Pauca Verba is Latin for A Few Words.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Spring Is Putting Down Roots (Perspective)

We might use the words rooted and perspective interchangeably

Religion makes extensive use of numbers. To name a few: there are seven sacraments and seven deadly sins. There are twelve cardinal virtues. The Holy Trinity is "One in Three and Three in One," the Anglican hymn says.  The Jehovah's Witness say that only 144,000 people will be saved. In Judaism there are Ten Commandments, eleven stars in Joseph's dream, fifty-four Torah portions and thirty six people in every age on earth who live such godly lives that they keep the world from ending. In Buddhism there are the eight pillars of joy.

Buddhism suggests (and these themes will resonate in other religions as well) that the path to happiness, which every person longs for, begins by keeping negative emotions in check, learning from them and growing in compassion. Some of the negative, happiness-stealing emotions are: fear, anger, sadness, despair, loneliness, envy, suffering, adversity and fear of death. But there are also eight pillars of joy - four are qualities of the mind: perspective, humility, humor, and acceptance. Four are qualities of the heart: forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and generosity. We can cultivate these qualities.

The word perspective comes from the Latin perspecto: to look all around; watch steadily and perspicio: to look or see through; look into; look at, examine, inspect, study, investigate.

Perspective means: How do you see things? American astronauts say that when they view the world from outer space their perspective is changed by seeing the world without the man-made national borders that divide. A new perspective or way of seeing.

It's reported that people who frequently or normally use the words I, me and mine, are more likely to suffer heart attacks than those who use we, us and ours. Self-involvement is a better death predictor than high blood pressure, smoking  and high cholesterol levels. Those who use I and me - (first person singular words) more often are more likely to be depressed than those who use we and us. I can easily believe that. It's all about one's life-perspective. 

Perhaps another way of speaking of perspective is "What am I rooted in?" The cultural perspective says: 

  • You are what you own.
  • You are who you know.
  • You are how much power you have.
  • You are how much money you have.
  • You are your sexy-ness.

The Christian perspective is this:
And Jesus said: This is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, Thy name be hallowed; Thy kingdom come, (which means) Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven." Matthew 6:9,10

The Christian puts down roots in this soil: 
How great is the love that the Father has shown to us? We were called God's children, and such we are; and the reason why the godless world does not recognize us is that it has not known him . Here and now dear friends, we are God's children; what we shall be has not yet been disclosed, but we know that when it is disclosed we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1,2






Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Mindfulness in the Springtime



Here is a marvelous Ethiopian icon of the Mother of God Enthroned. Mary sits with the Holy Child on her lap. Happy angels stand behind holding up a bright red curtain. They look at each other across the back of the chair as if to be sure they are holding the cloth at the same height. Or maybe they are saying to each other, "Aren't we the lucky ones!"  

Each of the four figures is wide-eyed to the heavenly light. The only ones sleeping are the mysterious faces to left and right of the throne at the level of Mary's lap. Maybe they symbolize humankind. St. Thomas More said of his own country: "England would have snored through the Sermon on the Mount." 

We see a small gold cross at the top of Mary's head. She is mindful of who it is she's holding; mindful of God's presence and action; mindful of us through history, to today, and tomorrow.

Mindfulness means simply that I am an interiorly awake person. I know what I am doing. I know what is before me in the moment - that my senses are awake in gratitude. But mindfulness also means that I am aware of even my negative emotions - that I am not victimized by them, living an angry or fearful life. Without judging it all, mindfulness acknowledges my negativity and then asks, "Do I want this fear (anger, sadness) to lead and guide me through the next moments, hours, days?" 

We might enjoy the short video below. Though the words are few, it has a great deal to say. But I am thinking of how mindful the priest is:

  • How he is prepared for the daily vertical journey,
  • Where he put his feet each step of the way,
  • Why he undertakes the climb each day,
  • Who the priests are who have gone before him, 
  • Who the nine saints are who protect him, 
  • What is the nature of his prayer,
  • What is it he is reading,
  • What perfect God-gifts are displayed before him,
  • How all of this brings him to happiness.

We're not going to climb a 260 metre mountain today - but we will go here and there, and meet this one and that one along the way. May we go mindfully - God is there.





Monday, February 26, 2018

Violets in Snow



Robert Henry Newell (1836-1901) was an American magazine  humorist or satirist. He could laugh, poke fun, call out the ridiculous, see the bright side. He wrote:

Surely as comes the Winter, I know there are Spring violets under the snow. 

And here is  photograph of just such a violet. In flower symbolism, violets signify: "Let's take a chance on happiness." Can you feel it?Is that the violet's message here - little survivor of the single digit winter, poking its head up from under the ice, stretching for the light to see if the coast is clear and to share its bright yellow and delicately painted face? Taking a chance on happiness.

