After the Eastcoast Winter Storm

 

A big snow through the night,

  and I wonder where the flocks of robins

  which have stayed behind

  this winter have gone,

  and how they will fare, O God.

And I have quickly confirmed

  that robins favor holly berries,

  and that there are great trees

  bearing dense clusters of        

  brilliant red fruit

  around the corner

  and in the church yard where I work.

And I do feel that

  all shall be well —

  indeed you have thought of everything,

  if only we could stay out of the way

  and supplant greed 

  with awe.

Amen.

Intercessions ~ Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thursday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day./ As the Nazi killing program is forgotten,/ anti-Semitism is on the rise in many places around the world./ We pray for people who say they are tired of hearing about the Holocaust,/ who resent this day of remembrance,/ who deny the Holocaust even happened./ We ask for the world to be given a new heart./ We pray to the Lord.

We live on this planet in relationship with other created beings,/ two-legged,/ four-legged,/ finned and feathered,/ branched and flowering./ May we embrace this relatedness deeply and have a care./ Give us the wisdom and will to protect species from extinction./ We pray to the Lord.

Peace is always a fragile thing,/ but today peace is threatened along the Ukraine-Russia border./ The cost may be tremendous if human beings choose to go the way of war again./ Save us,/ forgive us,/ evolve us/ as we still have not learned./ We pray to the Lord.

May we continually learn the requirements of justice,/ especially as it is due those in poverty,/ disability,/ those living in pain or under oppression./ We pray to the Lord.

For Pope Francis,/ the worldwide bishops and clergy ministering everywhere./ Activate new gifts of faith,/ healing and prophecy in the church./ Unite in love,/ congregations,/ denominations and all who profess the name of Jesus./ We pray to the Lord.

So many people are struggling through life-transitions,/ sickness,/ fatigue,/ challenges,/ self-worth,/ failure or mistakes of judgement./ Help us to know that nothing separates us from the love of God,/ seen in the heart and face of Jesus./ We pray to the Lord.

Nican Mopuhua ~ The Oldest Telling of the Guadalupe Story

 

Click on the link here to read the Nican Mopuhua — an English translation of the 16th century account of the Guadalupe story. Of course, it is not a book of the Bible or equal to a Gospel or the Epistles, but it seems to have a great spiritual energy. And it is profoundly beautiful. 

Akathist to Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

Akathist to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Click here to begin the prayer which can be advanced using the arrows at the top or sides of the page or by swiping the pages themselves .

 I would suggest opening to full screen.

Guadalupe Akathist Invitation

 

Pope Francis visited Mexico City and the

 Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

in February of 2016. 

The framed tilma

containing the image of the Guadalupe

 can be swung back into a room

where individuals and small groups

can gather for prayer after

the basilica closes each evening.

I have created my own

Akathist to the Virgin Mary ~ Guadalupe

and am pleased to offer it to you 

for your personal prayer. 

Perhaps the next best thing

to sitting prayerfully with the Pope before

the tilma's inexplicably wondrous image.

The Akathist-prayer will be published here

 on the Pauca Verba page tomorrow,

Sunday, January 23.

Intercessions ~ Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week in Texas,/ a Jewish rabbi and three congregants were held hostage during an eleven hour standoff./ We pray for our nation to be healed of this kind of hatred,/ terror and violence./ Bless the helpers,/ keep us from despair and the fatigue of insecurity./We pray to the Lord.

January 18-25 is called the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity./ Pope Francis asks for the churches to keep their eyes on Jesus and to remain close to one another in prayer./ We ask for the healing of old wounds,/ disastrous historical mistakes and sins./ For the putting away of useless resentments./ We pray to the Lord.

In early January,/ sixteen infants were baptized by Pope Francis in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican./ May we treasure the reality of our own baptism/ when we met Jesus for the first time in the water making us disciples who want to learn from Jesus how to live authentic Christly lives./ We pray to the Lord.

