though there are many spiritually immature Christians who think like this. 

Verse 20: The psalmist declares God's goodness. Fearing God, doesn't mean shaking in your boots, but fearing the loss of God. After the words "fear you" the next line echoes with "trust you." 

Verse 21: Life can un-ravel, leaving us fragmented and in a heap, can't it? But God's sheltering is sure. God has us in his tent.

Verse 22: The wonders of his love. Not miracles, but wonders! Miracles are rare, but wonders are all around and every day. Can I name this for myself?

Verse 23: Poor thing; he can't help himself. He falls back into his dejection for a moment. Don't we do that - ruminating on what's wrong, spinning round and round in the troubles? How do we get far removed from God's sight? Maybe our illusions and anxieties do that.

Verse 24: Love the Lord, the psalm invites; the God who guards us. And don't be prideful - let God be God.

Verse 25: And his final thought: through all the troubles, disappointments, set backs, distractions and weariness - Let your heart take courage. It never fails - no matter how the psalmist goes down the road of woe and complaint, he always ends on a note of confidence and strength renewed. 








Monday, December 24, 2018

Jesu, Joy





This brilliant painting by the late 15th century artist, Hugo van der Goes, is titled: The Adoration of the Shepherds. The image was likely intended to be placed over an altar, hence the elongated dimensions. 

Van der Goes lived 1440-1482.  In the late 1470's he suffered a psychological breakdown and tried to take his own life. He completed this Nativity scene in 1480 and died two years later in 1482. The artist seems to have belonged to a kind of quasi-monastic community, which likely deepened the painting's spiritual content.

The Mother of God and Joseph, dressed in rich colors, pray peacefully over the newborn. The Christ Child is unwrapped and perhaps a little ghostly. He wriggles, as babies do, but is also somewhat splayed, perhaps suggesting the crucifixion. The wheat bundle at the bottom of the manger bed reminds us of Jesus' teaching and gift, "I am the bread of life."

Ten angels, clustered like friends, join the meditation. They are Christ's entourage.  Four excited shepherds enter the scene from the left. Two are in a great hurry, one bending low, the other pulling his cap off his head. Two others are behind them outside; one is clapping his hands to the tune of his flute playing friend. They share the joy of the angels' hillside message. Indeed, that sub-scene is shown on the far right as we look out through a window. 

But perhaps the most dramatic and wonderful bit about this painting is the two prophets on left and right who are pulling back curtains affixed to a rod. In the Birth of Christ at Bethlehem, God is pulling back the veil that has kept us apart. The prophet on the right looks directly at us - the viewers - as if to say, "Come on in; join Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and angels, even the animals and the little plants, as intimate partners in this revelation." The sky offers the depth of its colors. A hint of sunlight is seen in the outside scene on the left: in Christ, there is a new day for each of us and all of us.

Over the years, wonderful friends have helped with the posts offered here: young Katie shared her poem, artist friends offered insights to paintings, my tech and science friend helps daily. And here, a dear friend who I met when I was a young priest in 1980, plays Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring on his solo bass. Click on the painting's arrow and enjoy the gifts.

I send a blessing, gratitude and good wishes to all ~
Happy Christmas to you and your family.

Father Stephen

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!




In this splendid 15th century Russian icon of Christ's Nativity, we see several themes combined into one image. Together, the scenes unfold the theology of Christ's birth.

Appearing out of the top border there is a half circle with descending rays. Heaven has opened to us in a new way in the birth of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem! The rays spotlight the Holy Child. The donkey and the cow know who this is. Do we?

We find the child in a dark cave, already suggesting the other cave at the far end of the story. Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes which bring to mind the winding sheet of Good Friday; abandoned on Easter Morning.

Look! The angel announces to the shepherd that he and his friends should go to Bethlehem. These bottom-rung-of-the-ladder fellows are Christ's first guests. The Mother of God doesn't look at her Child, but at the shepherds. Such hospitality! It is our first insight into the radical inclusion of Christ's Gospel. Do we really understand this? When the parish puts up the "All are Welcome" sign on the church lawn, do we really mean it? So many people hope to find a happy and inclusive welcome!