St. Therese of Lisieux lived in a French Carmel (1889-1897). Upon entering religious life she discovered the nuns to be elderly, odd or cranky, sickly or lukewarm. The flu epidemic took the lives of many of the sisters. The water in the wash basins froze; there was no electricity; the food was limited and of poor quality, the sisters suffered chilblains from the cold. Still, Therese chose to sit next to the sisters who were emotionally disturbed or irritable and wrote about herself, "I try to look on the bright side." 

A friend, recently returned from a trip abroad, had an airport layover where she noticed a cleaning lady standing outside the bathroom, gripping the mop and leaning with her chin on her hands. While she looked out at the stream of women coming and going, her eyes appeared vacant or exhausted.

Maybe she was thinking about when she could go home and put her feet up, or maybe she was worried that the children at home alone were okay, or how many more bathrooms she had yet to clean before she could call it a day, or how was she going to be able to pay the bills off her minimum wage. But no one stopped to greet her, let alone thank her for cleaning the toilets, but my friend who made eye contact, smiled and nodded to her.  The silent greeting was returned. 

"Let's take a chance on happiness," the violet suggests

Sunday, February 25, 2018

The Church's Springtime ~ The Transfiguration Light



This isn't a mistake but a detail of a Russian icon of the Transfiguration. Even the mountain is sparkling with the light of the Transfiguration. In the radiant Christ - all light - we witness the Glory of God breaking through: the energies of God, the beauty of God, the abundance of God's presence. Are we known as the religion of light? Not the religion of candle-lighters, but of personal light? God made us for light.

first light
daylight
twilight
sunlight

moonlight
starlight
lamp light
speed of light

bright light
low light
dim light
candle light

fire light
red light
green light
satellite

subtle light
search light
spot light
stage light

head light
tail light
brake light 
sky light

God started it all when God said, "Let there be light."
God's own light!
And soon we'll sing, Christ our light,
as the great candle is carried up the aisle,
and lifted up as from a tomb
to fill the room,
while we ask for Christ to lead us
out of this present darkness
of barbarism,
death,
distrust,
dissatisfaction,
caused by human folly,
to an Easter of life
lived authentically,
generously,
beautifully ~
as Christ lived his.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

In the Springtime, renew this chapel with your prayer.



It is Saturday morning. Perhaps the house is quiet or there is no need to rush off to work or some busy-ness. We might be able to sit a few minutes with this photograph which invites us to prayer.

This is the monastery chapel of Agios Georgios in Greece. But the chapel has been abandoned. How sad. But sometimes this happens, even to a monastery that may be hundreds of years old. Perhaps there were no new vocations and the old monks couldn't maintain the project any longer.

It seems as if this monastery was closed up quickly; the icons on the sanctuary screen (iconostasis) have been left behind, though the holy doors and the icon on the far right are missing. It also appears that people still come here to pray: a window is open and an icon of St. George and a stand to hold candles remains.

We can imagine a door has been left open and there's one candle left to accompany our own prayer. Even an old chair is in place where we can rest quietly. But then, we can activate the place with our praise of God, our thanks and our interceding. Who do you pray for?

Is there some one who is sick?
Are there children's names to bring to the prayer?
Does someone need a job or have money difficulties?

Who needs healing, inner balance or peace restored?
Is there a relationship that is in trouble?
Someone with an addiction?
Has someone died recently?

Carry the whole world into this place:
its violence
its death
the victimized
the wars
the greed and selfishness
the injustices
and the nation in its bitter divisions.

What's most on your mind?
Is there something to pray about that comes from a deeply felt place?

And thanks upon thanks upon thanks!

Imagine leaving the candle burning...
venerate the icon with a kiss...
and a deep bow towards the sanctuary as you go out the door.




Friday, February 23, 2018

Tete-a-tete


Daffodil ~ "Tete-a-Tete"


Lent is the Church's Springtime. Might we be close observers of the season and discover its spiritual content. This daffodil has been given its clever name because a tete-a-tete is a face to face private conversation between two people. Notice how the flowers point in different directions, as if speaking deeply with one another.

We seem to have been made for this kind of intimate conversation. But did we spoil such a good thing?  "The man and is wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But God called to the man,"Where are you" he asked. Genesis 3:8. We're the ones who create alienation, suspicion and even paranoia.

But Jesus heals this. "You are my friends...I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. You did not choose me, no, I chose you...My command to you is to love one another".
John 15:16.

And there is that beautiful face to face conversation Jesus has with the alienated woman at the well in John's Gospel (4:6-29). Jesus shows us how to do it; sitting with her for an intimate, soulful, good-news conversation.