Recently at Mass we heard the account of the Wedding at Cana./ The wedding symbolizes God's nuptial  love for us,/ but the wine of joy has run out./ God doesn't desire the bloody offering of countless dead animals,/ but hearts open to God's unconditional love./ May we not grow tired of living in this love./ We pray to the Lord.

In the cold time of the year we pray for those who are homeless,/ hungry,/ unemployed,/ fearful./ For the sick and those in hospitals who care generously for those suffering from covid./ We pray for people around the world suffering from wars and natural disasters,/ where tensions are high and people are feeling insecure./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for politicians and leaders around the world./ For those who have forgotten their role as public servants,/ who have become obstructionist,/ who desire prominence and attention,/ who pander to groups that make them rich./ We pray to the Lord. 

We pray as well for veterans who have returned from war,/ who are traumatized and damaged physically,/ emotionally,/ relationally,/ spiritually./ It is not sufficient to thank them and call them heroes,/ but we pray for their healing and restoration./ We pray to the Lord.

Heads up!

A cyber-invitation to everyone ~

I have composed my own Akathist to

the Virgin Mary ~ Guadalupe

which I will publish here this coming Sunday, 

January 23.

You might spread the word around to

those you know who love her

and who would be eager to pray.

"I have a dream" ~ Sounds Biblical!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech on August 28, 1963. Some people have dubbed it "The greatest speech you never heard.' That's would be right — many Americans have never heard it. Never even heard of it!  There are even some in our country today (59 years later) who would prefer the nation's young people in school never hear it either.

But do you know there are twenty-one dreams recorded in the bible? Five of them are found in the New Testament. St. Matthew's Gospel tells of Pontius Pilate's wife relating her dream to her husband. But more is said of her in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, such that for her dream-attempt to save Jesus from death,  the Eastern Church calls her Saint Procla.  

More than a few Christians would put faith in Solomon's dream, Abimelech's dream,  Nebuchadnezzar's, Daniel's, Laban's, Joseph's (OT and NT) dreams — even the repeated dreams of the three wise men, but scoff at Martin Luther King's dream. Why would that be?

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." MLK Aug. 28, 1963

As Dr. King was preparing his Washington Mall speech, the great American Gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson (+1972) said, "People don't now it, but they're going to church today." 

In that speech, Dr. King said "I have a dream" eight times.

"I have..."

Other people make claims about what they have too.

They say things like:

"I have friends in high places."

"I have so and so's ear."

"I have the mob behind me."

"I have my contacts."

"I have my base."

"I have the know-how."

"I have the votes."

"I have my sources."

"I have everything I need."

"I have inside information."

"We have the guns."

"We have the majority."

"We have the numbers."

"We have the money."

And perhaps that most ridiculously presumptuous claim ever:

"We have God on our side." 

But ...

"I have a dream that...one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." MLK Aug. 28, 1963

Safeguard me still!

I'm not a swimmer. I could dog-paddle for a short time if necessary but no more than that. I remember two times in my adult life when I knew drowning was a real possibility. Once when I was taken out by a current and a huge wave came down on me. All the while I was summersaulting under water I was aware I'd lost my sense of direction — that I didn't know where up was. The second time as a teenager I was with a wrong group who insisted on taking a rubber dingy out onto the rough ocean at night. We'd all had too much to drink but I had the presence of mind to stay resolute — "I'm not getting into that thing."  While pressured by the others, I felt as if my feet were stuck in sand. That I had the wherewithal to do that was strength from heaven.

But this photographed medal I wear has a salvific story behind it too. I was a much younger priest and doing weekend Mass coverage for a parish to which I'd never been. After the first Mass a man approached me and asked for me to remember his ailing mother at Mass and to light a candle for her recovery. I did both. The next week in appreciation he invited me to his home for dinner. It was a Sunday afternoon in winter and before GPS had been invented. I drove seemingly "forever" through the backwoods on icy dirt roads, without turns identified or other houses in sight anywhere — just fields and woodland. The sun was setting when I arrived at his compound-like property of an old farmhouse, a barn and a large modular building with a metal roof. At dinner, without any warning, he took out a pistol and put it on the table between us. He had identified himself as a fish distributor and during the meal took a phone call from a supplier who made him unhappy. The phone call got testy before it was over.

