Dancing Spirit5/31/2022 The Feast of the Visitation Last Saturday I was preparing to baptize the almost one year old son of a couple I had married 8 years ago. Carl Nicholas Thorne was the third child of Nate and Natalie Thorne, but the first I had baptized. I had planned to use the Gospel for that day for the baptismal reading. “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. I was going to connect the Gospel with the question asked at the beginning of the ritual, “What do you ask of the Church for your son?” and speak of the joy that their son brings to the family and the joy of the community welcoming this child as a new member. But just before the service began, I asked Nate how old Carl was. He told me that he would be one year old on May 31st, just a few days from then. Although the service was soon to begin, the wheels began turning, (or was it the wings of the Spirit that began beating?) and I decided to use the Gospel of the Visitation since Carl was born on that feast. As it happened the Godmother was very pregnant and that contributed to speaking about the joy of Mary and Elizabeth as they celebrated the life of their sons within them. And of course, it was John the Baptist who leapt in the womb! As we celebrate the feast of the Visitation today, I need to remind myself to let the Spirit do her “thing.” I should know by now that the Spirit has many songs she sings and dances she does in our lives. We have to listen for the songs and join in the dance. God’s Spirit will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in her love, God’s Spirit will sing and dance joyfully because of you, as one sings and dances at festivals. I can’t let this feast go by without sharing a link to the Visitation dance from the Lark Ascending. In this version, the Visitation scene with Mary, Elizabeth and Joseph is mirrored by the Wedding Feast of Cana. I hope the “joy” is contagious! https://vimeo.com/310172375 - t=1140s
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Fancy That!5/30/2022 Monday of the 7th Week of Easter/ Memorial Day
Yesterday I posted my encounter with the Holy Spirit that led me to write a Spring version of All Aquiver. When I reread it this morning, I realized that some of the descriptive words for those redolent rhododendrons were missing. Here’s the stanza again. Or was it the deciduous trees seen this Hopkins morning that set my mind’s eye a-quiver, their branches bearing new life leaving nothing to the imagination, baring their full-blown beauty for all to see wearing spring’s stripes of all hues and oh! those redolent rhododendrons, ruby red, pristine pink, lovely lavender, fancy fuchsia and patches of blue peeking through. I had spent so much time searching for an adjective to describe the fuchsia-colored rhododendrons and finally “fancy” caught my fancy. I didn’t want you to miss out on that! Fancy that! “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” These words from the Acts reading for today were the ones that caught my attention. Yes, we have heard about the Holy Spirit, but in comparison with the Father and Jesus, the Spirit gets short shrift. (I have to confess that I never knew where that expression comes from. I found out that “shrift” is confession. And a “short shrift” was a quick confession before going to the gallows!) Fancy that! The retreat that I’m making is surprising me as my prayer is more animated by sights, sounds, thoughts, feelings that speak of the Holy Spirit. I guess I should have expected that since we are in the time of expectation and waiting for Pentecost. What has captivated my imagination is hearing the songs of so many birds here on the Cape. I have an “app” on my phone (Merlin Bird ID) that records the various bird songs and identifies what bird is singing. These were the birds I heard this morning, all singing together: Carolina Wren, Song Sparrow, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Scarlet Tanager, Cedar Waxwing. I can’t help thinking of the way in which the Holy Spirit is “heard” but not always “seen.” The many bird songs I’m hearing in prayer are revealing something to me about the mysterious ways in which the Spirit works. Like these birds who are singing all day long, the Spirit is working but do we take the time to listen and notice? That’s what I’m trying to do….. Fancy that! All Aquiver Again5/29/2022 7th Sunday of Easter
This morning was one of those classic Cape mornings where one is easily overwhelmed by the beauty of creation. I followed the same road that I have travelled on foot many times before in all seasons of the year. A few winters ago I experienced what I called a “Hopkins” morning when it seemed that the “world was charged with the grandeur of God." I wrote the poem “All A Quiver” which is the first in my collection, “On the Quiver of Mystery.” The poem came to mind as I walked this morning and when I returned to home where I am making my retreat, I felt the Spirit urging me to do a “spring” version of the poem. Here it is. (I’m also sharing a homily that my friend, Fr JA Loftus gave in 2019. It’s really excellent!) All A Quiver Again For GMH John 17:20-26 Was it the bird songs heard this Hopkins morning, that set my ears