Off to the far left, the magi have already set out on their long journey. They see the traveling star. In the west they are depicted as different nationalities. In the east, they are depicted as three different ages. No matter. Again, the message is EVERYONE. We really have to cut out all the divisive and exclusive distinctions. It's just not Christ's way.

Poor Joseph sits with head in hand, being tempted not to believe in the birth, which is beyond reason. Sometimes the Mother of God looks in his direction: God understands our struggles to believe, perhaps especially in these days of great confusion and disruption. 

There are midwives (bottom right) filling the little bathtub: this Child is really human, requiring attention, as does every child. Christianity takes children most seriously. There are 2.5 million children in the United States who are homeless - half of whom are under the age of 6. Our nation fashions itself to be Pro-life.  Is this statistic utterly unacceptable to me? 

God has come to be with us in the Birth of Jesus Christ. There is nothing sentimental about the feast. Christmas should turn my adult world upside down and inside out. Everything I think, plan, choose, prioritize, vote for, hope for, should be impacted by God becoming one with us at Bethlehem.

In the icon, the mountains sparkle with the news, and the green things stand at attention. The golden icon seems to say: God has filled the world with a new light. Do I feel it?

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Father Stephen

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Intercessions ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent





The poet, Paul Claudel has written:/ "Intelligence is nothing without delight."/ This time of  year/ may we feel deeply the delight of gift-giving,/ shared table,/ charity for the poor,/ and heartfelt worship./ We pray to the  Lord.

As Christmas draws near/ we pray for those who pilgrim to Bethlehem,/ and other places throughout the Holy Land./ For safety and peace./ We pray to the Lord.

At Christmastime we pray for households where family life is marred by addiction,/ anger or violence./ And for the safety of holiday travelers./ We pray to the Lord.

Celebrating the birth and infancy of Christ,/ we pray for the world's children:/ that each may be welcomed,/ loved,/ protected and helped to feel secure and glad./ We pray to the Lord.

In our hemisphere,/we are now in the time of gradually increasing light./ But may we be blessed with an increase of inner light,/ the light of justice,/ learning,/ and a fresh understanding of Christ's Gospel./ We pray to the Lord.

At Christmas we sing the carol, "Joy to the World./ We pray for those feel no joy,/ but the sorrow of fighting,/ who are mourning the loss of a loved one,/ or who are recovering from personal disaster./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the President of the United States/ and public servants around the world./ Grant that those in leadership would desire sense more than power and privilege./ We pray to the Lord.



Sunday, December 16, 2018

On Christmas Night





Somewhere in Christian lore it is said that on Christmas night the honey bees hum Psalm 100. Here are some colorful beehives in Ukraine early on a snowy morning. And here is the beautiful Coverdale translation of Psalm 100.


Be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands:
serve the Lord with gladness,
and come before his presence with a song.

Be ye sure that the Lord he is God;

it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise;
be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.

For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth from generation to generation.



I find it easier to believe honey bees hum a psalm on Christmas night than to believe the TV advertized skin-cream will take twenty years off my face, or that the bright red, latest model vehicle (that I should buy two of for Christmas!) can really crash through the white-capped river and up to the top of the boulder strewn plateau in seconds. 

In this time of serious nature-detachment, we might creatively find our way to joining the honey bees on Christmas night.





Thursday, December 13, 2018

Intercessions ~ Third Sunday of Advent ~ Gaudete

Gaudete Sunday ~ Pink, Winter Sunrise

Our planet is experiencing a climate and ecological crisis,/ which is global,/ serious and urgent./ We pray for those who choose to ignore it,/ deny it,/ or who by greed/ advance it./ May we treasure the gift/ which is this earth./ We pray to the Lord.