I detest guns and asked him to put the pistol away. Afterwards he showed me the modular building which contained a large number of old but still working pinball machines lining the perimeter walls. I declined the invitation to play with the machines. But running through the center of the large room was a long glass cabinet filled with souvenirs and Americana memorabilia. It seems as if a kind of magnet drew me to the middle of the glass topped cases where I saw this antique silver medal placed flat on a cloth. The medal seemed totally out of place, was clearly handcrafted with a Renaissance styled Mary etched into the thin silver disc, the Infant Jesus coming out of his bath, the traditional lily in a vase to the right and hatched lines throughout. I asked, but he knew nothing of its creation, history or even how it had come his way. I found it to be uniquely delicate and that it seemed to be without a home. So I genuinely asked if I could buy it from him, hoping he'd state a price I could afford. Instead, he opened the case and gave it to me. At the same time I felt  the menacing energy had been deflated or dispersed. I rather quickly made my excuses and got back to my car, driving home in the dark. The medal is a treasure, so I don't wear it when working outdoors for fear of it falling off the chain.

But in a dream recently I do lose the medal and after a frantic search through the grass I find it pressed into the ground sideways — as if it's sliced the ground with just an edge sticking out. With tweezer-like fingers, I'm able to free it from the ground and lay it flat in my open hand. 

I don't know if that night I was in any real trouble or what the man's agenda was, if he even had one, but the energy wasn't good and I felt unsafe. I was reading recently about the small Bavarian city of Rottach-Egern and that during the First and Second World Wars the people placed their city under the protection of Our Lady of Egern. Happily — wondrously, the city remained unscathed. 

Renaissance Lady of the anonymous silversmith,

Renaissance Lady of the glass case,

Renaissance Lady of happy finding,

Renaissance Lady of a gun too close,

Renaissance Lady of an unsettling night,

Renaissance Lady of the lily-clean heart,

   thank you for your protection —

   safeguard me still.

Intercessions ~ Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

With the return to Ordinary Time we complete the feasts of revelation:/ Nativity,/ Epiphany,/ the Lord's Baptism./ We pray as the nation awaits a new revelation of the precious dignity of each human life,/ the need to tell the truth,/ the revelation of what the common good means./ We pray to the Lord.

The Mother of God stands here in the orans posture of a priest at Mass./ It is the gesture of openness,/ vulnerability before one another and God./ It is the posture of no weapons,/ non-violence/ and welcome./ May we learn from her./ We pray to the Lord.

Give Pope Francis the courage and strength he needs to continue his ministry of service to the world./ Restore the people who have turned their hearts against him,/ especially those who are among the clergy./ We pray to the Lord.

This week a high-rise apartment fire in the Bronx, NY, claimed the lives of 19 people, including 9 children and 63 injured./ Some are clinging to life./ Most of the victims are from the West-coast nation of Gambia, Africa./ We pray for the dead and the injured./ For the heroes who worked to save lives./ For mourners and investigators./ We pray to the Lord.

The liturgical color of the season is green./ It is the color of hope - the virtue of believing God can and will act./ May we be protected from cynicism,/ bitterness,/ despair,/ depression and anger./ May we re-discover joy,/ courtesy and respect where it has been weakened./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for anyone of whom we need to ask forgiveness./ May God forgive us any failure in love or justice that has harmed others or made them sad or afraid./ We pray as well for those we need to forgive./ God grant them health and safety,/ and everything they need for their own salvation./ May our hearts be freed of bitterness./ We pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States,/ those in Congress,/ Governors and all who serve in public office./ May they be pure of heart,/ of good conscience,/ just and loving servants./ We pray to the Lord.