aquiver; cardinals, robins, finches and mourning doves, their quavering voices lasting longer than a quaver and me all a-quiver? Or was it the deciduous trees seen this Hopkins morning that set my mind’s eye a-quiver, their branches bearing new life leaving nothing to the imagination, baring their full-blown beauty for all to see wearing spring’s stripes of all hues and oh! those redolent rhododendrons, ruby red, picturesque pink, lovely lavender fancy fuchsia and patches of blue peeking through. Or was it the sheep, the Scottish cow, or the miniature mules felt this Hopkins morning that set my hands aquiver, wanting to touch and feel their coats, coarse and wooly, of course? Were these creatures of our God and King, key to my quivering? Or was it the lilacs, with their springtime scent on this Hopkins morning that set my soul a-quiver? The nose knows. Spring swells anew and I am all a-quiver. Or was it the Gospel heard this Hopkins morning that set my heart a-quiver? Jesus draws from his quiver of Love’s arrows, not missing the mark, but piercing through a heart that heaves with sadness over what once was and is not now but somehow is, reawakening something within. Could it be that the Divine Marksman was drawing from the quiver of creation, shooting arrows of awe as Hopkins himself heard and felt and saw? A poet’s Eros and A-gape? And all is on the quiver of mystery. I hope this memorial day is filled with memories that remind you of the pattern of God's love and faithfulness in your life. the_7th_sunday_of_easter_june_2_2019_doc.docx The Holy Spirit Without and Within5/28/2022 Feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle
I usually don’t post a reflection on Saturdays but today is very special to me. It’s the feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle. I was chaplain at the Cenacle Retreat House in Brighton, Ma for ten years or so while I worked at Boston College. I learned so much from the Sisters of the Cenacle about prayer, the Spiritual Exercises, and the experience of waiting for the Spirit with Mary the Mother of Jesus. The photo above is the Spirit window that was in the chapel at the Retreat House. I have always treasured this photo which reminds me of how active and dynamic the Spirit was in the minds and hearts of the sisters and the retreatants who would come there. When I took the photo this morning, I tried to eliminate my reflection. I was able to achieve the result after many tries. But when I looked at one that I had taken that included my reflection, it seemed as if the Spirit was right over my heart. Hmm….. there may be something there to think about. An Antidote to Anguish5/27/2022 Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
The following reflection was written two years ago when we were still in lockdown and every day brought some kind of new “anguish.” Seeing the photos of the smiling children who were the victims of the 18-year-old shooter was yesterday’s reason for anguish. “Anguish” is the theme of my prayer on the first day of retreat. I’m hoping that today I might find something or someone that makes my heart rejoice as it did two years ago when I saw the photo of Joel tapdancing. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you When I first read today’s Gospel, I immediately was drawn to the word, “anguish.” There is an intensity of pain and suffering captured in this single word. It is even more wrenching than the word “despair.” Anguish comes from the word “angustia” which means “tightness.” It’s as if everything within oneself is contracting inward and all that can be felt is this intense suffering. It feels like a good word to describe what life is like these days. And yet, the anguish that is felt is “time sensitive.” It is felt at a particular time for a length of time. In the case of the woman giving birth, the contractions and labor pains cease when the child is born. (I hope that’s the case!) Whereas the anguish is time bound, the joy that follows is timeless. The problem of course, is that when you are in a state of anguish, it can feel never-ending. The Gospel today tries to reassure us that “joy” is on its way. Remain hopeful, no matter what the pain and anguish you suffer in any given moment. The first “antidote to anguish” today was seeing the look of sheer joy on Joel Peterson’s face while he has getting ready to dance. According to his sister, Ellie, who sent me today’s photos, Joel was “tapping” and then dancing to “Mama” by Il Divo. Joel’s joy is contagious (in the best sense of that word.) Even with all the world’s anguish, there is a light that shines out from this remarkable person. It’s the light of love, hope, joy, and trust. I hope you can feel it and it will bring a smile to your face as it did mine. Ascension5/26/2022 The photo above of this morning's sunrise/sky has an "ascension" feel to it. I won't have the time to post today since I'm leaving for my own retreat for the next 8 days. I'll be on the "other" Cape, and hopefully my spirit will be "ascending" with the Risen Lord as we all wait for the celebration of Pentecost. I expect to be posting most days sharing with you some of the prayer experiences I will be having. More tomorrow.
