Snow/Fall10/30/2020 Friday of the 30th Week in OT
I took the photo above this afternoon, captivated as I was by today’s unexpected snowfall. Whenever it does snow in fall, we are taken by surprise. It’s not supposed to be snowing yet! It’s too early! It’s not winter yet! And yet, there was something poignant about the early snow in fall on a day when we would remember someone whose death came too soon for those who loved him. As I drove through Newton Cemetery at the end of a queue of cars going to the grave site for my friend Jim Denaro, I had to stop and capture this image of stark beauty. We had just come from celebrating Jim’s funeral liturgy. I share my homily with you since many of you know him, his wife Beth and his two children, Matthew and Emma. Jim Denaro Funeral Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. " There were many choices I could have made for the Gospel for the celebration of Jim’s life. I knew that it would have to come from the Gospel of Matthew for obvious reasons. And if there were a Gospel according to Beth or Emma, there would have been even more options. But I chose something “short and sweet,” and not just because Jim was a “purveyor of fine ice creams,” but because of the image of strength that Jesus speaks of. And of course, yesterday and today’s weather! We all had to “brave the elements” to come to the wake and funeral for Jim. Rain, snow, slippery roads would not be obstacles for honoring Jim and being with Beth, Emma and Matthew at this time of loss. And I wonder how many times Jim had to brave elements like this making deliveries to his customers. I’m wondering if he did it with “good humor?” Jim certainly had to “brave the elements” of illness in these last years. You, his dear family and friends can attest to how “strong and brave” Jim was. I visited him recently in the hospital and despite everything he was going through, he was the same “good humored” and loving person with whom I had shared a 30 year friendship. But the reason I chose this Gospel for Jim was the image of building one’s house on a firm foundation. Jim’s strength, his Forte was his love of family, his faith in God and his faithful friendship. Beth, Bestey, Matthew, Emma, Tom, and so many other relatives can attest to Jim’s devotion to his family. The love that Emma and Dom shared with Jim and Bestey and the family they created were a model of family life for Jim’s own family. His faith in God and the practice of his Catholic faith sustained him. In fact, if he had not come to St Ignatius Church, seeking to deepen his faith and his relationship with Christ, would he ever have met his beloved wife Beth who was also a parishioner? It was here that they were married. Here that Matthew and Emma were baptized. Here that Jim received the body and blood of Christ to sustain him on the journey. And, of course, Jim was a faithful friend to so many, but especially his best friend, Beth, who has been with him through the joys and sufferings that life brings. I used the word “forte” earlier on. It’s an Italian word that means strength. In music, it means “loud.” Jim’s life was a triple forte. A fortissimo of family, faith, and friendship that speaks loud and clear of who he was and how he lived. One of the other Gospel’s I had thought about using was the Transfiguration. Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain where he was transfigured before their eyes. James, in the Gospel is always in the inner circle, Jesus always calls him to be close to him. That’s the image I have of Jim now. I see Jim with Jesus, hearing him say to Jim “ Come, good and faithful friend. Be with me and all your beloved for all eternity” I said before that if there were a gospel according to Beth, or Emma, and not just according to Matthew, I would have chosen words from them as well. If truth be told, there is one. It’s the Gospel, Good News written in your hearts. It’s the Good news of Jim’s life and your love for him.
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Sun Flowers10/29/2020 I'm soon on my way to celebrate a funeral for the mother of a former parishioner at St Ignatius. He tells me that he is circling the casket with sunflowers. A beautiful image! So I wondered if Mary Oliver had a poem on Sunflowers that I could use as part of the homily. Look what I found!