Islam's Titles for the Virgin Mary

 

The Virgin Mary is spoken of seventy times in Islam's holy book, the Quran. That's many more times than she is mentioned in the New Testament. Here is a picture taken from a 16th century Persian manuscript depicting the story of Christ's Nativity. In this account Mary went into seclusion to give birth to her Child. The image shows Mary nourished with fresh water. A date palm tree palm bears fruit out of season. These are some of the titles used in Islam when speaking of the Virgin Mary.

She who believes completely

Constantly submissive to God

Absorbed in prayer.

One who is purified

Beloved of God

Chosen above the women of all nations

She who has faith

She who is prostrate (bows down) to God in worship

She who was chosen

She who fasts

Enveloped in God's Mercy

Ascetic Virgin

San Stefano ~ A State of Mind

 

Some years ago when I was 25 years ordained I was able to arrange coverage for my parish and school and took a three month sabbatical to Italy. I lived with a group of Franciscan juniors in Assisi, the home of St Francis, next to the great basilica where Francis is buried. Assisi has an number of churches of course, all of which are prayerful places but also tourist haunts. A busy commercial street winds through the center of town. But up the hill, on the edge of the small city, is this church of San Stefano, (Saint Stephen) accessed by stone stairways and long stone paths. Few people go there because it's not a monumental church and too much of a climb. San Stefano is of Romanesque design, built perhaps as early as the mid-11th century. That means it was there already when Francis lived in Assisi. He would have known this place. 

While in Italy I always carried a Mass kit with me — a paperback missal, little bottle-cruets of wine and water, a couple of hosts, a purificator and corporal, an amice, alb, cincture and white stole. Wherever I went, all I needed was an altar. But more than any other place I offered Mass alone at San Stefano because it was quiet and the sense of solitude was deep. The only sound was birdsong coming through the little aperture windows. There was no tourist noise, no interruption, no one even questioning, "What are you doing here?" or "Who gave you permission?"  

See the picture below of the church's three small bells in a gable above the clay tile roof. It is said that when St. Francis died these bells rang spontaneously in joy. Why not?

Of course, it is a tiny, physical building at the edge of the city, but all the more, it is a state of mind. It is my (your) inner place where I am alone, praising God, thanking God, enjoying God, loving God. Indeed, nothing need be said at all. It is the inner place where I am most myself in solitude before God who sees me, is with me, knows and is glad that I am there. 

I am not shirking my responsibilities or being selfish because I go there. God is pleased that I have this soul place. It is a place for all of us, not just a priest on sabbatical. It's wonderful to visit this geographical chapel, but it isn't necessary, the inner place exists for everyone. 

It can be any place of remembering, present moment (or creative imagination). It is the act of gazing. There was an acre of still wooded "forest'" behind my 1950's childhood home. It was my first encounter with jack-in-the-pulpit, pin oak, white pine, moss and fern, rabbit, box turtle, cardinal and jay. I don't have to wait in the airport to go there or suffer a long covid flight half way around the world — I just have to close my eyes and be quiet. I can stand on a supermarket line to go there. I can be in a dense and noisy crowd and remain utterly and wondrously alone. I'd call that contemplative life.

Intercessions ~ The Baptism of the Lord

Byzantine Baptism Font ~ 6th c ~ Tunisia

Early in January,/ we ask health,/ safety and peace for those who this month celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries and other days of remembrance./ For the safety of winter travelers./ We pray to the Lord.

As Jesus is baptized in the River Jordan,/ we ask to understand and embrace the meaning of our own baptism,/ where we met Jesus for the first time/ and in the water./ May we know what it is to be drenched and soaked in friendship with Christ./ We pray to the Lord.

Our physical and spiritual lives begin in water./ May we understand the importance of water as our life-source./ May we not waste water./ May we have a care for the protection of the oceans,/ seas,/ rivers,/ streams,/ reservoirs and wells,/ and all the animals and plants dependent upon their health./ We pray to the Lord.

We ask that as a people we would be mindful of God's favor towards us/ and glad to do God's will./ Save us from violence,/ confusion and argument,/ from pride and arrogance/ and from every evil way./ We pray to the Lord.