Unbearable5/25/2022
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” It was this verse of today’s Gospel that spoke to me in prayer this morning. Yesterday’s mass murder in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas led me to ask the question, “How much more senseless violence can we bear with the justification that we have a constitutional right to bear arms?” I chose the photo in of a grieving mother, Mary, reaching out to her son, carrying his cross as emblematic of the suffering of the mothers whose children’s’ lives were robbed from them. And how can the mother of the 18-year-old who perpetrated this senseless violence bear the loss of her son and the knowledge that he caused this tragedy? In less than two weeks, we have seen two 18-year-old boys commit heinous crimes because of the easy availability of weapons. I used the photo in black and white because of the very stark and clear choice that we as human beings have to hate or to love, to wage war or to make peace. I returned again to the poem I wrote which asks the question, “Why’s the world askew?” This is only one stanza because I couldn’t bear much more. Ask Me? Ask You? Dare I ask you? Why’s the world askew? Even today the wrongs are Seen as rights. Rants, raves, rallies For guns and glory Hallelujah! a God-given right to Carry arms and crush the enemy. Aren’t arms meant to carry New-borns and old bones To embrace and hold hands? Aren’t arms meant for shoulders In solidarity, overcoming Differences and distances? Shall we? With Gust, Oh! and Flare5/24/2022
Tuesday of the Sixth Sunday of Easter With Gust- Oh! and Flare The winds are really gusting today, and this really works wll with today’s scriptures. In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Silas are imprisoned but then there is an earthquake and “all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.” It certainly feels like the action of the Holy Spirit! Whatever the Spirit does it’s with “gusto.” What is interesting about wind gusts is that you can hear them but you can’t see them, only see their effects, like the rippling of the waters or the flapping of the flag. Isn’t the Spirit like that as well? You don’t see the Spirit moving but you sometimes feel it and can see its effects. Let the wind, which blows wherever it will, with gust and oh!, so much more, blow you away with surprise and delight. Listen to the sound of the wind and see its effects on the sea.. Whatever the Spirit does, it’s with “gusto-oh.” The sunrise was quite beautiful this morning, but when I looked at the photo I took, I was struck by the “flare” in the right corner of the photo. So I was thinking how the Holy Spirit not only does everything with “gusto” but with a certain “flare.” Take the "Lydia" Off5/23/2022 Monday of the 6th week of Easter
Since the reading from the Acts of the Apostles features one of my favorite New Testament personages, Lydia, a dealer in purple, I thought of a catchy title; “Take the Lyd-ia off!” She is such an interesting character as a businesswoman and head of her household. Lydia opens up for us a way of thinking about woman in New Testament times that may “take the lid off” a narrow perception of women’s roles. Sounds like she would have been a great candidate for the role of “deaconess” in the early Church. One of the great graces of this ministry is working with the gifted women who are our guest directors, and who not only direct retreatants but who share their faith and vision in the liturgy through a homiletic reflection. This gives the community the opportunity to hear a diversity of voices and interpretations of scripture as it relates to one’s prayer experience. My prayer today is that the Church will empower more and more “Lydias,” entrusting them with the roles of which they have been deprived. Since Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth, I share a photo of the one that I use for Passion Sunday. I also share one of our lilac bushes. I wonder how many shades of purple Lydia dealt with? "Now" and a-gain5/22/2022 6th Sunday of Easter