The Virgin Mary Guadalupe appeared as brown skinned,/ a mix of European and indigenous people/ in a time of confusion,/ discord,/ cruelty,/ suffering,/ corruption,/ slavery,/ greed and ambition./ She points to a renewed humanity,/ a renewed Church./ May we learn from her appearance./ We pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States/ and all who hold public office around the world./ May they nurture peace and justice for their people,/ and model all that is best in human persons./ We pray to the Lord.

It is Gaudete (be joyful) Sunday./ May we not surrender ourselves to cynicism and despair,/ but remain confident of God's presence/ trusting that we can survive difficult times together./ We pray to the Lord.

The Winter Solstice is marked this week,/ the longest night and the shortest day./ We pray for people who hope for the increase of light in their lives:/ the ones who are unnoticed,/ ignored,/ or who experience only loss and deprivation./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the healing of families where there is fighting,/ financial insecurity,/ addiction,/ chronic and life-threatening sickness./ We ask blessings for medical personnel,/ mindful of the those who help us to stay well./ We pray to the Lord.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

"Let me sow..."

St. Francis of Assisi ~ Giotto di Bondone ~ 14th c.


Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred,
..... let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy. 

divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


~ ~ ~ ~ 

This popular prayer is usually attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Some Franciscan scholars say Francis didn't compose the prayer. I'd suggest it doesn't really matter; surely the lines reflect his thought. 

More importantly, are we ready for the prayer? Do we dare imagine what our personal lives would look like if we lived it deeply? How our minds would change!

For me, perhaps the most important word in the prayer is sow...let me sow love, pardon, faith, hope, light and joy. Some synonyms for sow are: broadcast, distribute, plant, scatter, spread, disperse. 

Here, Giotto has painted Francis speaking to a large number of birds in great variety. Francis accepted and loved people in all their variety as well. We could do with a good dose of that today.







Sunday, December 9, 2018

Daily Visit





Catholic boy of the 1950's; early 60's, I was taught to make two visits - to the Blessed Sacrament, reserved in the church tabernacle, and to the sick and imprisoned, counted among the Corporal Works of Mercy. 

What's to argue with any of that! But I make a daily visit to the waterway on the property here - a tributary that runs through the Hemlock and White Pine and down to the Delaware River, less than a mile away. Here's a photo with the early morning sun reflecting nicely, and my personal reflecting.


What do I call you 
as you watercourse here:
in and around
woods,
fields,
the swampy place?

Are you 
stream,
streamlet or
brook,
rivulet,
rivoletto,
runnel or 
rill?

The mountain man calls you,
Shehawken Creek;
running down to the river through
New York,
Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and 
Delaware -
white capped during the April melt;
lazy in August.

Did the Munsee warriors fish you?
Their children come here to wade and play?

I see footprints in the snow along your way:
the black bear,
the deer and her fawn,
the turkey,
porcupine,
field mouse
and fox.

And what's your word for me today?
I'll listen,
heard bubbling
through the thickening ice:

That I must keep running as well -
from the conspiring,
the greed,
the shade.

But then ~
to run to Bethlehem,
the inner,
personal place,
that unique Christ-self,
born each day ~
to live truthfully,
beautifully and
well.

Father Stephen P. Morris

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Intercessions ~ Second Sunday of Advent




We ask blessings for Pope Francis,/ who models sensitivity and simplicity for the Church./ Grant that in the Advent time,/ Christians would experience a new enthusiasm for Jesus,/ whose birth we will celebrate at Christmas./ We pray to the Lord.

President George Bush,/ who died this past week,/ asked and hoped for a"kinder, gentler nation."/ May we realize his desire in our own time./ We pray to the Lord.


May Hanukkah,/ the Jewish festival of lights,/ be celebrated in peace and joy./ May hearts be turned where anti-semitism is on the rise./ We pray to the Lord.


Wednesday is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe./ She is the Mother of the powerless,/ the un-recognized,/ the homeless and the orphan./ We bring their struggles to Mass today./ We pray to the Lord.


