More Prose than Cons10/31/2019 Thursday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Today is the last section of Paul’s letter to the Romans and its prose is very poetic! If God is for us, who can be against us? He did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword. No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Meditating on these words and yesterday’s “All things work for good for those who love God,” I wrote these words that are more “prose” than “poetry.” The starting point was something in one’s life that brought about major changes. I note is as X because it could be anything. Each of us can identify an X, a life changing event in our lives. The underlying question is “for better or for worse.” If all things work for good for those who love God, then the answer better be better! More Prose than Cons What if X had never happened? What would your life be like now? X marks the spot when and where life changed. For better or for worse? At first, for worse. The anguish and distress The perilous sword of betrayal The famine of friends, forgetting Your past, alone in the present, A futile future. Wish X never was? X marks the spot When and where a chasm opened up Swallowing, separating you From past and future, Only pain present. Wish X never was? Wondering why X ever was? For better or for worse. Vows are made, Life’s avowal, Yes! But no, a consonant Sounding more prose than “con” If God is for us, who can be against us? What if X had never been? What would your life be like now? X marks the one Who changed the world to better Cons to pros, Praise Him! X is key, X is chi Chi is Christ Christ is key, No longer “unknown” Christ, Bridging the chasm, Christ, Love’s avowal Christ consonant. Alpha and Omega, All in all, more prose than con “All things work for good for those who love God.” I've attached the For the Greater Glory of God Video below. One hour and 20 minutes into the video is "All Things Work for Good" by Paul Melley and danced by the BLDE. AMDG from Robert VerEecke on Vimeo.
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Mown and Grown10/30/2019 Wednesday of the 30th week in Ordinary Time
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes with inexpressible groanings. I need all the help I can get when it comes to prayer so I’m grateful that the Spirit comes to our aid, helping and guiding us. Where most of us get “stumped” is when we pray our hearts out for someone or something and we cannot see a change or the outcome is just the opposite of what we prayed for. Sometimes my prayer feels like the “stump” that you see above but sometimes it’s like the “late bloomer” that you see in the photo below. Here’s another “poem” related to Romans 8. Autumn’s End How ought I pray at autumn’s end? Is autumn’s prayer seasoned differently? Spirit sighs and says, “Autumn’s all about endings, isn’t it? Winter’s waiting Spring’s awakening Summer’s ripening Autumn leaves something to be desired. What do you desire when all you see in autumn is endings?” I sigh and say, Leaves falling, branches baring Empty spaces in open air. Where there was greening, grinning grass Now browning, frowning, Once mown and grown Now moan and groan My spirit is like the grass that fades, The forgotten fruit that withers on the vine, The falling leaves lying on beds of death and decay My prayer futile, not fertile Is this how I ought to pray at autumn’s end? Spirit sighs and says, Open your eyes! Autumn is seasoned with hope. Without the dying and decay There would be no way For winter’s waiting, For spring’s awakening, For summer’s ripening How ought you pray at autumn’s end? Hopefully! High C10/29/2019 Tuesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time
For the next three days the first reading of the liturgy is taken from Chapter 8 of Paul’s letter to the Romans. It’s filled with moans, groans, hopes and drems. What is so stunning about it is how Paul portrays creation as personal. More than metaphor, creation has feelings! Birth pains, labor contractions are all there! Why would any Christian have problems believing in evolution reading a text like that! For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; I get to see the sea every day. Each day it’s different but when there’s a storm and there are high seas, it feels as if she’s crying out and calling to me. Her high seas made me think of the high C’s that are reached by sopranos. Early this morning I found a youtube link that has various sopranos reaching high C. There’s no trick to this but it is a real treat. Then, I found the same for tenors. One of them is singing a scale and when he gets to a high C the sound