This is the homily I will give twice today. It weaves the poem Come Back which was in a reflection a week ago when the readings were similar to the ones we heard today. And, as you can see from the photos above and below, the light on the ocean gleamed like “jasper.” 6th Sunday of Easter “There’s no time like the present.” Unless the present is “this” present, with the war, the virus, the divisions in church and country. Wouldn’t you prefer the past to this present? Two years ago, the Gospel reading was also from the 14th Chapter of John’s Gospel. We were only three months into the Covid lockdown, but it seemed like an eternity. I felt that the “Present” should be put on trial, with Past as the Advocate, pleading our case, and I wrote the poem, Come Back! Come Back! Past Be Present! A cri de cœur ! Heart’s decree or plaintive plea ? Will Past be the Advocate, pleading our cause? Past knows well our freewheeling, comings and goings here and there and everywhere within and without worry. We the plaintiffs register complaint against the Present who has left us orphaned, bereft, bereaving Past’s pleasures, simple as pi, an infinite number of goings and comings greetings and gatherings crowding and crowning a day’s work and play. Now, no freewheeling. Life’s circumference is six feet, all around and under for sum, diametrically opposed to what was Past. All the scriptures we just heard were written in the past for a community living in their present, holding hope for the future. The passage from the Acts of the Apostles speaks to the challenges facing the early Christian community and relates how the council of Jerusalem opened a wider path of belonging to the Gentile community. Psalm 67 invites the community to pray for God’s blessings and the hope that in time, all the nations will recognize the God of Israel. The Gospel written for the Johannine community was meant to encourage them to trust in the Risen Lord’s abiding presence. And in Revelations, the churches which were suffering persecution were to hold out hope for the future when God’s design for the world would be realized. And as we hear these scriptures from two thousand years ago, (The psalm even older) aren’t they meant to do the same for us that they did for the communities for whom they were written? Isn’t each meant to encourage us with the knowledge that the Spirit is working in our lives, our world, our church, remembering the past, accompanying us in the present and holding hope for the future? Written in the past, for the present, with hope for the future. (More of the poem) “I must recuse myself,” Past replies. “I must refuse to advocate for you. My comeback is this: Present is my future. We are bound together as one. What is your Present “now” will one day be part of me, Present wounds wound with Past. Memory will serve as sigh as this time goes by presenting itself in another light.” “There’s no time like the present” for you on retreat here at Eastern Point. The fog has lifted and this morning the sea is gleaming, crystal clear like jasper. This present is a pretty good “now” to be living. Even with all the ugliness in our world, you are here and now immersed in beauty. There is something about prayer that is always new and always “now.” In prayer, our past, present and future is so “now” that it can feel timeless, eternal. In prayer, the Lamb is the Lamp that illuminates all in all. Present, silent, until now, takes a stand. “I have no advocate but time’s ebbing and flowing, tide-wise. The tide, too, will turn. There is no going back in time. Life wields weal both ways, Wealth and welt. Gain and pain Profit and loss But “now” has its promise as well. Wells of love unseen, Spirit yields letting go graces as countless as pi, Love’s circumference always expanding, never contracting, diametrically opposed to death. You are always in Love’s wheelhouse After all, He came back To be with you Always. AuthorAs an ordained Catholic priest for 45 years and a member of the Jesuits for 57 years, I've had a great deal of "spiritual" experience! This is a place where I can continue to share my thoughts about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and what it means to live the "mystery of God." Categories |
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