The Sunflowers by Mary Oliver Come with me into the field of sunflowers. Their faces are burnished disks, their dry spines creak like ship masts, their green leaves, so heavy and many, fill all day with the sticky sugars of the sun. Come with me to visit the sunflowers, they are shy but want to be friends; they have wonderful stories of when they were young - the important weather, the wandering crows. Don't be afraid to ask them questions! Their bright faces, which follow the sun, will listen, and all those rows of seeds - each one a new life! hope for a deeper acquaintance; each of them, though it stands in a crowd of many, like a separate universe, is lonely, the long work of turning their lives into a celebration is not easy. Come and let us talk with those modest faces, the simple garments of leaves, the coarse roots in the earth so uprightly burning. More to come later today!coarse roots in the earth so uprightly burning. Sum One's10/28/2020 The Summons
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don't know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name? Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same? Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare? Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me? Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name? Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same? Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen, and admit to what I mean in you and you in me? Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name? Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same? Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around, through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me? Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name. Let me turn and follow you and never be the same. In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show. Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me. Instead of a photo image this morning, I share with you the lyrics to John Bell and Graham Maule's beautiful song, The Summons. It’s the piece that will be played at today’s liturgies on the feast of Simon and Jude. They are “some ones” who were “summoned” by Jesus to come and follow him. Usually when we hear the words “summons” our response is “uh oh! Am I in trouble?” Because of its association with the law, a summons usually has a negative connotation. But this “”summons” is different. It’s a call to follow Jesus. I invite you to pray with the lyrics of this song. I have always been moved by these lines in particular. Will you love the “you” you hide, if I but call your name? Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same? Who wouldn't want to hear Jesus say to them, "Quell? Done!" I also share with you last year’s reflection, especially for those who are more recent readers. Sum Days There are days in our lives when things don’t add up. There are days when 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 one of those days for me. 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 below 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. 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. Sum days, everything does “add up” Last year “Sum Days,” this year, “The Sum Ones” Leaven, Help Us!10/27/2020 Tuesday of the 30th Week in OT
When I looked at the scriptures this morning, I was distressed to read the passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians which is so distressing in its portrayal of the roles of husband and wives in marriage. I knew it was coming since I had been alerted by a number of retreatants who asked if there were an alternative that could replace it in today’s liturgy. When I read it the exclamation, “Heaven help us!” came to mind. That’s one of those expressions that usually has an accompanying gesture, i.e. hands thrown up in the air. It was reading the Gospel, however, that saved the day. The exclamation, “Heaven help us!” became “Leaven, help us!” Again, he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” This led me to think of “love” as life’s leavening agent. It is amazing how “love’s leaven” permeates our relationships. That little bit of love can be the leavening agent that makes all the difference in how we live. I’m reflecting this morning on “love’s leaven” as I remember with great fondness Jim Denaro who died yesterday. Jim leaves his wife Beth and his two college-aged children, Matthew and Emma. I was privileged to witness Jim and Beth’s wedding 26 years ago this month. The love between Jim and Beth was the leavening agent that gave life not only to Matthew and Emma but to all their friends and family who were touched by their kindness, good humor and generosity. My prayer today is that each of us let love’s leaven help us! Both of the photos today were taken at my mother's 100 birthday liturgy on June 27th, 2015. (She had died on March 23rd but we wanted to celebrate her on the actual day.) You see Jim, Beth and Matthew Denaro. The only one missing is Emma! I like to think of Jim experiencing the celestial dance of love in God's kingdom with his mom and dad and so many other "saints." A Tall Order10/26/2020 Monday of the 30th Week in OT
