Pauca Verba is Latin for A Few Words.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Intercessions ~ Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time




At the start of November,/ we pray for those who celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries and other days of remembrance./ May our families and friends enjoy good health,/ safety and peace./ We pray to the Lord.

Later this month/ Pope Francis will visit Thailand and Japan./ May he travel safely and be welcomed warmly./ May his messages bring about reconciliation,/ justice and peace./ We pray to the Lord.

This week,/ may we look upon each human person as God does,/ with eyes of kindness,/ full of concern for their comfort and happiness./ We pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States,/ our Congress and those in government and leadership in every place./ May they be persons of character,/ commitment and courage./ We pray to the Lord.

The State of California is again suffering vast fires./ We pray for fire-fighters and helpers./ For those who have lost property,/ evacuees and all who are living in harms way./ We pray to the Lord.

November is the month of prayerfully remembering the dead./ And while we pray for our own dear ones,/ we pray as well for those unknown to us who die in wars and disasters./ For those who die with no one to pray for them./ We pray to the Lord.



Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Prayer After Holy Communion




In the silence
after Holy Communion,
listening through the
open window
to the rain 
pouring down into puddles—

Rain down
decency,
compassion,
courtesy and
justice.

Rain down
empathy,
mercy,
forgiveness and
purity of heart.

Rain down
patience, 
consolation,
strengthening and
a welcoming spirit.

Rain down
courage,
awareness,
appreciation and
tenderness.

Heal
the empty heart,
the broken heart,
the joyless,
needy heart.

Heal
the bitter heart,
the divided heart,
the confounded,
dispirited heart.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Cape May Warbler and Forty Years Ordained


Cape May Warbler on Conifer Branch



How blessed am I—ordained forty years ago this weekend. Anyone who's done anything for forty years can say, "There's a lot of water under the bridge."  In 1979 I ran full flood into my new priesthood, at once crashing into disappointment that lasted years. I don't think priesthood is any more difficult  than any other way of life serious people choose to live: growing through the stresses of relationships, raising children, slugging it out in a demanding job, keeping faith alive. Then, there is the inner work of trying to evolve into the real and full person God hoped I'd become. That may be the hardest part of all.

So, what about this priest and the Cape May Warbler? God went to a lot of trouble to create our planet-home, and I believe he put the animals into our lives that they might in some way be lovely companions. Someone might say that sounds flaky, but I don't think so. In the Genesis story, God gave us (not the angels) the honor of naming the animals. I wish we felt that more deeply.

When we encounter the animals then, we might pay particular attention, as they may have a message for us, especially as we research how they survive and thrive. Earlier this week I stumbled on an online photograph of a Cape May Warbler. Thrilled by its beauty, I did some investigating.

The Cape May is one of fifty species of warblers living in the United States and Canada. We don't see them at our feeders because they're forest dwellers. But very adaptable at that! The Cape May generally lives in conifer (evergreen) forests, but can also adapt and live among deciduous trees and even thickets at the edge of  the forest. In its winter range it's found feeding in the tops of Florida or Caribbean palm trees.

Cape May Warblers migrate by night because the air is calmer, cooler and there are fewer predators to avoid. This wonder-bird can hang upside down to get at insects hidden underneath leaves. It even has a tubular tongue which can suck the nectar out of flowers and juice out of ripe fruit. 

So the Cape May Warbler is a skilled survivor. A friend wrote recently, "Of the thousands of people you have known as a priest over these many years, which ones stand out in your memory?" That's an easy and pleasing question to answer: the strugglers and survivors stand out. Arnold, who was deaf, unable to speak, and who spent the day kneeling under the crucifix in church. The folks in AA who follow the sobering-discipline of honesty, generosity and surrender. The parents of special needs kids. The husband who on Christmas night kept vigil over his dying wife in hospice. The college kids who prayed with me standing around their dear friend who had just died of AIDS complications. The hospital crew who cleaned and sterilized the ER when the awful emergency was over. The young soldier banging on the door in the middle of the night, shaking and weeping, hours before he had to show up to begin his third tour in Iraq.