We pray for the President of the United States and for the leaders of all the nations./ May they inspire hope,/ humility and justice./ May they love the citizens of their nations./ We pray to the Lord.


Friday marks the 6th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting/ when 28 people were killed,/ including 20 first graders./  We ask for a great national awakening to the things of life/ and its protection./ We pray to the Lord.

For those who struggle alone in sorrow and affliction,/ who are unseen and unknown to us:/ the poor,/ the sick,/ mourners/ and those whose are suffering great losses./ We pray to the Lord.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

The Guadalupe Feast Approaches



I'm pushing seventy years of age and have never felt national tension and ugliness as we are experiencing today—even through Vietnam and the impeachment proceedings of two presidents. I listen to some Christians and wonder, "Do I  even know you?"

St. Paul writes: "But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16). Do we get this—the mind of Christ? Do we wonder what it means?

The Virgin Mary appeared four times to Juan Diego, a conquered Aztec Christian, between December 9 and 12 in 1531. Her image, imprinted on his grass cloak, hangs in the great church in Mexico City (which is North America). Pope John Paul II made Guadalupe his first pilgrimage outside of Rome in 1979. The place and the apparition are that important. 

Here is her litany. We might put aside our other devotionals and pray this prayer often between now and Christmas. Why? Because we want to have the mind of the one whose birth we celebrate then. The Litany is not sentimental; it can cut like a two-edged sword, (Hebrews 4:12), if we allow it. Still, even after praying it for some days, we might find the mind of our favorite radio talk-show-guy more alluring. We can be that dug in. Sometimes I'm asked, "What's your politics?"  Here it is...


Mother of the unborn, pray for us.
Mother of orphans,
Mother of the rejected,
Mother of the unrecognized,
Mother of the powerless,
Mother of the oppressed,
Mother of migrants,
Mother of the marginalized,
Mother of the destitute,
Mother of foreigners,
Mother of immigrants,
Mother of the homeless,

Mother of those considered gift-less,
Mother of those who see no value in their lives,
Mother of those who have no political influence,
Mother of those who have no reason to hope,
Mother of consolation,
Mother of those who say "yes" to Jesus.
Mother of Providence,

From becoming oppressive, deliver us.
From becoming cynical,
From denying options to the poor,
From becoming opportunists,
From becoming deaf to the voices of prophets,
From becoming blind to injustice,
From becoming complacent,
From becoming ungrateful servants,
From becoming arrogant,
From becoming elitists,

Model of love and compassion, may we imitate you.
Model of hope and new life,
Model of evangelization,
Model of simplicity,
Model of justice for the poor,
Enabler of the downtrodden,
Example of receptivity,
Example of humility,
Example of sensitivity,
Bridge builder of cultures,
Respecter of diversity,


Virgen Morena, Dark Virgin, Mother of God, Lady of Guadalupe, we commit ourselves to follow your example, to be life-givers and to be receptive to new life. We will be faithful followers in our love towards the poor, in your desire to give dignity to all people and to  treat all the abandoned with tenderness. Let us live with constant confidence that we need not fear when we acknowledge you as our Mother, Mother of God. Grant that we may participate in your plan for new life and give us faith in the daily miracles that you and your Son, Jesus, work in our lives. Amen.

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is next Thursday,
 December 12.

Sunday, December 2, 2018

My Lord, What A Morning!




My Lord, What a Morning! is a 19th century African-American-slave spiritual. That black slaves embraced Christianity is a great wonder, considering their owners were self-avowed Christians.

The hymn repeats the line, My Lord, What a Morning, then references the end-time when the stars will fall from the sky. To be frank with you, I don't think we need to worry much about the last day: when it will occur, or what the astronomic indicators will be, so long as each day we are gratefully attentive and responsive to God's presence and action in our lives.

With the exception of the last picture, (which is my morning coffee mug), the photographs below are pictures I've come across, and which give us hints of what we might see early in the morning - at the start of a new day.

