A Scarlet Sky6/17/2024 Monday of the 11th Week in OT
As you can see from the photo above, it was a stunningly beautiful scarlet sky that preceded the sun’s rising. This morning was a 10 on the Vereeckter Scale! It was a wonderful gift on the final full day of my retreat. I received another gift this morning as I finally finished a first draft of the poem that I’ve been working on since early March. Yes, three months in the making. It began to take shape during Holy Week, reflecting on Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was only this week on retreat that I felt called to write again. As usual, I play with words and try to create a parallelism in the stanzas. Since the poem is entitled “Weathervane,” there are four “directions” that the poem takes referring to Jesus’ agony (North) Peter’s denial (South) my personal “agon” (West) and a “resurrection” (East) I’m attaching the first draft since it’s in two-column format. weather_vane.docx
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Skye and Sea6/16/2024 11th Sunday in OT Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a high and lofty mountain; As I read this scripture for the 11th Sunday, I couldn’t help thinking of “Skye,” the tree you see in the photo above. Two summers ago during the 30 day Spiritual Exercises, I enlisted two generous retreatants to help me clear out the vines that were choking the tree. When we finished, you could see the sky through its branches for the first time since who knows how long. One of those retreatants, Fr Jack Ahearn suggested we name the tree, Skye, after the Isle of Skye. The name stuck and as you can see Skye is still going strong. Look at the crest! I’m sure that birds can nest in that crest! This reading as well as the Gospel use images of nature to reveal the mystery of God at work in the world. The majestic cedar, the seed that is scattered, the mustard seed that is planted, are all illustrations of God working “behind the scenes.” As St Paul says, we walk by faith and not by sight. There is so much to see and so much that is hidden. When I look at Skye and remember the vines that were choking the life out of it, or the weeds that intrude in Bill’s beautiful gardens, I think of the “weeds” within us that need to be removed if our natural beauty is to be seen the way that God desires for us. Speaking of seeds that are planted, one was planted in my mind my first day of retreat and yesterday it came to fruition. Bill Campbell, a longtime friend and director of Eastern Point will be finishing his term here and moving to Georgetown University. Bill mentioned that one of the things he wanted to do before leaving EP was see the retreat house from the sea. Without his knowing, I did some investigation and found a harbor tour that did a full circle of Cape Ann. Unfortunately, Bill was unavailable this weekend to take the trip and I wasn’t going to go alone. But the seed was planted. The thought of seeing the island from a different perspective kept coming up in my prayer. How could it be that in 50 years of coming to Eastern Point, I’ve never seen it from the “other side.” It was a perspective that I had been missing and I need to make up for that. So, yesterday, on a beautiful June day, I found myself thrilled with the expectation of seeing something familiar in a new way. It was definitely worth it! The question in prayer for me today is “What do I need to see in my own life from a different perspective? What can this “sightseeing” experience open up in me? It was a "lighthouse" cruise. I can honestly say that it "enlightened." me. The photo of the beautiful sky in the slideshow below was not taken yesterday but the title of this reflection is "Skye and Sea" so why not see a beautiful sky? "Not" again!6/15/2024 Saturday of the 10th Week in OT
I just can’t get the “nots” out of my mind. I keep thinking about the Elijah reading where God is “not” in the storm, “not” in the earthquake, “not” in the fire. We even had a storm yesterday afternoon to shake up the string of beautiful days we have been having during this retreat. Elijah’s experience of God’s “not” being changes in an instant through a sound, a murmur, a whisper, a small voice.” Have you heard that voice lately? I’m straining to hear it these days. I know I’m hard of hearing because of my age. I know I need a “hearing aid” when it comes to God’s murmuring, whispering…. In August of 2020 after the explosion in the city of Beirut Lebanon, I wrote the poem “Be Still!” The first reading that Sunday was from 1Kings, which we heard yesterday. The Gospel was Matthew’s version of the calming of the storm and Jesus’ walking on the water. I share it with you here. be_still.docx Twisted in Knots6/14/2024 Friday of the 10th Week in OT
The graces of yesterday continued with the gift of a bouquet of flowers sent to me by a dear friend who is a frequent visitor to EP. Mary Ann began coming here with me decades ago and it is a very special place to her as it is to me. What a beautiful collage of color, set against the blue sky! After taking the outdoor photo, I moved it inside in front of the tabernacle in the Eucharistic Chapel, so others could benefit from its beauty. The bouquet played an important role in my prayer this morning. I was very aware that the editors of the Lectionary omitted one of my favorite passages of scripture that precedes another of my favorites. It’s the familiar passage about the “still, small voice.” But, before Elijah gets to Mt Horeb and has a theophany, he is exhausted from his journey. He has been running for his life since Jezebel wants to kill him. He finally has had enough, and he sits underneath a broom tree where he asks God to take his life. An angel comes