My own priesthood story is a story not only of survival through the  disappointment, but thriving. A counselor who knew me well said, "Stephen, the house is on fire, and you're trying to get a few things out to safety." That's especially true this time in my life, which now intersects with you—folks all around the world. I send my prayer, and a blessing for you and your families. May you stay standing in the dark chaos, but also thrive in God's Christ-love for you and all of wounded humankind.






Thursday, October 24, 2019

Intercessions ~ Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time




A great humanitarian crisis has been created in Northern Syria/ where thousands of people,/ including many children,/ have been displaced./ We pray for them,/ and for those agencies which are helping them to safety./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for children who are orphaned or abandoned./ For women who lack maternity health care./ For the poorest people,/ the marginalized,/ the elderly and the disabled./ May we not be indifferent./ We pray to the Lord.

May we not fall into the temptation of thinking we alone have the definitive answers./ May we stop thinking of others as outsiders./ Freed of bitterness,/ we ask for a new national-heart/ open to God's light./ We pray to the Lord.

For Pope Francis and the Church wherever it is found./ For those places where being a Christian is illegal or punishable./ May we be confident in the forgiveness of past sins,/ strengthened in goodness,/ healed of resentment./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the President of the United States,/ our Congress,/ and those who govern at every level/ and in every place./ May they be found among the just and clean of heart./ We pray to the Lord.

We ask healing and courage for our families and friends./ At the altar/ we pray for those we know who are stressed,/ depressed,/ discouraged,/addicted/ or facing great challenges and obstacles./ We pray to the Lord.


Sunday, October 20, 2019

Jesus' New Teaching


And he spoke a parable also to them, "No one puts a patch from a new garment on an old garment; else not only does he tear the new one, but the patch from the new garment does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wine-skins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and will be spilled, and the skins ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh skins, and both are saved. And no man after drinking old wine immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'" Luke 5:36-39

Here's a photograph of a garden jacket I bought back in 1979, when I was a brand new deacon and assigned to a parish where I had a garden behind the convent. The jacket was also new then. Over the four decades it's been washed, stitched and patched endlessly. 

We might recall these gospel verses about old and new follow the debate the religious leaders were having with Jesus about who he should and shouldn't be eating with, and why Jesus' disciples weren't fasting. Jesus responded with these two images: new garment/old garment, new wine/old wine skins. He's talking about his new teaching—that God's new rule is here, requiring new thinking and a new heart-response. 

The old religious ways of staying ritually pure, eating with the right people, fasting to stay in shape spiritually - they're like an old coat. And the new teaching of Jesus can't simply be stitched up or patched on. All these old ways of religious living are like dried out wine skins. And expecting that the new wine of Jesus' teaching can be successfully held in those old prescriptions, just won't do. Something has to give: the tear on the patched coat will only get worse; the old brittle skins will be lost, as will the new wine itself. These are images of a new kind of religious thinking and do-ing. 

There are lots of people who want their religion to remain just like the old days. Listen to the blow back directed at the Pope leading up to and during the Amazon Synod. The idea of a new way to speak to new problems and concerns isn't acceptable to them. And according to the Gospel, Christ's new way is to stop obsessing about old observances (the fasting and the table company rules) and to accompany broken, needy, marginalized persons to the good news of God's unchanging and inclusive love. 

The word inclusive scares some people. They can't even abide indigenous persons wearing bright feathers in St. Peter's Basilica, let alone imagining new ways for them to worship in their Amazon communities. 