turns to “Ouch.” Here are the links: https://youtube/VNf2JVfvDZQ https://youtube/jrWMvnRdBh4 All of the above contributed to today’s “poem.” Aye, Aye! I eye the sea Hi!, sea, I say. High seas, I see. Storm churns, Turns, topsy-turvy. See for yourself, sea says. I’m all eyes and ears, I say Aye, Aye, sea says High C’s, I hear Sea sings, Scales, from sea to shining C Hear for yourself, sea says. Are you groaning?, I ask. Your high seas sound Pain-filled like high C’s Off-key, more screech than reached. Labor pains, sea says All creation contracting, expanding, labor pangs. Don’t you see, sea says? Your pain is mine My pangs are yours. Aye, Aye, I say, Yes, sea, I see. Not you or me but We as one, Reaching high, see? Sum Days10/28/2019 Feast of Saints Simon and Jude There are "sum" days when things don’t add up and we are out of sorts. (The expression “out of sorts” comes from early printing presses where the “sort” was the letter and if the letters were not in the right order, they were “out of sorts.”) Today’s been one of those days for me up til now. It’s the feast of Saint Simon and Jude and the best I can come up with is a reference to the child’s game, “Simon says.” Ironically Simon the apostle, also called the Zealot says nothing in the Gospels. As a zealot, maybe actions spoke louder than words. And then there is Jude. Hey, Jude! He’s the person to pray to as a last resort. He’s supposed to take a “sad song and make it better.” He most likely got the rep for being the person to pray to when you were desperate because his name was similar to Judas. Guilt by association! The photo above is of two gourds. Let’s call them Simon and Jude, two “gourd guys.” What if I reverse their direction? Here “two gourds are better as one.” Sum days, it’s ok if things don’t add up. Sum days, one plus one makes one. “Remember to let God into your heart, then you can start to make it better.” Some days, when you’re “out of sorts” you may just have to re-sort and it may make the day better, especially if you have a helping hand! Yesterday was one of those days when everything added up, when all sorts of wonderful things happened here at Eastern Point. A number of friends gathered to remember loved ones who had died this past year.. The Eucharist we celebrated was especially moving as we brought the memories of those loved ones into our remembrance of Jesus’s living, dying and rising. Sundays, everything does “add up”
Leaf/Belief10/26/2019 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time What a beautiful autumn it has been! The leaves of Autumn have been eye- poppingly beautiful! (See photo above from Judy Basilico) Driving today from Cape Cod to Cape Ann I was struck not only by the multi-colored array of leaves but by the sheer number there are! Have you ever thought about counting leaves? We think about counting stars but how about leaves? I’ll leave it at that! Speaking of leaves and by extension, trees, boughs and branches, one of my favorites is the Weeping Willow. I’m including a link to a story that I wrote for the 30th Sunday, Year C many years ago. Its title is The Widow, the Orphan and the Willow Tree. It takes its inspiration from two verses in the first reading from the book of Sirach from Sunday’s liturgy. The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint. The autumn leaves, the theme of loss in the story as well as a gathering of friends to remember loved ones who have died this past year prompted me to write another “poem.” Autumn Belief Ought I be leaving in Autumn? Ought I take my leave, Fatefully departing, Leaving leaf-like, No longer clinging To bough and branch of life, Fading, falling earth-wise, One among so many? No more. Ought leaves be leaving in Autumn? They do not decide for themselves, These deciduous leaves. Their time to depart is fated Soon to be faithful departed, No longer clinging To bough or branch. They let go after a short-lived life Three seasons No more? Ought leaves be leaving in Autumn? Their work is done. Once shades of green, Shading, sheltering, Now shades of red, yellow and orange Gracious and glorious And then, fading, falling, earth wise. No more. Do trees bend and bow out of respect for leaves loved lives lived? Do branches and boughs break, Broken-hearted, Pining for leaves lost Lives lived No more? Ought I be learning, From the leaves of Autumn? Believing Every leaf, every life Faithfully a part of the circle, The cycle of living and dying No more! Today I'm facilitating a day of prayer at Eastern Point with friends who have lost loved ones in the past year. We'll be praying with the poem and the story. Here's a photo of how the day began for me.