If you're wondering why the photo for the reflection "A Tall Order" is a tower of Eastern Point Coffee Mugs, read on.... If you’re unfamiliar with the sizes of coffee containers at Starbuck’s, you may think that a “tall” order would be just that, “tall.” Those of you who are regulars, know that “tall” is in fact the smallest size. How does that make any sense at all? A “tall order” is on my mind this morning. Not in the Starbuck’s sense but in the sense of something that seems out of reach. A “tall order” has come to mean something very difficult, if not impossible. The First reading from Ephesians and the psalm response sound like “tall orders.” How can we be “imitators of God?” How can we “behave” like God? How can we possibly aspire to living a life that reflects who God is? Isn’t that beyond our reach? Not unlike the Starbuck’s “tall” order which is in fact “small,” if we live in love and keep in mind the small things that express this love, it may not be such a “tall order” after all. As Paul says: Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgive you in Christ. This should be within each person’s reach if we keep in mind how Jesus models divine love for us. Another way of thinking about the “tall” order, is found in the Gospel. Jesus heals a woman “who had been crippled for 18 years, bent over, completely incapable of standing erect” Jesus word and his touch enable her to “stand tall.” Such a beautiful image! And yet, there are those around who criticize him for healing on the Sabbath. These same people “bend” the rules for their own profit and purposes but refuse to have compassion on this woman who had been been over for so long. I’d like to think that Jesus does the same for each of us as he does for this woman. He says to each of us, “Stand tall and give glory to God.” (Here’s my friend Joel again standing tall and giving glory to God!) BTW, we are offering a day of prayer here at Eastern Point this Sunday, the Feast of All Saints. We’ll also be reflecting on our beloved friends and families whom we will remember on All Soul’s day. If you have any interest in attending, please let me know at frvereec@bc.edu We've One Heart10/25/2020 30th Sunday in OT
A Mighty Fortress is our God is the hymn tune that I plan to use for our liturgy today. I chose it for two reasons. One is today’s psalm 18 I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. Here at Eastern Point we have the constant reminder of God as rock/fortress as we look out at Brace Rock. The other reason that I chose it was that the last time these readings were heard on the 30th Sunday three years ago, it was the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church which put into motion the reformation. Although the reform would tear the fabric of Christianity for centuries to come, it was an essential reminder that the Church had lost its identity in the Gospel preaching of Jesus Christ. At the heart of Luther’s call for reform was the realization that “all is grace”. We human beings are not “justified”, made right by our own actions but rather by the Cross of Jesus Christ. When you read Paul’s letter to the Romans, you can understand why Luther was so “convicted” by it. Over and over again Paul says, “we are justified by faith”. We do not earn salvation. It is gift. It is grace. Or in other words, “Is life a gift? Or is it a test? Is life about earning “good marks”? Is the purpose of our life on this earth “to prove that we are worthy of God’s love” or is it “to let ourselves be loved and love in return”? 500 years later, thanks be to God, we are mending those tears and being reminded as we are in our Gospel today, that “Our God is One, and we shall love the Lord God with our whole heart, soul and mind and our neighbor as ourselves. You could say “we’ve one heart.” Sound familiar? Weave one heart from the many strands E haku I kapu’u wai God be praised through our working hands O Kahaku o ka pu’u wai (Yesterday was the memorial of St Anthony Claret, patron saint of weavers and so I chose the song Weave One Heart for the opening of the liturgy. Composers Marty Haugen and Joe Comacho weave English and Hawaiian lyrics and instruments together, creating a beautiful fabric of musical sound that invites the listener to feel the unity of the heart of all God’s children.) With my penchant for word play, today I’m changing “weave” to “we’ve.” Yes, they sound the same but very different meanings. An apostrophe serves a number of linguistic purposes. We use it to express “possession.” An apostrophe “s” means something belongs to or is in relation to someone i.e., my brother’s/sister’s keeper. The apostrophe is also used as a contraction. It suggests some letters are missing. In the case of “we’ve one heart,” the suggestion is that we belong to each other and rather than contract, this apostrophe suggests that we expand and open our hearts to all. This is what the scriptures today make very clear. The reading from Exodus reminds the people of Israel that they are not called to be responsible for the other. "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. In the Gospel, Jesus weaves together the two great commandments of the Law into one. Unlike Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, Matthew waits until Chapter 25 with the parable of the Sheep and Goats to answer the question “Who is my Neighbor.” For those folks on retreat this week, the question is “How is God “weaving” the strands of faith, hope and love in you? How is your experience of God’s love “expanding” you so that you may love with your whole heart, soul, mind and (strength) Don’t know why Matthew edited that out! Here’s a poem that I wrote last year for the memorial of Anthony Mary Claret, weaver. Notice how it weaves together what’s happening in this autumn season, Paul’s letter to the Romans and Gospel good news. Autumn Weaves St Anthony Claret Weaver 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! To Know A Veil10/23/2020 Sky line from Robert VerEecke on Vimeo.