Summed up: All this old thinking of religious clean and unclean - it has to go. Even this last gospel verse here that sounds so mysterious - "No man after drinking old wine immediately desires new; for he says the old is better." Well, old wine is expensive and only the rich can afford it. The new way of Jesus is a celebration of God's hospitable love for the poor and the outsider. Those with cultivated tastes would never want new wine, "the old is better."  But Jesus has in mind his new teaching which can be likened to Beaujolais - new wine which is fresh and alive. There are people who wait eagerly for the new wine to go on sale each year, and there are Christians who aren't afraid of the new teaching of Jesus in all of its fresh aliveness. "New" doesn't terrify them.

How do I get Jesus' new wine? A lot of people simply don't think anymore, they just repeat or nod their heads even to what is completely unintelligible to them. They get their news from the six minute TV or radio snippet of their mind-alike news host. A lot of people live extroverted religious lives, but there is nothing going on inside - no connection to divine energies (call it grace if you care to) that evolve us and make us whole. 

One sign of being made whole is to be in possession of a new empathy with people outside one's own immediate concerns—a new empathy with the planet in its suffering and pain. Empathy: en=in, pathos=feeling. Feeling with, fellow-feeling, inner feeling. 

The heartbreaking cover of this month's National Geographic shows a gentle, young African boy crouching down to touch the enormous head of a dead rhinoceros—these great and ancient animals, which by human greed, are now seconds away from extinction. 

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Intercessions ~ Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time




Following Turkey's recent invasion of Syria,/ at least 160,000 persons have been displaced./ Many are young families with children./ We pray for them,/ asking for sanity and decency./ We pray to the Lord.

For Pope Francis during the Pan Amazon Synod in Rome,/ hoping to give the Church an indigenous face,/ hoping to turn the world's attention to the exploited plight of the Amazon region./ We ask blessings for the pope in his ministry./ We pray to the Lord.

In the face of the world's tragedy,/ we pray boldly for the Lord Jesus to lead us through the dark moments/ into something bright and unexpected./ We pray to the Lord.

In his letter today,/ St. Paul asks that we be people of God,/ equipped for good works./ We ask to be strengthened in our efforts to care for each other,/ and those beyond our immediate contacts and concerns./ We pray to the Lord.

For people around the world who are sick,/ fearful,/ without resources or strength,/ uneducated,/ unfed,/ desperate or in flight./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for world leaders to be wise,/ optimistic peacemakers,/ inspirers of goodness,/ who genuinely and selflessly care for their people./ We pray to the Lord.


Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Christ the Bridegroom


Christ the Bridegroom

Then people said to him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make supplications, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but your disciples eat and drink?  He said to them, "Can you expect wedding-guests to fast as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; that will be the time for them to fast." Luke 5:33-35

These verses fall within the larger section (5:17-6:11) called The Conflicts. The word conflict is used because the one who questions Jesus has a hostile attitude. We were told at the start of this section that men had come from "every village of Galilee and Judea and out of Jerusalem." Jerusalem is religious headquarters. They are not friendly to Jesus, but have come to evaluate him and report back to the authorities. 

Remember, Jesus was accused of blasphemy (a God insult) for forgiving sins. They grumbled at Jesus because he ate with ritually unclean people. The wrong people. Here, things come to a head and Jesus knows it. In so many words they are saying to Jesus, "You know, you're young, you have a lot to learn; you really don't know how to go about it." Jesus has an answer and announces here that a day will come when this hostility towards him will break out in a violent way, "the bridegroom will be taken away." Our minds might go to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested in a thoroughly violent scene and taken away by temple guards.

But I can't say I've ever heard a homily reflecting on Jesus as the bridegroom. Jesus would have known this biblical image from the Old Testament:

"And I will make for you  a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord." Hosea2:18ff

A covenant is a heart to heart agreement as bridegroom and bride enter into. Notice that this heart-union is with all of creation - even the animals are included. God's creation-idea is revived. God intends the end of violence, and that we would be able to rest in safety. In Jesus, there is God's love, which Hosea likens to that of a newly wed.

But a bridegroom is an ancient image of fertility as well. Psalm 19:4ff references the sun (which makes the planet alive) arising each morning like a bridegroom—who after the wedding night emerges from his tent. The bridegroom is also an image of freshness. Even a backwoods kind of guy, or a man who knows only hard labor, cleans up for his wedding day.