We might sit with this daffodil photo above and have a think on the nature of our own conversations and communications. Listen to some folks - their blaming, panic-ridden, suspicious, angry, nasty talk. You'd think there was nothing else to live for, as if God had made a terrible mistake in creating them - rehearsing every victimizing wound of the past. Rather than inhale the terrible atmosphere they create, we can distance ourselves. 

These Tete-a-Tete daffodils, close to the ground at only 6 inches high, carry a bright yellow, up-lifting, animated happiness. O  Jesus, might they teach me today.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Intercessions ~ Second Sunday of Lent

Spring Morning Light


As Christ is Transfigured on the mountain/ revealing God's own Glory for us,/ may we shine too,/ carrying Christ-Light into our world often darkened,/ sour and sad./ We pray to the Lord.

At the start of Lent,/ Pope Francis calls Christians to root out distrust,/ apathy,/ resignation,/ showing off,/ self-pity and unproductive thoughts,/ which might cause us to forget our encounter with others./ We ask the blessings of self-awareness and humility./ We pray to the Lord.

Bless the people who are heroes and helpers to others;/ cure those,/ especially in leadership/ who are self-serving,/ protectionist or obstructionist./ We pray to the Lord.

In the Lenten Springtime/ may we learn something new about ourselves,/ about God and others./ Keep us from discouragement/ with gifts of hope,/ strength and confident joy./ We pray to the Lord.

The nation is sorely divided after still more deadly gun violence./ Teach us what we need to know to safeguard the citizens of this nation,/ especially the young people./ Heal the pitiful bitterness which weakens us./ We pray to the Lord.

We ask healing too for ourselves and our families/ where we are feeling stressed,/ failed,/ vulnerable or confounded./ Out of that pain may we learn a compassionate solidarity with those who are burdened with suffering./ We pray to the Lord.


Wednesday, February 21, 2018

The Crocus' Message ~ Cheer up!




There is a scene in Downton Abbey where Mr. Carson, has just fired unlucky Mr. Molesley, a valet. Carson has gone off to ring the gong, leaving Molesley alone in his office. Mrs. Patmore, the cook, walks by and seeing poor Molesley, head down, demoralized and thoughtful, calls in, "Cheer up, Mr. Molesley, it may not happen." Molesley replies, "It already has." 

Flowers are a language. And the crocus, which can bloom as early as February, is symbolic of cheerfulness. That must be because crocuses make their snow-defying appearance when folks are most weary of winter and need some cheering up.

But I think there's more. St. John's Gospel chapters 11 through  16, begins a long movement towards the death of Jesus. 

  • There is the foreshadowing raising up of Lazarus
  • The religious leaders decide on the death of Jesus
  • Jesus is anointed by the woman at Bethany
  • Jesus is acclaimed as he enters Jerusalem on the donkey
  • Jesus makes predictions about his rejection and death
  • Jesus assumes the role of a servant, washing the apostles' feet 
  • Jesus foretells the betrayal of Judas 
  • The long meditative monologue and prayer of Jesus, 
  • Jesus' farewell and promise of the Paraclete (the heavenly helper). 

We can imagine how overwhelmed and grieved the apostles were. But then, at the very end of it all, Jesus said:

I have told you all this
so that you may find peace in me.
In the world you will have hardship,
but be courageous: 
I have conquered the world. John 16:33

The usual translation of this last verse says, "Be courageous" or "Be of good heart." But there are other versions which have Jesus say, "Cheer up!" Isn't that hopeful? 

Just days ago, Ash Wednesday, seventeen high school students and staff were massacred in a Florida High School - in Parkland, called Florida's safest city. An emotionally sick young man passed a background check and bought this militarized weapon that terrorized, wounded and killed.

Now, only the biggest and the worst of these frequent school attacks are reported. Lock downs, swat teams and even tanks in school yards are now called the new normal. We are numb to it and within minutes are talking about "moving on." It's hard to feel cheer. 

Still, Jesus has said it, and he knew the awful, abusive power of empire. And he knew how religion could be corrupted. And he knew what having enemies, detractors and a betrayer felt like. He knew menace and killer-violence. Maybe I could at least for today feel some "cheer up" about myself - a lot of us hold bad (even awful) stuff against ourselves. 

  • maybe especially about the mistakes of our youth
  • the failure in relationships
  • the wrong judgments and
  • accusations
  • petty (or not so petty) crimes
  • getting snagged in exploitation,
  • a time of hard hearted or
  • mean-spiritedness
  • the poor treatment of someone else
  • entitlement
  • foolishness or
  • any way in which I may have caused fear.