The first picture here is the icon of Our Lady of the Don. I have had my own copy since I was a boy; it is the first thing I see upon waking.

Notice each line ends with an exclamation mark. A teacher- colleague from years ago would tell the students they are surprise marks. Might I discern the "surprises" each day offers, each hour, each moment. 



My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!


My Lord, what a morning!

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Intercessions ~ First Sunday of Advent




Setting out into Advent once again,/ we ask that we might worship well this year,/ with full hearts,/ minds and voices./ We pray for those who live in places where there is no regular Sunday Eucharist,/ or where people are in trouble for attending Mass./ We pray to the Lord.

At the start of December,/ we pray for those who celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries,/ and other days of remembrance./ Comfort and strengthen the friendless./ We pray to the Lord.

Mindful that these are the days of deepest darkness in our hemisphere,/ we pray for those who live in interior darkness:/ who lie to protect power,/ who make and own dark money,/ who hate and hurt other people./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for those who suffer the most in our throw-away culture:/ the unborn baby,/ unwanted infants and children,/ the elderly poor,/ prisoners,/ migrants,/ refugees,/ addicts,/ the planet itself./  Our world needs to be trained in the things of the heart./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for family members and friends who are struggling with the darkness of depression and tiring anxiety./ For any who are unemployed,/ or living in a time of personal misfortune and frustration./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the President of the United States/ and for leaders around the world;/ may they be peace-makers,/ decent and good,/ truth-telling people,/ who care for the ones who are most vulnerable./ We pray to the Lord.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Jesus Before Pilate



This is Mihaly Munkacsy's (1844-1900) painting, Christ Before Pilate. And here is St. Mark's Gospel account of the event. We might keep the two in mind in our reflecting.

At the festival season the Governor used to release one prisoner at the people's request. As it happened, the man known as Barabbas was then in custody with the rebels who had committed murder in the rising. When the crowd appeared asking for the usual favour, Pilate replied, "Do you wish me to release for you the king of the Jews?" For he knew it was out of spite that they had brought Jesus before him. But the chief priests incited the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas rather than Jesus. Pilate spoke to them again: "Then what shall I do with the man you call king of the Jews?" They shouted back, "Crucify him!" So Pilate, in his desire to satisfy the mob, released Barabbas to them; and he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.  Mark 15: 6-1

The "festival season" Mark refers to the annual celebration of Passover - the Jewish people remembering with grateful hearts God's lifting them out of their oppression through death, to a new life. And Jesus is beginning his own Passover, lifting humankind out of sin and the darkness which oppresses us.

At the start of this sacred action, Jesus' life is already being exchanged for a murderous rebel, Barabbas. Perhaps Barabbas is an image of humankind, which in countless ways throughout history, rebels against life. 

Far from Rome, at the end of the Mediterranean, Pilate is governor - Caesar's man, sent to manage the Jews. All executions require Rome's seal of approval - that's why Pilate is integral to this story. The artist depicts Pilate as tense and vexed; he knows what the religious officials are up to. They want Jesus dead because he is more popular than they. The original sin is power. Their power is being threatened by the non-power of Jesus. 

Notice that no where in the Gospel does Mark blame the Jews for the death of Jesus - just some religious officials. We understand.

And these leaders incite the crowd. Munkacsy has captured this moment. We see men with heads together; whispering their conspiracy theories. The religious spokesman delivers his case with great dramatic effect. The crowd is making a lot of noise. The poor, dim fellow in the blue coat on the left is trying to figure it out - Should I join in?  History isn't done with this kind of low-end behaviour: white supremacist processions and political rallies. And right in the middle of it all is a mother with an infant. She is gentle and protective. 

But look at how the artist has depicted Jesus, who is dressed in a brilliant white robe. He stands nobly and victorious against the shadowy crowd. One art commentator says that Mankacsy was disappointed in his changing world - full of doubts and fears. It's not unlike our own world and cultural scene: so much invoking of religion, religious freedom and religious rights - but also so much self-righteous, fearful-anger and hatred, especially hatred of the others.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Five Gathas for the First Snow



Snow through the night:
heaven's earth-kiss.
Might the gentling flakes
carry the divine knowledge
of peace.