Fertility and freshness are images for richness of new life, fruitfulness, inner creation, personal evolution. Contrast with these gospel grumblers who surround Jesus with complaint and rejection. In the following parables we'll hear Jesus likening their religious brand to an old cloak that's got holes in it and dried out wine skins (made of animal hide) that are rotted through and easily ruined. 

But what about my own kind of religion - do I feel the fertility and freshness? Even a regular Mass-goer might ask about that.


Sunday, October 13, 2019

Prayer Before The War-Assaulted Syrian Icon of the Mother of God





May we dismantle the war economy; planting trees instead.
May we learn wisdom and justice.
May we stop the bombing and bleeding of others.
May we love people in all their variety.
May we stop assailing children.

May we be found among the clean of heart.
May the skies be cleared of smoke and flame.
May we detect the face of God on the other sides of borders.
May we betray no one.
May our support of others be sincere and enduring.

May our worst possibilities never materialize.
May we bring light out of shadow.
May the endless sins against others be forgiven.
May we learn again good from evil.
May we preserve ourselves from nuclear self-destruction.

Mother, 
advocate for us a new Pentecost—
no gentle breeze,
but a fiery, 
empowering wind of sanity,
a new resolve to tend the lush garden;
to lift the weak ones to their feet.

Father Stephen Morris


Thursday, October 10, 2019

Intercessions ~ Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time





We pray for Pope Francis and the Pan-Amazon Synod taking place in Rome this month./ For the hundreds of indigenous communities throughout the Amazon region/ which are threatened by exploitation./ We pray to the Lord.

Tuesday is the Feast of the 16th century Spanish Mystic,/ Teresa of Avila./ May we learn her spiritual way of living humbly,/ welcoming God,/ who is unchanging in love./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the President of the United States/ asking for world leaders of good conscience/ who will help their people through the dark chaos./ We pray to the Lord.

Three million children die of hunger around the world each year./  We ask not only for forgiveness/ but also for a new global heart,/ reflective of God's priorities./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for our own families/ and families around the world,/ where there are addictions,/ money or relationship problems,/ the stresses of the young and the elderly./ For safety,/ peace and good health./ We pray to the Lord.

For ourselves this week,/ where we feel insecure,/ powerless,/ lost,/ un-well or confounded by problems and the unknown./ We pray to the Lord.


Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Shagbark Hickory




Isn't this a show-stopper? It is a young, three foot high, Shagbark Hickory tree growing along the edge of the woods. While taking my morning laps I noticed it; the leaves wet and brilliant. By the next day the leaves had turned muddy brown. 

But I couldn't remember the name of the tree and stumbled around for some hour in a guidebook looking for an answer. Then another day or two later, coming around the top of the long driveway, a nut fell from a very tall tree and hit me on the head. When I looked up I recognized the same leaves but still green. This led to that, when a friend remembered that I'd already written about the tree and its meaning some time ago (October 8, 2015). 

This wonderful October-time—a time of color, bud setting, bird departure, windshield frost and temperature drop—invites us to an attentive interiority. The link to the original Shagbark post is found in the right margin here, off to the right of this page.



Sunday, October 6, 2019

Phos Hilaron ~ O Gladsome Light





Composed in Greek, the Phos Hilaron (late 3rd - early 4th c) - is the earliest known Christian hymn outside of the bible. The hymn is used at the start of First Vespers - Saturday Evening Prayer - beginning the weekly celebration of Sunday - the day of the Lord's Resurrection. As the hymn accompanies the entrance of light into the darkened church, it is sometimes called the Candle Light Hymn. An English translation is found here. 

O Gladsome Light
of the holy glory
of the immortal Father,
heavenly,
holy, 
blessed Jesus Christ.
Now we have come
to the setting of the sun,
and behold the light of evening.
We praise God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
For it is right at all times
to worship Thee with joyful voices,
O Son of God
and Giver of Life,
therefore all the universe glorifies Thee.