Jesus doesn't want us holding onto this stuff from long ago. Maybe this Lent, Jesus is saying cheer up to each of us about the past. Nothing good comes of holding onto any of it. God isn't served well or pleased for it. We can cheer up because Jesus is the champion over all of it.

And you know, crocus corms naturalize, which means they spread and can take over a whole lawn. Maybe cheerfulness is like that.



Tuesday, February 20, 2018

In the Spring, may we pray for the melting of hearts.



American artist, Amy Pollein, who lives off the coast of Maine, has created this insightful painting titled, Peggy Rockerfeller Farm,  Bar Harbor "March Thaw". Think of Spring's melting and perhaps dripping icicles or the breaking-up of pond ice first comes to mind. But this artist has shown us a deeply rutted, mud road thawing out in March. The snow, which had been plowed to the roadsides, is receding; the soft ruts of saturated ground are puddled with water.

Lent is the Church's Springtime. Might we pray for the melting of national hearts in a world that fails children. The sins against children are perhaps the most grievous of all.*

O God, melt the hearts of those
who abduct young girls for the sex trade,
who abduct young boys for soldiering,
who call the children of wars, collateral damage,
who turn young people into suicide bombs.
Melt these hearts, O God.

O God, thaw the hearts of those 
who blame, lie, obstruct and divide, leaving children vulnerable,
who sneer and mock the world's attempts at justice for children,
whose repugnant money-grab plunders the world; despoiling the future,
who minimize the societal problems which affect children.
Thaw these hearts, O God.

O God, soften the hearts of those
whose votes leave children less safe,
who deny children the health care and education they deserve,
who trap children in the bitterness of family dysfunction, divorce and addiction,
who throw children away.
Soften these hearts, O God.

O God, defrost the hearts of those
who think the death of children solves problems,
whose pandering to power leaves young people exposed to dangers,
who ignore the hunger, thirst, nakedness, homelessness of children,
who exclude children from their hearts, all of whom are God's children; our children. 
Defrost these hearts, O God.


*Do I think this prayer, or any other prayer, is going to eliminate these patterns of sin against children? Do I think even one heart will be melted, thawed, softened, defrosted? That's not why I pray this way. All that matters is that when God looks into me and sees my heart, God sees a heart alive with compassion. Compassion-ated. Compassion is deep feeling with the suffering of all life. 




Monday, February 19, 2018

Spring is the water-gift



This still-life photograph of a glass of water on a mossy rock suggests that water is a wonder. Coming from above, we might say water is of God. It sparkles. It's transparent. It's adaptable and necessary for all life.

Jesus understood the mystical meaning of water. He stepped down into water to join the ailing and dry world of humanity (Matthew 3:13). He used it to make a copious and amazing gift for the newly weds and their happy guests (John 2:1-11) He sat at the village well with the Samaritan woman to present his life-giving message (John 4:1-42). Like a spring, water streamed from his side at Calvary - opening his heart to us (John 19:34). He told us (and some people might have a hard time accepting this because they want religion to be strenuous) that we find salvation in giving a cup of cold water to the thirsty (Matthew 10:42 & Matthew 25).

Early on in Lent (the Church's Springtime) we might pay close attention to water as life-gift.The first thing the gardener does after transplanting seedling tomatoes out of the plastic six pack is to give them a drink of water - a kind of blessing or good wish. 

Before my Mass each morning I have a little ritual of my own that wakes me up and helps me to feel very alive and gifted by God. I sit on a small bench with a cup of water and slowly take three big sips, big enough that I can feel the water go down. I sit quietly between each sip. I say: Blessed are you, Lord God of all Creation, through your goodness there is water to drink, which the heavens give and the earth receives. May I consciously accept the gift of life this day. 

Blessed means: to extol God, to glorify God - best of all - to celebrate God. God's first gift each day - the encounter with water which keeps us going. We can play with our ideas about water. May we take nothing for granted. 

Sit with the water-gift. Feel it. Perhaps identify the deeper "thirst" I ask God to satisfy. Speak a word or no word at all. No need to sit for a long stretch of time - just a few minutes really. The goodness of God!

Sunday, February 18, 2018

A Synaxsis of Archangels at the Start of Lent



The word synaxsis means a gathering for worship. I suppose then we could call Sunday Mass a synaxsis. But here's a synaxsis of Archangels. The tradition says there are seven archangels but the bible mentions only Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. The other names, which vary widely and wildly, come from extra-biblical or apocryphal Jewish and Christian sources. We might invoke their help as we set out along the Lenten Way.

Michael this day, may we find our way off the dark road of hate.
Michael this day, might we think something previously unthinkable.
Michael this day, that I would know why I was born.
Michael this day, that mercy would trounce fear.