Snow through the night:
the great equalizer.
May we learn compassion ~
community without
divisive distinctions.

Snow through the night:
in the morning 
the purest form of white ~
create clean hearts in us, O God.

Snow through the night:
I send a blessing for the ones,
anxious in traveling,
suffering inconvenience,
isolation,
disappointment,
or inner sorrow.

Snow through the night:
delighting us in the morning,
but which will melt.
May hearts,
crystallized in cold-hate,
melt as well.

P.S. The snow covered White Pine pictured above seeded itself here about 12 years ago. It is lovely in every season.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Intercessions ~ Feast of Christ the King

Christ Enthroned ~ Piskopiano, Crete


The realm of Christ the King is a realm of justice,/ mercy,/ love and peace./ May the Church understand its mission to extend this healing and reconciling realm/ thereby lifting up all of humankind and creation itself./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the President of the United States and for the newly elected who will now assume roles in government./ May they be good and honorable people/ whose efforts lift the weak ones to their feet./ We pray to the Lord.

While one in six children in our nation strug
gles with hunger,/ a TV commercial this week invites us to a four day weekend of unlimited eating./May God forgive our national sin of greed,/ indifference and willful ignorance/ and give us new hearts./ We pray to the Lord.

At Mass/ we call Abraham, Our father in faith./ Traditional Jewish teaching says that Abraham set up his tent with four open sides/ so he could see strangers approach and run to meet them./ In this time of California tent cities/ for those who have lost their homes to fire/ and asylum seekers at the southern border,/ may we learn the words of Jesus,/ "Welcome the stranger."/ We pray to the Lord.

As the holiday season begins this weekend,/ we pray for our families and dear ones./ May they know the blessings of sobriety,/ good health,/ strength,/ safety,/ and the resolution of problems which cause anxiety and fatigue./ We pray to the Lord.

Finally,/ as this Liturgical year comes to a close,/ we ask for God to touch the hearts of those who are in mourning,/ or who are embittered/ or who have forgotten how to be deeply human./ We pray to the Lord.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday of the Year



I got the last roses wrapped up just before the snow this past week and put the wheelbarrow away in the shed. The gardener has this sense of going around and around through the cycles of planting, pruning, feeding, trimming back, wrapping up. And just as we're ending the garden year, there are signs of beginning again, with the seed catalogs arriving in the mail two weeks ago. We're finishing up and looking ahead.

And the liturgy reflects this as well. We are wrapping things up this Thirty-Third Sunday. Next week is the Feast of Christ the King and then we begin again with First Advent.

The beautiful and hopeful Psalm (16) at Mass today seems to be aware of this. One priest has titled it, "True Happiness: A Psalm of Confidence." This title suggests that religion isn't a thing simply to believe in, argue about, debate or prove for myself or others, but religion is supposed to be an experience - an experience to our happiness and confidence, as we move around and around our life-way.

Indeed, God is to be experienced. But often the way we approach religion precludes or obstructs any experience of God, or tricks us into thinking we experience God when really all we've experienced is our own talking and busy do-ing. 

So, as we wrap up another liturgical year and have beginning again in our sights - we might ponder these things. Years ago there was a series of volumes reflecting on the themes of the liturgical year titled, The Year of Grace. And grace isn't some kind of commodity, a thing to be gotten and stored up. Grace is an experience of God's energizing presence, love, mercy and forgiveness - God's creative impulses shared with us. The Eastern Church speaks of grace as divine energies.

Have I had any personal experience of that this year? We come to Mass, week after faithful week, bringing with us all the "stuff" that makes up human living. Where has God been in all of that?