A new telescope has been sent into space, which will reveal more deeply the splendor of the universe./ Grant us the humility to trust our place in God's great creation,/ that we would live in and serve the beauty of our natural world./ We pray to the Lord.

Send your healing and helpful Spirit to those in prison,/ who struggle with addiction,/ who are unwell or in need today./ Grant that at the start of a new year,/ we would have open, forgiving hearts./ We pray to the Lord.

For the more than eight hundred and thirty thousand Americans who have died of the Coronavirus/ and the five and a half million more around the world./ For those who mourn the loss of dear ones,/ and for the hospital workers who continue their work to heal the sick./ We pray to the Lord.

The Lychgate and Transitions

Lych is the Saxon word for corpse. A lychgate then is the covered gate of the cemetery where the casket is laid down and the first prayers of the committal service are prayed. The lychgate sometimes has a bench where we might catch our breath or gather our thoughts. The roof serves as protection for mourners who might need to come out of the rain. It is sometimes called The Resurrection Gate.

But more than that, I see the lychgate as symbolic of transition. We are always in transition: living through the four seasons, graduation and diplomas, moving from a life threatening illness to wellness, surviving a divorce and creating a new life, the empty house after grown children have moved away, moving from one's home to a senior or nursing home facility. These are all transitions from this to that, from here to there. I see transitions as opportunities for our evolution. As a Christian I want to acknowledge those transitions which have helped to grow-me-up in Christ. 

You can add to this little litany of Transition as you become aware of them in your own life...

Thank you, O God for

The transition of my birth,

The transition of Baptism and First Communion days,

The transition of my being introduced to the person of Jesus Christ,

The transition of being taught my childhood prayers,

The transition of my first hearing the Christmas story.

Thank you, O God for

The transition of my first setting up of the manger,

The transition of my first May Crowning,

The transition of my schooling, my learning to read, of any teacher who was transformative,

The transition of any experience I would call survival,

The transition of moving from mistaken thinking to what's better for myself and others.

Thank you, O God for

The transition of some sin being forgiven and living free,

The transition of my desire to live a graced life,

The transition of choosing mercy and compassion as a life-way,

The transition of knowing love in my life — love given; love received,

The transition of life-changing decisions or experiences.

Thank you, O God for

The transition of coming to the realization of my inner gifts,

The transition of recognizing God's nearness,

The transition of coming to know I am God's dear child,

The transition of living in the atmosphere Mary creates around Christ,

The transition of my dying and my waking up to see the face of God in Christ.

The One Millionth Pageview and the Svenskaya Mother of God

 

One millionth pageview! This means that since the blog's start, people from around the world have clicked on or "tuned in" to Pauca Verba (Latin for a few words). Pauca Verba started as a small Sunday bulletin for a residential school of young people who had lost their way. It later morphed into a weekend bulletin for parishes I pastored. Finally, a helpful parishioner introduced me to the idea of expanding the audience online. A priest is not law enforcement, lawyer, accountant or Mr. Fix-it. A priest is a pointer in spiritual things. That's the reason for the blog. Thank you for joining me here.

The icon at the top of this page is the Svenskaya Mother of God. We see the Mother of God enthroned, while holding securely her Infant Son who blesses us with both hands! Sts. Theodosius and Anthony of the Caves stand on left and right. 

The icon's storyline is of a familiar kind. The blind prince, Roman of Briansk, with the help of his retinue, discovered the icon which was held up in an oak tree. Upon that discovery his sight was gradually recovered. Of course, we might recall that Gospel account where Jesus heals the man who was blind from birth (John 9). His coming to sight was gradual — first he saw the footpath, then his fellows, then the landscape beyond. Until 1288 the icon was kept in the Kiev Caves Monastery and eventually transferred to the Briansk-Svansk Monastery. Monks have always been the guardians of the icon. 