Gabriel this day, may I allow God to disturb me.
Gabriel this day, might I be blessed with the gift of right communicating.
Gabriel this day, I pray the vision needed to love rightly.
Gabriel this day, strength, as I might be thrown off course today.

Raphael this day, truth enough to stop labeling people.
Raphael this day, heal the suffering of my fretting.
Raphael this day, was it you who stirred the Bethsaida waters? Stir up new consciousness in 
me.
Raphael this day, may I see the beauty that lies beyond my eyes.

Uriel this day, wisdom to solve some problem.
Uriel this day, illumination in my darkened mind.
Uriel this day, may my religion be transformative.
Uriel this day, is there some forgiveness I've yet to extend?

Raquel this day, friend of God, draw me in.
Raquel this day, angel of justice, teach me.
Raquel this day, elevate our national conversation.
Raquel this day, less talking, more listening for us.

Zerachiel this day, God's command, love born of insight.
Zerachiel this day, not to fear God, but to love him.
Zerachiel this day, that the nation not lose compassion.
Zerachiel this day, that the nation not lose humility.

Remiel this day, keep us from giving way to panic and despair.
Remiel this day, teach us solidarity.
Remiel this day, may we know we are spiritual beings.
Remiel this day, may my prayer be a cry of the heart.


Saturday, February 17, 2018

As the Light is Increasing



This picture was borrowed from a web page offering tips on how to take photographs of the night sky. Wonderful, heh? And as we move towards the springtime and the light is increasing, we might think about Genesis 1:14, the account of the fourth day of creation.

God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate seasons, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.' And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning followed; the fourth day.

Hmm. Some folks wonder - how is it that in Genesis 1:3 God begins the first day by saying, "Let there be light, and there was light," and yet it isn't until the fourth day that the sun, moon and stars are created and put in place? 

The light of the first day is God's own light. It is called God's shechinah - God's glorious, dwelling-presence. I remember being at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City a very long time ago, and the moment when the great crystal chandeliers started to    dim while being raised up to the ceiling, and the spotlights were turned towards the golden stage curtain, and four thousand people stopped talking and everything was hushed. There is that same sense here: God's presence is revealed as light and we are hushed as the story of creation unfolds. It's not a newspaper account, but so much more wonderful than that. 

But how does God create the sun, moon and stars, or anything for that matter, because before this, there is nothing? God creates instantly by his spoken Word. God speaks and creation happens out of nothing. 

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
by the breath of his mouth all their array.
He collects the waters of the sea like a dam,
he stores away the abyss in his treasure-house. 
Let the whole earth fear the Lord,
let all who dwell in the world revere him;
for, the moment he spoke, it was so,
no sooner had he commanded, than there it stood. Psalm 33:6-9

God speaks creation into existence, and we seem to be in the center of all the spoken-gift. It's as if it's all there for us, to help us, to energize us, to make life happen for us. The psalmist is in awe of it all: 

I look up at your heavens, shaped by your fingers,
at the moon and the stars you set in place -
what are human beings that you spare a thought for them,
or the child of Adam that you care for him? Psalm 8:3,4

And of this divine self-gift, this speaking, this shared exhaled word...

The Word became flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that he has from the Father
as only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.  John 1:14

When I was a first year seminarian, I remember one night feeling utterly overwhelmed by the reading I had to do. So in frustration I piled up all the assigned books to prove it. That pile turned out to be taller than my head. I've saved one of those books from decades ago - a 303 page book on the psalms. I didn't "get it" then; I don't "get it" now. For all the heady scholarship, not a word of awe, nothing to invite a hushed wonder before God, nothing to excite love for God. While I'm not anti-intellectual (though I do believe too much intellect can block the heart) I'd say to a seminarian today (or any of us really) - get your nose out of the book, go outside where the earth's electric lights haven't blocked out the night lights in the sky, and look up.

O Lord, our Master,
how the majesty of your name fills all the earth!
Your greatness is high above heaven itself.  Psalm 8:1




Friday, February 16, 2018

The Humility of Moss ~ "Please accept me"



While everything is encased in ice, along the forest edge where the winter's strengthening sun strikes, the ice has begun to recede and a low growing moss is appearing. The ground hugging plants have a language all their own, and I am reminded of the first lines of last Sunday's Gospel.

A leper came to Jesus beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said, to him, "I will; be clean."  Mark 1:40.

The first reading from the same Sunday, (Leviticus 13:1-2; 45-46)  told us that the leper was a marginal person who had to live outside the community. He or she even had to shout out a warning to others if anywhere near others.