But I would suggest the theme of the Living Light of Jesus invading the darkness, is much bigger than an ancient candle-lighting hymn. These are dark days for the nation, the Church, indeed, the planet. Here's my prayer which acknowledges the deep darkness. But rather than succumbing to despair and cynicism, I want to call upon Christ - the Gladsome Light.

The profound darkness of
the ones who have no conscience—their goal is simply, to get away with it.
the ones who never examine themselves,
the ones who have no love - except for the love of money.
who grab all they can,
who make subtle threats that un-nerve people—threats of war,
who are chaos-makers,
who know nothing of apologies,
who conceal the statistics of disaster.

O Radiant Light of the holy glory

heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ!

The profound darkness of 

the degraded,
the disappeared,
the enslaved,
the detained,
the wrongfully imprisoned,
the wrongfully executed,
the traumatized,
the ones who have been stripped of everything.

O Joyful Light of the holy glory

heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ!

The profound darkness of

lies to protect money, power, prestige,
of sex that exploits,
of domestic violence that terrorizes children,
of a hundred people dying of gun violence every day and nothing is  done,
of those who sign off on death,
who toe the party line,
who "just follow orders,"
who shred documents,
who hate people of color,
who fear neither God nor man.

O Gracious Light of the holy glory

heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ!

The profound darkness of 

the conspire-rs,
hustlers,
grifters,
who rehearse their defenses,
who make life impossible for others, causing them to flee,
wheeler - dealers,
drugsters,
purveyors of weapons that blow up children and the elderly left behind,
the new criminals of the cyber world,
bullies and taunters.

O Gentle Light of the holy glory,

heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ!

The profound darkness of

the apologist who hopes to end all conversation,
the poacher who steals trees, animals and even children,
the system we worship that trains young people to become killing  machines,
the empires which steal,
the haters of Jews,
the power signature,
the deciders who leave the planet more vulnerable,
that thinking which holds, "I have nothing to learn from them."

O Gladening Light of the holy glory,

heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ!

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Intercessions ~ Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time






Friday was the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi./ May we learn his spiritual way:/ Where there is hatred,/ let me sow love;/ where there is despair,/ let me sow hope;/ where there is sadness,/ let me sow joy./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for Pope Francis/ and all who participate in the month long Pan-Amazon Synod in Rome./ For the Church in every place,/ but especially where it is weak,/ threatened,/ or in need of reformation and healing./ We pray to the Lord.

With the new month of October,/ we pray for those who celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries and other days of remembrance,/ asking for good health,/ safety and peace./ We pray to the Lord.

These are sad days for our country,/ inviting us to pray./ And so we ask for that divine light,/ which can lead us through the deep darkness./ We pray to the Lord.

Monday is Child Health Day./ We pray for the world's children whose illness is untreated./ For the children who are weak from hunger,/ who are mentally unwell,/ or who are trapped in suffering and fear./ We pray to the Lord.

Autumn is here,/ the season of frost,/ seed and bud formation,/ ripening,/ light and temperature change./ May we experience a personal transformation,/ coming to live our own unique lives as truthfully and as beautifully as Christ lived his./ We pray to the Lord.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Cerulean Warbler






Cerulean Warbler,
how'd you get your blue?
Weaving in and out of Woodland Scilla?
Singing along with Giotto's Christmas angels?
Brushing clouds to stratosphere?

Bless you, flying Azurite—
in your nesting,
hatching,
feeding,
preening.

Bless you, blue wonder,
in your thousand mile night flight,
traveling by star light—
may you circumvent
wind turbine,
cell tower,
eight lane,
and smoke stack.

Bless you, buzzy-noted songster,
Caribbean bound,
through early autumn air—
with a heart full of emotion,
Dorian is gone, 
but is there a bird version of heartache?


Father Stephen Morris