Lost in Translation10/25/2019 Friday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
Lost in Translation - Today’s reflection is in “epistolary” form. Since we’re hearing Paul’s Letter to the Romans I decided to “sit right down and write St Paul a letter.” Salve Paulus! I’m writing to you almost 2000 years after you wrote your letter to the community in Rome. As we say in the 21st century, “Thanks for sharing.” We also say, “I feel your pain!” When you lived, you wouldn’t have known that your letters would be collected and quoted by chapter and verse. We’re reading the 7th chapter which has to do with the struggle in you between “sarx” (flesh) and “psyche” (your spirit/soul) You sound pretty conflicted and you admit your own misery. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Again, thanks for sharing your struggle. I think most of us can identify with the struggle to do good despite our human limitations. As you say, there is a war that’s going on inside. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. I wonder if there isn’t another war going on in you as well. It’s the war between your Jewish heritage and being a Greek speaking Roman. As a Jew, you wouldn’t have thought of a split between your spirit and your body. The Jewish understanding of the person was holistic. From what I understand there were two words, “nefesh” and “basar” Both tried to capture the essence of the human person as physical and spiritual being, one associated with the “earthly” and the other with the “divine.” But you had to make these words in Hebrew palatable to a Greco-Roman audience and use the Greek language of sarx (Flesh) body (soma) soul (psyche). You must have been influenced by Greek philosophers who saw the body/flesh as base because of its corruptibility. Body, bad! Spirit, good! I guess what I’m trying to say is that for those of us who live in the 21st century who have to make sense of your letters, something is “lost in translation.” Our contemporary struggle is to see ourselves holistically and not as separate; our physical being at war with our spiritual. Acknowledging the struggle to “do good and avoid evil” isn’t it more accurate to say that God’s embraces the whole self, not just our spiritual self? God seemed to care enough about the body, that in Jesus, God is flesh and blood for us. It’s interesting that the Gospel of John, written decades after your letters, has Jesus using “sarx” flesh as the word for his body. So maybe it’s not so bad after all! I wish you could see the photo of the great Russian dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, soaring into space. What a beautiful image! You see his body. You feel his spirit. In this moment they are one and the same. I also want to thank you for helping my golf game this morning. As I struggled to make sense of all these distinctions that you make between flesh, body, soul, spirit and knowing that my body has a mind of its own and “what I want to do, “ I don’t do” most times in my golf shots, a mantra came to me. “Whole body swing!” It made a difference! Hope you’re enjoying hanging out with Jesus! Sincerely Robert Vereecke S.J. Autumn Weaves10/24/2019 Thursday of the 29th Year in Ordinary Time
Today is the memorial of St Anthony Claret, founder of the Claretians. Did you know he was the patron saint of weavers? He learned weaving from his father and that was his profession before he heard another call. He inspired me to write today’s poem which picks up on some of the Pauline themes from the Romans reading. Autumn Weaves If I were a weaver I’d be an eager one An eager weaver, Busy at my loom, Criss crossing colors Fiery reds Burnt oranges Glowing ambers. Beaver-like I’d weave With yarns of yearning. Not sticks and branches My warp and weft, But hopes and dreams Fiery red Burnt orange Glowing amber And not give a damn About what looms ahead. If I were a weaver I’d be an eager one An eager weaver, Like Jesus was, Criss-crossing Cana and Capernaum,’ Judea and Jerusalem Weaving words of God’s reign, His warp and weft Justice and compassion Fiery words, ablaze and aglow. He did not give a damn About the Christ/cross that loomed ahead, If I were a weaver I’d be a busy one. A busy weaver Like Paul was Christ-crossing Sin, slavery, Salvation, sanctification. Weaving words in Christ, Death-defying His warp and weft Freedom and Forgiveness Fierce and fiery words A blaze of glory No damming God’s grace In Jesus Christ If you wonder if God’s a weaver Just behold the autumn leaves Fiery red, Burnt orange Glowing amber Criss-crossing colors Christ-crossing At warp speed! What's the Matter with me?10/23/2019 Wednesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