A woman I knew when I was a deacon back in 1979 sent a holiday card this week. She wasn't complaining or whining at all, but sharing an awareness of her increasing weakness, how her now grown sons are struggling with health and marital concerns. We could all write an end-of-the-year card reflecting on these kinds of human themes. How would I reflect God's presence and movement in a card like that?

Where was God in the losses suffered this years?

Where is God in the on-going struggles with health and aging?

Where has God inspired some new insight or opened up some new possibility for me?

Has God sought to teach me something new this year - about myself; about old or stuck thinking.

Has God been in my change of course or helped me to navigate the life-course I find myself on?

Has God provided for me when I feared I'd run dry?

In this awful time (and any time might be called awful, but this is the time we live in) how is God enabling me to stay standing?

Where is God and what is God doing and saying in the intersecting of my relationships?

This Thirty-Third Sunday we have our last look at the green for awhile. How is God greening me?

And these thoughts or reflections might help us to prepare a bit for Thursday's national feast day. We want to do more than plan a menu and spread a perfect table.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Psalm 134 ~ Praise God Who Is Sovereign! Really?






This psalm 134 sings of God who is Lord and Sovereign. Really? We're adept at using religious words, but do we know the implications for the words we use? If the language, however beautiful, carries no contemporary and personal implication, then God is mocked. And God won't have that.

Verses 1-4: Notice at once that the psalm opens with Alleluia - Praise the Lord. But this is also the last word of the psalm. Like bookends. That this new day, that this hour, that this project would begin and end with the praises of God. That's not a sentiment but a conscious choice resulting in new action.

The invitation is to praise the Lord's name. Ours is not an anonymous God. The word name suggests familiarity and intimacy with a God superior to all the other gods. The psalmist also refers to us as servants: God has chosen us as his own. We belong to God who is good, loving and gracious. We're loved. And being loved should be transformative of how we think and act.

Verses 5-7: "The Lord is great and high above all gods." This is the proclamation of Jethro after the opening of the Red Sea. But why is the Lord high and great? Because he has freed his people from oppression. If I get is - really get this - everything will be new for me.

"High above all gods." God is Sovereign. Israel's perennial temptation was to worship other gods. Their story is filled with infidelity. Ours too. We are no better than the ancient Israelites. For all our liturgical do-ing we are as susceptible to loving other gods: our gun-love; our shopping; our grazing (endless eating); our money-love; our worship of youth, sexiness, fitness and comfort; the nations' infatuation with all things military; the weaponization of our planet, all the ways we tolerate the destruction of our planet-home.

Verse 6 speaks of God's rule being vast, unlimited and invasive of the ancient three-tiered world of sky, earth and sea-depths. But we might ask ourselves if God has sovereignty of that universe which is my mind: my thinking, my policies, my takes, angles, biases and issues. Some Christians have mental associations and loyalties that are ungodly, confounding, even depressing.

In Verse 7 the psalmist references thunderstorms  (as in other places) because storms were the ancient business of the god, Baal. The psalmist wants us to know that our God is even superior to Baal. God summons and acts. The other gods are powerless because they are manufactured by humans - gods of metal, plastic, synthetics, human concoctions with power connections.

Verses 8-14: It was the wind that opened the Red Sea and the lightning accompanied God's visitation at the top of Mount Sinai where Moses received the Law. Now the psalmist takes a few lines to summarize the divine action of the Exodus story. God is sovereign, not Pharaoh. God is sovereign over the lesser kings, Sihon and Og. God is sovereign even over all the kingdoms of Canaan.

Some religious people like this kind of buster-God who in the end will get the enemy, who is anyone not like me. They miss the essence of the religious story. The Exodus is a dramatic telling of how God with compassion takes up the cause of oppressed peoples, symbolized by the Israelites who have been pressed into slavery.

Some Christians don't understand this. They prefer a nationalized, politicized God, a get-me-what-I-need God. God is paid lip service and kept very small - no bigger than our supreme court fights. Who is oppressed today? Syrians? Hondurans? The baby in the womb? Those with disabilities? Christians and Jews in some lands? Anyone in someone else's gun sights? The crushed poor? I don't pick and tease-out those that fit the bill or suit my agenda. "I'm not into that justice stuff," the silly person said. Spiritual laziness.