We might imagine this loneliness was the greater suffering - even greater than any physical pain. But this fellow seems to be particularly brave or maybe just fed-up with the alienating rules which he breaks, coming up to Jesus, full of hope. He doesn't doubt that Jesus can cure him; he's throwing himself upon the willingness of Jesus. 

Notice though that even before he speaks a word, the leper kneels down in front of Jesus. That wordless gesture of close proximity says: "Please accept me." We understand.  The little moss on the woodland margins, struggling to spring up from under the heavy ice, as down to earth as possible - is an imagine of "Please accept me." 

Lent is the Church's Springtime. It is the season of heart-stretch. Who is saying, even wordlessly, please accept me

  • The young people in school  who are terrified when sides are being chosen for a game: Please accept me.
  • Does the baby in the womb have a wordless impetus of Please accept me?
  • The orphan infants who can't let go of the volunteer: Please accept me.
  • Of various sexual orientations: Please accept me.
  • The Christians from the ten countries where persecution is extreme: Please accept me.
  • The special needs folks and their parents: Please accept me.
  • The people who think they are losers, who think they ARE the things people call them: Please accept me.
  • The families desperate to find a home away from the famine, the bombs, the terrorists: Please accept me.
  • Maybe we're not even acceptable to ourselves - holding something old, mistaken or sad against ourselves.

Jesus touched the fellow with his hand, but all the more he touched him with his tenderness. We can do that too!


Thursday, February 15, 2018

Intercessions ~ First Sunday in Lent

Witch Hazel in Snow

As Lent begins,/ grant that each of us at Mass today,/ and the Christians of other churches,/ would experience some new personal growth or renewal/ on our way to Easter./ We pray to the Lord.

We ask strength,/ safety and blessings for those around the world who are first responders/ wherever there is terror,/ disaster or accident./ We pray to the Lord.

During Lent,/ may we learn to see the good in others;/ love and compassion for all./ May we see possibilities for growth in everyone./ We pray to the Lord.

The Olympic Games continue in South Korea for another week./ May we recognize the dignity and value of every nation on earth./ We pray that peace and collaboration would grow out of these weeks of sport./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray to be freed of those negative characteristics which divide and weaken:/ our phobias,/ pride,/ vanity,/ narrow or petty judgments,/ our admiration of power./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the rich countries to learn charity and justice./ That famine would be banished/ and people everywhere strengthened to serve God with untroubled hearts./ We pray to the Lord.

Grant the blessings of good health and protection to family members,/ friends and all we know./ May they grow in maturity and discover inner peace./ We pray to the Lord.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Setting Out On Ash Wednesday


The word Lent comes from the Old English word for lengthen - as in: "The spring days are lengthening." We say of Lent that it lasts forty days because the gospels tell us that Jesus fasted and was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. The forty days echo the wandering of the Hebrews in the Sinai Desert for forty years, and that in Noah's day it rained for forty days and forty nights. 

But then we can get fussy and start debating whether the Sundays of Lent "count". If I intend to set out into Lent - then I should just do it; God isn't counting. Forty is a symbolic number that means, "a long time." 

The day begins with ashes...an outer sign of an interior or invisible reality. The first words of the first reading at Mass today: "Even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart...rend your hearts and not your garments." Joel 2:12  Lent is interior.

The little cross on our foreheads is supposed to remind us that we'll die some day. I don't have forever to learn forgiveness. I don't have forever to learn to "let it go." I don't have forever to get Christ's new mind. I don't have forever to get real inner peace.

But there's more to ashes than just a death-reminder. Like snow, ashes are called a poor man's fertilizer. Farmers and gardeners have long spread ashes on their gardens and fields in the spring to make them more alive. It's said that the winter wood-ashes sweeten the soil. The whole human race could do with some sweetening. So maybe this Lent we'll sweeten a bit. But some people (perhaps men more than women) might object: a sweet person is delicate, a sissy, soft, a loser, weak, easily taken advantage of.

But sweet really means: non aggressive, not bitter, not hardened or harsh. A sweet person is tender-hearted, understanding, respectful, forgiving. As I accept the ashes today, I accept that I am going to die someday, but before that day comes, I would like to know that I have sweetened somewhat. 

As I walk up the church aisle today to receive the ashes, I might pray quietly about this - ashes spread for the sweetening of soil. My inner soil. My inner garden.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

O Bonitas!


Carthusian Soupbowl

In 1981 Frank Monaco made extended visits to six European monasteries, one Carthusian, three Cistercian, one Franciscan and one Benedictine. He subsequently created a beautiful black and white photo-essay book titled: They Dwell in Monasteries, sharing dozens of pictures of monks in their everyday lives of solitude, silence, prayer, work and community. Before departing from the Carthusian Charterhouse in Calabria, Italy, he had a conversation with the prior, asking why there were signs all over the monastery reading, "O Bonitas," which translates, "O the Goodness."