As you can see from the photo above, there is no room for a view. Two much fog! With this morning’s fog and preparing for a book group this evening on Ilia Delio’s The Emergent Christ, much of which puts my mind in a fog, here’s what I came up with. Mind over matter – A Quantum Leap What’s the matter? Everything’s the matter. Everything except mind, spirit, soul, Not that it matters. What’s on my mind is the matter What’s in my soul is the matter My spirit is the matter! Why are you cast down my soul? Why grown within me? Am I spirit or matter? What does it matter anyway? Apostle Paul says, Sin matters. Sin’s in the body Body parts ways with spirit That’s the matter. What’s the matter? Everything’s the matter. Mind’s in a fog, Frog-like leaping Dissecting the divine Bisecting the body-spirit Mind-matter, Soulful? Scientist Simon says, It’s all the same It’s all energy, Mind, matter, body, spirit, soul A web of relations. A world-wide web of interconnected Energy. All from One One for All. Whole and Holy A quantum leap! The photo of the fog and two empty chairs is the frame for this reflection. Can you see yourself sitting in one of those chairs? Who's there with you? Quid pro Quo? I reckon not10/22/2019 Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
The expression “quid pro quo” should be quite familiar to you by now An expression that originally meant a substitution of one thing for another has come to mean “If you do this for me, I’ll do that for you.” An equal exchange? I reckon not. In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous. On first reckoning, Paul’s letter to the Romans has a “quid pro quo” feel to it, in the original sense of the phrase. “Adam’s” sin brought condemnation for all so Christ’s righteous act brought acquittal for all. The disobedience of one is substituted with the obedience of the other. Equal exchange? I reckon not. Paul’s insistent on saying that it’s not an equal substitution because If by that one person's transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. If by that one person's transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. It’s never an equal exchange with God. God’s grace is always “so much more” than our sins. God’s mercy, love, compassion is as “as wide and deep as the ocean and as expansive as the heavens above.” How could the God who is the creator of all things “bright and beautiful” be a “quid pro quo” God? (Take some time to contemplate today's "drawing.") In Jesus Christ God has gifted us with immeasurable mercy. Some people think that the final “reckoning” will be “quid pro quo.” An equal exchange of punishment for transgressions. I reckon not if we believe what Paul says in today’s reading from Romans. Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you are wondering why “reckon” appears so often in today’s reflection, here’s the reason. At last night’s liturgy, in the first reading from Romans. the translation of the original Greek used “reckon” instead of “credit.” It was “reckoned” to Abraham instead of “it was credited.” Yesterdays’ poem was “Cache or Credit,” inspired by the word “credited” Had I had to “reckon” with “reckon” I never would have cashed in on the word “credit.” The good news is that “reckon” found its way into today’s reflection. As Paul says “All things work for good!” Cache or Credit?10/21/2019 Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
I give Paul’s Letter to the Romans all the credit for today’s reflection. The word “credited” kept coming into my consciousness after hearing Paul use it three times.. I thought about different ways we use the word “credit” and finally came to “cash or credit?” You hear that expression so often these days. Lo and behold, the Gospel speaks of a “cache” of the rich man’s possessions. Hence, “Cache or Credit?” Cache or Credit? Quite a cache! Where house my wares? Some safe place Where no one knows. A barn? Barns burn, too many bales A building? Buildings buckle, too many stories A Vault? Of course! Vaults hold hidden treasures No safer place than a vault No stealing from this steel Vault-less no longer! I take all the credit for my cache! Foolish, frivolous, Feckless fellow! A vault for your vanity! Housing, hording, hiding Heaven’s treasures, God’s gifts! Better credit God than cache. Here’s the catch. With God, No need for a vault, There’s the vault of the sky. With God, No need for a warehouse When a small wooden box holds the universe. 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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