Friday of the 29th Week in OT
I’m sure it was this line from today’s Gospel that got me going this morning, inviting me to scan the skies. Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; There was something about the straight line of clouds and horizon that mesmerized me. I kept waiting for something to be “revealed.” The black cloud looked to me like a theater curtain. The light below created an anticipation that the curtain would soon be raised but the waiting was to no avail…. I turned away for a while only to see the curtain raised and the veil lifted. I’m wondering what interpretation you may have of my attempt to capture the experience and what it might mean to you? If it’s any help, look at the photo at the end of the reflection. I think there’s a clue there! To Know A Veil Not a line drawn in sand, Whose crossing means Risk and reckoning No, a sky-line Straight across horizon’s Length, a line meant For best and beckoning. Can you divine the divine drafter’s drawing you in? Sky scanning, Wondering whoziwhat’s Behind the curtain, Sky searching Reading the sighs of the times, Waiting for the veil To be lifted but To no avail And suddenly, You see more of me, The curtain rises Revealing me, A lonely figure On this world’s stage, Longing for a role to play, Available for the part But my heart’s Unavailable, still. Stealing the scene, You hide behind the veil And I watch and wait For the unveiling. B.L.D.E10/22/2020
Thursday of the 29th Week in OT BLDE is an acronym for my dance company, The Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble. It’s always been easier to just refer to it as the BLDE. Today, however, those letters stand for something else that we hear in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Breath, Length, Depth, Elevation (Height) of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. The questions to ponder today might be, “How do you experience Christ dwelling in your heart? “What is it that keeps you “rooted and grounded” in love?” As I pondered these questions, I realized that one of the most significant ways in which I have known the B.L.D.E. of Christ’s love is through the work of the BLDE for the past 40 years. Although the work of the company has been limited by the pandemic and other factors, I am grateful that we are able to share “on line” much of the work we have done which has always been an expression of the breath, length, depth and height of Christ’s love for the world. Before I made the connection between those four words that Paul uses to express the fulness of God’s love in Jesus Christ, I recalled the opening lyrics of John Foley’s Dwelling Place which is based on Ephesians 3. I fall on my knees to the Father of Jesus The Lord who has shown us the glory of God. Then I made the connection these words and those of the familiar Christmas song, O Holy Night. The photo above is the moment when the dancers, literally, “fall on their knees.” And here’s a link to the final performance of A Dancers’ Christmas that tells the story of my first piece of religious choreography when I was in the 5th grade. https://vimeo.com/61032238#t=4920s The gospel today is such a contrast to the beauty, power and inspiration of the Ephesian’s text. Matthew’s Jesus speaks of bringing division and not peace. It almost seems as if the passage were written to describe our present political situation and the division in our country, our church and even in our families. Will your “dwelling place” today be in the “b.l.d.e.” of Christ’s love which surpasses all knowledge? Or will it be in the flame and fury of the Gospel with one person pitted against the other? (That sounds like “the pits” so I’ll go with the former and end with this: Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Divining Rood and Real10/21/2020 Wednesday of the 29th Week in OT The single white birch tree in the photo above caught my eye this morning. Think of it as a "divining rod" for this reflection. The response in today’s liturgy comes from the prophet Isaiah and not from one of the psalms as is customary. The refrain is one of my favorites: “You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.” The question at the heart of my prayer this morning is “where do we find “joy” these days? What are the times and places when we are surprised by joy “bubbling up” inside? In search of the answer to these questions in the midst of the dousing of bad news that drenches us daily, I began thinking of how “springs of water” were thought to be discovered underground. The tradition was to use a “divining or dowsing rod.” A diviner or dowser would feel the vibrations from the earth which would pull the rod toward the source. The rod comes from a tree and has a Y shape to enable the diviner or dowser to hold on to the branch. There is no scientific evidence for this ancient practice, but it is always a source of joy when it works. Can you see Paul as a “diviner” as he seeks and searches out the mysteries of God’s designs? the mystery was made known to me by revelation, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, Paul’s divining rod also comes from a tree. His rod is the holy “rood,” the Cross of Christ, which reveals God’s desire that all find salvation through him, and with him and in him. His divining "rood" enabled him to "draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation." What was concealed and hidden beneath the surface was a mysterious root system revealing how everything is connected through God's design, seen in the "rood" of Christ. (On the trails at Eastern Point, you can see the root system of this age-old trees, a reminder of how much is going on beneath the "seens") And speaking of what is “seen and unseen” and “really real,” I share with you the poem I wrote for the Wednesday of the 29th week last year when we were reading Ilia Delio’s The Emergent Christ.
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! Peace Meal10/20/2020 Tuesday of the 29th Week in OT
“Peace” appears 9 times in today’s scriptures. You could almost make a “meal” of it, if you let this word nourish you. For he is our peace, he made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his Flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one Body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. R. (see 9) The Lord speaks of peace to his people. I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD–for he proclaims peace. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people. Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people. The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and salvation, along the way of his steps. R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people. These are challenging days when it comes to finding peace. There is so much turmoil and trouble in our world these days, especially with the dissension and rancor that creates a political and social “feeding frenzy.” Rather than being fed a peace meal, we are fed up with living “piecemeal.” Oh, for a leader who might bring about unity, reconciliation and genuine peace! We know we have that leader in Christ Jesus. That’s what we hear in the scriptures today. He is not only the one who reconciles all in himself but is the one who “serves” at the table. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. The invitation of the scriptures today is to let Christ be our “peace maker” and “pacemaker.” He invites us to the table of the Eucharist to be nourished with this “peace meal.” 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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