The prior told him that the signs call the monk back to the contemplative awareness of God's Goodness. The Latin word Bonitas can be translated a number of ways: may they help us share in the monk's prayer. 

O the Goodness of God who had the thought of me.
O the Goodness of those who create peace.
O the Goodness of those who care for our planet.
O the Goodness of our earth which mothers and sustains us.

O the Excellence of God who draws us to Himself.
O the Excellence of Christ's Gospel Word.
O the Excellence of angels; unseen guardians.
O the Excellence of those who are patient and helpful.

O the Kindness of God who has made us for compassion.
O the Kindness of God born at Bethlehem.
O the Kindness of God with an eye on the sparrow.
O the Kindness of God who imagined the plants and animals.

O the Benevolence of Christ, whispered comfort to the widow of Nain.
O the Benevolence of those who care for children.
O the Benevolence of saints who spark generosity in human hearts.
O the Benevolence of the earth in its water-gift.

O the Friendliness of Christ, lifting us by the hand.
O the Friendliness of Christ, opened heart at Calvary.
O the Friendliness of pilgrim popes who fly around the world.
O the Friendliness of those who companion us through struggles.

O the Tenderness of God, exhaling life into creation.
O the Tenderness of God, descending into Bread and Wine.
O the Tenderness of those who refuse to discriminate.
O the Tenderness of God choosing Mary - such a Mother!








Sunday, February 11, 2018

Lent begins, but first, there is Mary's smile at Lourdes



At Lourdes, the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous eighteen times in 1858. The apparitions began at the start of Lent. A number of times over the many weeks, when Bernadette asked a question or presented the priest's demands, the Mother of God  simply smiled. Heaven smiling on us: not grumbling, not frowning, not tysk-ing, not eye rolling - just smiling.

When I was a young priest I had a gentlemanly pastor who smiled a lot. He smiled at his detractors (every priest has them) and at those who didn't wish him well. I don't know if his smiles were genuine, but if they were forced, then AA would say, "Fake it till you make it." That alone is commendable.

What a neat idea for Lent: to learn from heaven and smile more. Maybe to consciously smile three times each day. At Lourdes, looking upon our complaining, our toxic arguing, our willful ignorance - heaven smiled. We might take the hint.


Spring Peeper

As mentioned in Tuesday's post, Lent is the Church's Springtime. And so from Ash Wednesday until Easter, there'll be a post each day, drawing our attention to  some aspect of Spring, looking to see how it might inform a spiritual life. Spring is the time of close observation, hatching, planting, sprouting, swelling, warming, lengthening, melting, birth-ing. These might sound like Weather Channel words, but all the more they're words with spiritual content. 

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Intercessions ~ Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Martin Luther King with Gk Bishop Iakovos & Catholic Nuns

Pope Francis has asked that the first Friday of Lent be a day of prayer and fasting for the African nations of Congo and South Sudan./ We pray for these countries being ruined by violence,/ destruction and death./ We pray to the Lord.

February is Black History Month./ May God bless our dream for a world without scorn and greed,/ where each human person can experience freedom,/ peace,/ joy and love./ We pray to the Lord.

Lent begins this Wednesday:/ the Church's Springtime./ Grant that our hearts would be opened,/ that we would grow into the mind of Christ,/ and know fully the joy of Easter./ We pray to the Lord.

During these cold winter days,/ may we know ourselves deeply,/ and ask for the Lord to call us out of resentment,/ bitterness and small thoughts of others,/ to the warmth of compassion and understanding./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for those countries,/ including our own,/ where infant and maternal mortality rates are too high/ For those who struggle with chronic physical/or emotional sickness./ We ask blessings for our own health,/ that we would be able to do well/ what God has put before us to do./ We pray to the Lord.

In our spiritual lives this week/ may we not put our hand to the plough and look back,/ but be freed of laziness,/ procrastination and lack of enthusiasm./ May we experience God in hearts that are clean./ We pray to the Lord.



Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Lent Is In The Air




Lent is in the air. On the old calendar, we're in the liturgical weeks with the curious Latin names: Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima (roughly seventy, sixty, fifty days until Easter). All of this serves as a  holy countdown to the Quadragesima, which is the Forty Days of Lent. Ash Wednesday is in nine days.

Last year here we reflected on dozens of meditative paintings by the Russian artist Isaak Levitan. The series was well-received and can be re-visited by scrolling back through the blog's archive: February 26 through April 17. So, what might we do this year?