Verses 15-18: Now the psalmist draws a great contrast. All our little gods are powerless. They can do nothing. They are not creators, but created. They have no spirit-wind (vitality) in them. And those who trust these powerless gods,  essentially amount to nothing. "You are what you eat" we say. But we might also say, "You are what you look at," "You are who you listen to," "You are who you hang with," "You are what you read." "You are what (or who) you secretly swear allegiance to."

"Other gods." Where has all our science and technology left us? We are everyday on the brink of blowing up our planet home, the plants and animals becoming extinct at alarming rates, the forests are disappearing, the garbage mountans grow higher, the air in so many places poisoned and deadly, in much of the world the water is not potable.

Verse 21: "May God be blessed." That doesn't mean we toss incense and compliments at God, but to see ourselves as servants of the God who is Master of vast worlds - inner and outer. Jesus says, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." 


Thursday, November 15, 2018

Intercessions ~ Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time


Wheat Field with a Lark ~ Vincent Van Gogh ~ 1887


This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day./ May we discover gratitude as  the door to the spiritual life./ We ask the blessings of safe-travel,/ sobriety and peace/ in the gathering of families./ We pray to the Lord.


Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address 155 years ago this Monday./ It has been said that today we are fighting a cold civil war in our nation./ May we grow into Lincoln's new birth of freedom,/ but freedom from hatred,/ arrogance,/ militarism/ and  idolatry./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for 18-year-old Claudia Garcia Sordo/ who is walking from San Miguel, El Salvador to the United States./ After refusing to sell drugs for a gang/ they killed her step-father,/ 2-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister./ May she find among us/ a people of great heart./ We pray to the Lord.

The Greek word hypocrite means actor./ May our church leadership be expunged of all hypocrisy,/ fashioning itself as pro-life,/ while putting self-preservation and prestige ahead of the protection of young people./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray again for the members of our families,/ our friends and colleagues./ For the healing of those who are sick,/ where relationships are fractured,/ where people have gone off into shadow./ We pray to the Lord.

Again we pray for those who are suffering great losses in California's fires./ For fire fighters and helpers./ And may we quickly learn why,/ in what should be California's rainy season,/ the state is repeatedly in flames./ We pray to the Lord.

November is the month of remembering the dead./ We pray for those who have died this past year./ For those who die suddenly,/ in wars,/ disasters or famines./ For those who die without family,/ friend or mourner./ We pray to the Lord.


Tuesday, November 13, 2018

"Bird Brain" ~ NOT!




Michael and Diane Porter put up this (2012) photo of a flock of winter-time American Goldfinches on their website Birdwatching Dot Com. Their company out of Fairfield, Iowa sells everything one would need to start birdwatching. 

We accuse someone of being a "Bird brain" when we think them to be dim, slow or unintelligent. I don't agree. I'd say birds are in the know and have a great deal to teach us. We might do well to keep a keen eye on them and learn some of their lessons.

Entering the time of overwhelming darkness,
  the sparseness,
  storm and 
  chill - 
no more solo, undulating flights
across open lawns and
fields,
but gathering now 
into flocks at feeders -
Goldfinches
seem to know what we forget:
that we need each other.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Tree Speak




Every early morning, rain or shine, I walk the long, circular, dirt driveway here eleven times. That's just over three miles. One portion of the path runs parallel to a grassy area about twelve feet deep. Beyond that is a wooded area of about thirty feet deep, then a wide and active stream of about forty feet across. Monday morning was dank and wet from the night rain. On lap number five, head down, shoulders hunched...


"Hey!" ...

"Hey!" ... 


"Hey, you with the hooded-head!"


"Hornbeam here, 

   pumpin out gold, 
   while you're in a fuss
   over mud on your shoes!"