But back to the miracle — this coming to sight is supposed to be our story too. First he saw the footpath! Ah, he begins to see the way! Get it? It is the inner way. Being able to see requires that we step into light. The spiritual way/path unfolds gradually, over a lifetime. I say it often: a person can live in outer religion (the doing of religious things) and remain in inner darkness. A hint that I am moving into light, or coming to inner sight is when I realize I've changed my mind about something that matters: "You know, I never thought about it that way." Or perhaps I have known a time when someone has said to me, "You know, there's something different about you lately." And that person isn't talking about my weight or wardrobe.

One high profile ad man says about his monied focus group participants, "They don't care about covid, they don't care about the political chaos, they don't care about climate change or our racial problems. They only care about protecting their money." These are not political issues, they are Incarnational (human) issues. God has become human in Christ. Maybe indifference is the greatest stumbling block to living the Christ-centered life. 

Through cyberspace we smile and are glad before the Svensk Mother of God who holds the Christ on her lap for our welcoming. With the monks of the Cave Monastery we exclaim, "Rejoice O Lady, give to us on this God-blessed earth the gift of inner sight, that we may see the face of God and ourselves and others rightly.

 

A Rosary Decade at the Start of the New Year and the Feast of Mary, Mother of God

Lorenzo Ghiberti created this tender Madonna and Child sculpture of poly-chromed clay in the early years of the Renaissance somewhere between 1425-1450. It was intended not for a church but someone's home — perhaps even a child's bedroom. Mary is depicted as the ideal mother. Her love is close and tender. Her expression is even wistful. She holds the Christ securely by his left leg while rubbing his chubby thigh with her thumb. The Infant holds onto Mary's collar with his left hand; his right arm rests on her shoulder.  He is wrapped in a striped blanket or perhaps it is the lining of Mary's mantle. 

But notice this, Ghiberti's sculpture is 3D — the baby's right leg extends out of the image into our space. We see the sole of Jesus' foot just as we see it in the Byzantine icon titled Glykophilousa (Sweet Kissing). The artist intended that we be able to touch the Child's foot. I have younger siblings and remember playing with their toes and making them laugh as infants. But this Child has withdrawn a bit. We sense his vulnerability and need to be consoled. The red tunic reveals this is a divine-human person.

Sitting before Lorenzo Ghiberti's Madonna and Child, at the start of the New Year and this Feast of Mary's Divine Maternity, perhaps we can pray this decade of the Rosary together with these short meditations between each prayer.

Our Father...

O Lady, your Divine Child holds onto your collar. Strengthen me as I hold on tight during these difficult days. I ask for the charism of joy.

Hail Mary...

This image is nearly 600 years old. I become heart-aware of the countless persons gone before me who have prayed before your image, O Mother of God. 

Hail Mary...

What trauma and struggle the world has known over these 600 years. Watch over this new year, Holy Child, and help us to keep mercy, justice and peace alive.

Hail Mary...

O Jesus, your foot extends out of the image and into our space. It is the foot that will walk throughout Galilee and then to Jerusalem, the Calvary Hill and from the Easter tomb. May I walk with you.

Hail Mary...

As Mother, Sister and Friend, hold me up too, Mother of God, especially (name the challenge that is most on your mind).

Hail Mary...

The colors of red and blue suggest the presence of divinity — God so close, I may miss it. May I be aware as the new year begins.

Hail Mary...

Perhaps the Holy Mother's gaze suggests she senses the Child's future of rejection. I pray for those who suffer alienation around the world. Those who in their human struggle are minimized and ignored.

Hail Mary...

Something has caused the Holy Child to recoil a bit, looking for his mother's consolation and security. I pray for those who suffer only insecurity and dis-ease. May we have sensitive and aware hearts.

Hail Mary...

May the beauty of your image, O Mother of God, serve as an antidote to the ugliness that can invade our lives — the accounts of fighting, insult, lies, violence and death.

Hail Mary...

I ask the Holy Child of Bethlehem to change hearts — that every child would be welcomed and loved. That every Christian would do something to bless the lives of children.

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...