Lent is called, The Church's Springtime - the time of warming, increased light, melting, swelling, enlivening, hatching, birthing, close observation. And while all of these have an outer seasonal significance, they also signify a deeper human/spiritual interior meaning. 

A couple of years ago I asked a young person, "What's Lent?" and he answered, "Isn't that when you give something up?" How is it that we're still saying this? Is this all we're handing on to the next generation? How have we reduced this amazing time - a Springtime for the Church - to "giving something up"? That we have taken the message of Jesus and turned it into something so little: giving up bad words, chocolate, wine, beer, a TV show. To be sure, Lent should be a most sober time, but because we're trying to wake up interiorly. "Wake up!" Jesus said that.

Even as a boy I thought this "give it up" method was tedious and of small account. And negative! So perhaps here we can embrace a Lent that might enliven us and make us more whole rather than just weary counters. Over the years I've heard: "I'm giving up booze for Lent, but beer doesn't count." "Oh, it's Lent. I need to lose ten pounds anyway." Counting makes for a pretty low-grade Lent.

Some people arrive at Easter starved, exhausted, frustrated and only superficially changed, so that they're back to the same silly habits before the Easter Octave is over? Springtime goes deep - down into the ground where roots come alive again. You might hear that on the Weather Channel, or that sentence can have a metaphorical meaning. But as I say often, metaphor doesn't mean not real, but MOST real because the word or image is understood in the most personal way. 

Saturday, February 3, 2018

A Prayer on the Feast of Saint Blaise ~ Bishop and Martyr





Today is the Feast of Saint Blaise, the third century Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia. The Acts of St. Blaise tells us of his extraordinary powers as a medical doctor, his being exiled during the persecution of the Emperor Lincinius and his freeing the boy who was choking on a fish bone. The 15th century Russian icon here shows Blaise healing the wild animals while living as a refugee in the desert. 

So, reflecting on these themes, there's a lot we might call to mind today: 
  • Prayers of gratitude for the doctors who help us.
  • Prayers for those who have had to leave their country for threat or menace (there are some who have a very hard attitude towards these people).
  • Prayers for the children of the world, many of whom are in terrible difficulty.
  • Prayers for the threats against the wild animals and plants - the loss of their habitats to destruction and the rolling back of  protections so someone can make big money.

The little prayer used today for the traditional blessing of throats says: 

Through the intercession of Blaise,
 the bishop and martyr, 
may you be freed from all sickness of the throat,
and from every other evil. Amen


"And from every other evil." I'd suggest St. Blaise would be glad to have us invoke him for more than just taking care of our sore throats. One blogger calls him the Patron Saint of Careful Chewing. We can look more deeply:


Holy Bishop Blaise this day,
cure us of the complaining which comes out of our throats:
the harsh and hurtful words,
the scary, too loud words,
the words of discrimination,
and so much disapproval,
the words that in an instant are rehearsing personal woes.

Holy Martyr Blaise, this day,
heal us of the lies which come out of our throats:
and any hateful word,
any manipulative word,
the punishing word,
the regrettable word,
the discouraging words that pick, pick, pick.

Holy Healer Blaise, this day,
may we speak full-throated words of kindness:
fair words,
grateful words,
compassionate words,
supportive, welcoming words,
prayerful, praising words,
words that carry light,
words that carry joy. Amen.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Intercessions ~ Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time



Pope Francis noted recently that while the world is increasingly rich,/ it is poor in love./ We pray for those who are hated for their religion,/ nationality or color./ For those who suffer grave hardships,/ discrimination,/ hunger/ or who live without joy/ or are exhausted with fear./ We pray to the Lord.

The Winter Olympic Games begin this Thursday in South Korea./ We pray for the safety of all who participate./ May we learn that every country,/ large or small/ has dignity/ and is to be valued/ with something to teach the rest of us./ We pray to the Lord.

Operating on the same principles of supply and demand,/ one of the most lucrative industries in the world is the buying and selling of children/ for the purposes of sex trafficking and child labor./ We ask boldly for the conversion of hardened hearts./ We pray to the Lord.

Today is World Cancer Day./ We pray for the healing,/ strength and consolation of those who struggle with cancer./ Bless the work of cancer hospitals,/ doctors and nurses./ For the Hawthorne Dominican Sisters/ ministering to those whose cancer is incurable./ We pray to the Lord.

Heal the nation's bitter divisions,/ its resentment,/ chaos and anxiety./ Teach us all we need/ to once again be a United States of America./ We pray to the Lord.

These cold days,/ we ask blessings for those who operate shelters and kitchens./ For those who live in hidden places to get out of the cold./ For travelers/ and those who must work out of doors during the winter time./ We pray to the Lord.