to minister to him and gives him strength for the journey. I chose the title “Twisted in Knots” since it occurred to me that if someone came into the chapel and saw me sitting on my cushion, they might see me “twisted in knots.” Because of a back problem, I just couldn’t find a comfortable prayer position. I felt like a contortionist trying to be still, and free of pain. Then, I began to think of Elijah and how his insides were “twisted in knots.” He had been through so much and felt so alone. God was giving him all these commands, but God was nowhere to be found. I wonder if he was not also twisted in “nots.” “I’m not good enough.” I’m not going to make it.” “I’m not going to believe that God is with me.” Here’s where the bouquet comes in. This act of kindness from my friend, Mary Ann was for me like the kindness of the angel giving Elijah food and drink. Sometimes all you need to be “untied” is to let yourself be “united” with those who love you and care for you. I received another “bouquet” this morning. It was a “spiritual bouquet” of prayers from another dear friend. Since this is Ann Harris’s birthday, she’s the one who should be receiving both kinds of bouquets! Happy Birthday, Ann! Odds and Even so.....6/13/2024 Thursday of the 10th Week of OT/ Memorial of St Anthony of Padua
"Climb up and look out to sea," he directed his servant, who went up and looked, but reported, "There is nothing." Seven times he said, "Go, look again!" And the seventh time the youth reported, "There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea." What are the odds of my looking out across the sea this morning and seeing a cloud in the shape of a funnel/tornado, not exactly a “man’s hand rising from the sea, but very odd indeed! What are the odds of my praying crouched down, with my head between my knees like Elijah in today’s reading. Oddly enough, I’ve been praying that way for the past days as I sit on my cushion in the chapel but have to stay bent over most of the time because of sciatic pain. Very odd indeed! What are the odds of reading today’s reflection on patience and prayer in “Give Us This Day” and finding that it was writing by my friend, Paul Mariani, whose book “The Mystery of It All” inspired the title for my two books of poetry, “On the Quiver of Mystery”? What are the odds of feeling something stirring within, coaxing me to finally return to the poem, “Weathervane” which I started months ago but have been experiencing a creative “drought” for a long time. What are the odds of discovering that the rooster/cock on weathervanes came from a Papal decree in the 9th century. It was meant to remind people of the betrayal of Peter. And isn’t it odd, that that is the scene that came to mind as I was thinking about the next stanza of Weathervane? Even so----- Can I trust that the “odds” are in my favor, even if I don’t feel that my life is very important or worthy of God’s attention? Yes, I know that sounds “odd.” But it’s how I feel. More on that tomorrow. Against All Odds6/12/2024 Wednesday of the 10th Week
Wow! What are the odds that I would capture such a stunning image of last night’s sunset over Niles Pond. When I first saw it this morning, I thought it was more of an abstract painting than an actual scene. It reminded me of a sond diagram. This morning as I was waiting for the sunrise, there were a variety of birds singing. Some were more dominant and easier to hear than others. I recorded them on my Merlin App so I could identify them. The app shows you a diagram of their sounds. Since “sound” was on my mind, I paid more attention to the “sounds and the silence” in the reading from the Book of Kings. As I had mentioned yesterday, the Elijah story is drawing me into contemplation. What strikes me today is how he is “against all odds” as he competes with the 450 prophets of Baal. Listen to the sounds of their cries! "Answer us, Baal!" But there was no sound, and no one answering. And they hopped around the altar they had prepared. When it was noon, Elijah taunted them: "Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating, or may have retired, or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until blood gushed over them. Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice. But there was not a sound; no one answered, and no one was listening. As I read this, I resonated with the experience, not of Elijah, but of the Baal prophets. How often have I cried out to God, called louder, danced around, trying to get God’s attention and “there was not a sound, no one answered, and no one was listening.” Has that ever been your experience? At the end of my prayer, I wondered if the reason that I feel that no one is listening, is that I’m calling out to the wrong god, like those Baal prophets. Am I able to hear the voice of God, if I’ve got it all wrong; if my images and expectation of who God is and how God responds is a case of mistaken identity? I’m sure this question will be gnawing at my insides all day. In the meantime, I hope you find the images above and below as stunning as I do. Could they reveal something about the One who is the Creator of such beauty? A Jar, A Jug, A Joy6/11/2024 Tuesday of the 10th Week/ Memorial of St Barnabas I had to rise at 4:30 this morning to see the pre-dawn at the beginning of my retreat. As you can see from the photos, it was worth losing some sleep to be filled with an experience of exquisite beauty, seeing “the light of the world.” My prayer, however, has already taken an interesting turn. All this week we hear stories of Elijah. Yesterday he was being fed by the ravens. Today, we would hear how he meets the widow of Zarepath whose jar of flour and jug of oil are almost empty, if it weren’t the memorial of St Barnabas. The widow has given up hope and assumes that death waits for her and her son. But Elijah reassures her and somehow God provides. The image of the jar and jug invited me to reflect on my own spiritual “gauge” as I began this retreat. Do I have a full tank or am I almost on empty? I’m probably somewhere in between, but the experience of the dawn’s early light fueled something within me. Do you remember “Annie’s Song?” It was one of John Denver’s. You fill up my senses Like a night in the forest, Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain. Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean You fill up my senses, come fill me again. I’ve been trying to play it on the guitar for the past week, so the song is on my mind. Although it’s a song about romantic love, it works for me as an expression of the spiritual “refill” that I receive when I come here to Eastern Point and absorb the beauty of creation. And my soul wants to sing: Come let me love You, let me give my life to You Let me soak up your spirit, let me dance in your arms Let me walk alongside you, let me always be with you. Come let me love you, come love me again. Have you checked your spiritual “gauge” lately? Do you need a “refill?” Raven- us?6/10/2024
Monday of the 10th Week in OT Since I’m packing for my annual retreat at EP, I’m going to use my reflection from four years ago. The photo I chose is of EP since I’m “ravenous” when it comes to hungering for the encounter with the mystery of God. If you look at today’s first reading from the book of Kings, two ravens play an important role. The LORD then said to Elijah: “Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.” So he left and did as the LORD had commanded. He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream. What is so interesting about this passage is that “ravens” are by their nature, predators. They are scavengers that will eat almost anything! It’s no wonder that we speak of being “ravenous” when we are extremely hungry. But here, in this passage, the ravens are feeding Elijah. They are acting against their “raven nature.” In obedience to God’s commands, they are doing something that doesn’t come naturally to them, but that brings out a completely different way of being “raven.” The punster in me wants to say this is “raven-haven.” The Gospel today is Jesus’ preaching the Beatitudes. It’s the Matthean version that begins Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. If you think about it, Jesus’ invitation is to act courageously, from the heart and not from human nature’s temptation to dominate, control, be in charge. Humility, mercy, compassion, solidarity with those suffering, peacemaking are the qualities that Jesus asks his disciples to have. Courage, in this sense, does not get you a head, but does get you a heart. Even though I’m on retreat, I plan to post everyday. I think the weather is supposed to be clear so I should have some new photos of sunrises to share with you. Pray for me, as I will pray for you. The Weight of Glory? Better Wait!6/9/2024 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
I chose a photo of Eastern Point Retreat House for this morning’s reflection since Dick Stanley who spent many years as director, passed away yesterday afternoon. Here’s the homily I will give this morning, remembering Dick. “Shame on you!” “You’re to blame!” Blame and shame. Two words that sound alike and could be considered “kissing cousins.” In the origin story from Genesis that we hear today, “shame and blame” are the heart of the matter. Adam is ashamed because of his nakedness but puts the blame on Eve, who puts the blame on the serpent. This passage always reminds me of the Sondheim song from “Into the Woods.” “No, it’s your fault.” We human beings have a difficult time accepting blame for something we’ve done. We’d rather point the finger at someone else and blame them. And, of course, there are so many cases when someone is innocent and are forced to take the blame for something they didn’t do. And that’s a real shame, When I first began to pray and ponder today’s scriptures in preparation for this homily, the “shame/blame/game” was the direction I thought I’d take. But then, thanks to Tom Burke’s programming the music for today’s liturgy I was electrified by the Troeger text. If Christ is charged with madness, it’s madness that’s divine, A visionary gladness this world cannot confine, The madness of conceiving what no one else can see, Then acting and believing so it will come to be. I wanted to focus on Jesus’s family saying that he was “out of his mind.” And somehow bring the “shame/blame/game” into dialogue with the Gospel as Troeger does. Thus when Christ seized and plundered the demons’ dark domain, His friends and foes both wondered if he were not insane. They charged his soul was riven, his heart and mind possessed By forces he had driven from those who were distressed. But after receiving the news of Dick Stanley’s “gentle passing” I knew I wanted to go in a different direction. What a way to go! Mass, lunch with Randy, reading a book about Abraham Lincoln. What more could you ask for passing into eternity. Last night, a few of us were talking about Dick and his piano playing. Charlie Healey commented, “he had a very gentle touch.” And I responded that Dick had a gentle touch in everything he did. So I thought we might reflect on today’s scriptures in the light of the gift that Dick was to us and the many people he brought to the light. In his ministry of spiritual direction, especially all those years he spent at Eastern Point and even after as a guest director, Dick helped retreatants to believe in a God who loved them so unconditionally that shame and blame should have to power over them. He would invite them to come out of hiding, if they were ashamed of any part of themselves and “come into the light.” And, as you know, he would do this with humor, with gentleness, and with his own experience of being loved unconditionally. And, although I didn’t know Dick as well as so many of you did, I think that it’s fair to say that he was possessed by a divine madness, as Christ was. His love for Christ and the freedom he experienced through that love made him a little bit (or a lot) “crazy.” That’s what freedom in Christ does for you. It drives you mad, in a good sense! I think I can hear Dick laughing as I insert his name into the Troeger text. If Dick Stantley is charged with madness, it’s madness that’s divine, A visionary gladness this world cannot confine, The madness of conceiving what no one else can see, Then acting and believing so it will come to be. And then there is the reading from Corinthians: Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, Knowing Dick, he would most likely consider his health struggles these past months a “light affliction.” And even though his body was wasting away, he took it all in stride, never losing his sense of humor. So, if I were to ask him how much glory weighs from the perspective of how and where he is now, He would probably laugh and call me a “light weight” with my question of the weight of glory. And then, he would add, “you’ll have to wait and see for yourself!” The day before his death, the feast of the Sacred Heart, I preached here about “transeveration.” At the beginning of my homily, I said that Latin scholars and mystics would know what that means. I singled out Richard Stanley as one of those mystics who would know. And who knew that the very next day, this mystic, whose life was pierced through with divine love and madness, would be with his Lord and Savior so soon. It may be no coincidence that Dick now shares a “death day” or birthday into glory with another Jesuit possessed by divine madness. Gerard Manley Hopkins. Let me end with his words. Glory be to God for dappled things – For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings; Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough; And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him. Transverberation (Huh?)6/7/2024
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Here's the homily I will give this morning. “Transverberation” It’s a word I had never heard until this morning. I assume that those of you who are better versed in Latin than I am, or if you are a mystic, like Dick Stanley, know the meaning of the word. It means “pierced through.” I came across it this morning as I was searching for the Bernini statue, “The Ecstasy of St Teresa.” I’m sure you are familiar with this classic statue depicting a mystical moment in the life of Teresa where an angel is ready to “pierce her heart” as she swoons in the ecstasy of love. It is strange in a way that the experience of being loved is so often portrayed with a “transverberation.” Think of the ancient image of Cupid’s arrow, piercing the heart of the beloved. Piercing always causes pain. Even when there’s a tiny piercing when a phlebotomist is drawing blood. I.hope I don’t see any piercing stares as you wonder where I’m going with this brief reflection. The Gospel today describes another “piercing.” The soldier’s lance pierces the side of Jesus on the Cross and water and blood flow from his side. We are told that this was to fulfill the scripture, “They will look upon him whom they have pierced.” There is something about loving and being loved that leaves you wounded, vulnerable, “transveberated.” As Pedro Arrupe says, “fall in love, stay in love and that will make all the difference. We’re here today as people who at some point have fallen in love with Jesus Christ. Somewhere in our Jesuit lives, most likely making the Exercises, our own hearts have been pierced by him. We have asked for the grace over and over in our lives, “to love him more intensely” And, perhaps, over the years we have fallen out of love with him. Life takes it tolls with its challenges and disappointments. Sometimes in our lives it’s not easy to believe that we are loved and embraced by him when we feel abandoned and alone. And when those times come, it’s good to remember the course of our love-life. That’s what Hosea tells us as he recounts the tenderness with which God has loved Israel, despite their infidelity. And Paul, whose own heart must have been pierced with his love for Jesus, waxes rhapsodic as his heart overflows with love. May Christ 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 which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Or in the words of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, using a prayer attributed to St Francis Xavier O Deus, Ego Amo Te by Gerard Manley Hopkins O God, I love thee, I love thee — Not out of hope of heaven for me Nor fearing not to love and be In the everlasting burning. Thou, thou, my Jesus, after me Didst reach thine arms out dying, For my sake sufferedst nails and lance,┬░ Mocked and marred countenance, Sorrows passing number, Sweat and care and cumber, Yea and death, and this for me, And thou couldst see me sinning: Then I, why should not I love thee, Jesu so much in love with me? Not for heaven's sake; not to be Out of hell by loving thee; Not for any gains I see; But just the way that thou didst me I do love and I will love thee: What must I love thee, Lord, for then? — For being my king and God. Amen. Below is the choreography that I have shared before. 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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