Thursday, March 31, 2022
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
March 30 ~ Remembering Thea Bowman...
“Maybe I’m not making big changes in the world, but if I have somehow helped or encouraged somebody along the journey then I’ve done what I’m called to do.”
(Thea Bowman) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thea_Bowman
“Rev. Bede Abram, celebrant of Thea Bowman’s funeral Mass, prayed in conclusion: ‘Oh God, as you did not lose her in her coming to us, we do not lose her in her going back to you.’ It appears that she will live on in the lives of all she touched.”
(Mary Queen Donnelly)
Sr. Thea Bowman, a Franciscan sister of Perpetual Adoration died March 30, 1990, of bone cancer at the age of 52. For the last two years of her life she was confined to a bed or a wheelchair, but her spirit continued to soar, as it had throughout her career as an evangelist, artist, singer and educator. Three weeks before her death, the editor of the Jackson, MS, diocesan newspaper asked her to dictate a meditation on Holy Week. It was published April 6, 1990.
Here is the text, titled "Let us love one another during Holy Week":
Let us resolve to make this week holy by claiming Christ's redemptive grace and by living holy lives. The Word became flesh and redeemed us by his holy life and holy death. This week especially, let us accept redemption by living grateful, faithful, prayerful, generous, just and holy lives.
Let us resolve to make this week holy by reading and meditating (on) Holy Scripture. So often, we get caught up in the hurry of daily living. As individuals and as families, reserve prime time to be with Jesus, to hear the cries of the children waving palm branches, to see the Son of Man riding on an ass' colt, to feel the press of the crowd, to be caught up in the ''Hosannas" and to realize how the cries of acclamation will yield to the garden of suffering, to be there and watch as Jesus is sentenced by Pilate to Calvary, to see him rejected, mocked, spat upon, beaten and forced to carry a heavy cross, to hear the echo of the hammer, to feel the agony of the torn flesh and strained muscles, to know Mary's anguish as he hung three hours before he died.
We recoil before the atrocities of war, gang crime, domestic violence and catastrophic illness. Unless we personally and immediately are touched by suffering, it is easy to read Scripture and to walk away without contacting the redemptive suffering that makes us holy. The reality of the Word falls on deaf ears.
Let us take time this week to be present to someone who suffers. Sharing the pain of a fellow human will enliven Scripture and help us enter into the holy mystery of the redemptive suffering of Christ.
Let us resolve to make this week holy by participating in the Holy Week services of the church, not just by attending, but also by preparing, by studying the readings, entering into the spirit, offering our services as ministers of the Word or Eucharist, decorating the church or preparing the environment for worship.
Let us sing, "Lord, have mercy," and "Hosanna." Let us praise the Lord with our whole heart and soul and mind and strength, uniting with the suffering church throughout the world -- in Rome and Northern Ireland, in Syria and Lebanon, in South Africa and Angola, India and China, Nicaragua and El Salvador, in Washington and Jackson.
Let us break bread together; let us relive the holy and redemptive mystery. Let us do it in memory of him, acknowledging in faith his real presence upon our altars.
Let us resolve to make this week holy by sharing holy peace and joy within our families, sharing family prayer on a regular basis, making every meal a holy meal where loving conversations bond family members in unity, sharing family work without grumbling, making love not war, asking forgiveness for past hurts and forgiving one another from the heart, seeking to go all the way for love as Jesus went all the way for love.
Let us resolve to make this week holy by sharing holy peace and joy with the needy, the alienated, the lonely, the sick and afflicted, the untouchable.
Let us unite our sufferings, inconveniences and annoyances with the suffering of Jesus. Let us stretch ourselves, going beyond our comfort zones to unite ourselves with Christ's redemptive work.
We unite ourselves with Christ's redemptive work when we reconcile, when we make peace, when we share the good news that God is in our lives, when we reflect to our brothers and sisters God's healing, God's forgiveness, God's unconditional love.
Let us be practical, reaching out across the boundaries of race and class and status to help somebody, to encourage and affirm somebody, offering to the young an incentive to learn and grow, offering to the downtrodden resources to help themselves.
May our fasting be the kind that saves and shares with the poor, that actually contacts the needy, that gives heart to heart, that touches and nourishes and heals.
During this Holy Week when Jesus gave his life for love, let us truly love one another.
Saturday, March 26, 2022
A Prodigal Son . . .
by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Does that lamp still burn in my Father's house,
Which he kindled the night I went away?
I turned once beneath the cedar boughs,
And marked it gleam with a golden ray;
Did he think to light me home some day?
Hungry here with the crunching swine,
Hungry harvest have I to reap;
In a dream I count my Father's kine,
I hear the tinkling bells of his sheep,
I watch his lambs that browse and leap.
There is plenty of bread at home,
His servants have bread enough and to spare;
The purple wine-fat froths with foam,
Oil and spices make sweet the air,
While I perish hungry and bare.
Rich and blessed those servants, rather
Than I who see not my Father's face!
I will arise and go to my Father:--
"Fallen from sonship, beggared of grace,
Grant me, Father, a servant's place."
The Prodigal's Mother
 |
| The Return of the Prodigal Son by Ivor Williams (1908-1982) |
On that day so long ago?
What were her thoughts
And what were her fears
As she watched him turn to go?
Did the tears slide down her face?
Did she get out of bed
And fall on her knees,
Just to pray that her boy was safe?
Was he alive? Was he warm? Was he well?
Who were his friends?
And where did he sleep?
Was there anyone there she could tell?
As she had looked since her son went away,
Did love unspeakable flood her soul?
Did she cry?
What did she say?
And the boy had greeted his brother,
That the servants made a path
For him to enter the door
And the waiting arms of his mother.
Author: Chis
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
What's In a Name?
O God of silence and quietness, you call us to be still and know you -
O God of steadfast love, your Spirit is poured into our hearts –
O God of compassion, your Word is our light and hope –
O God of faithfulness, you fill our hearts with joy –
O God of life and truth, from you we receive every gift –
O God of healing and peace, you open us to divine grace –
O God of all creation, our beginning and our end –
O God of salvation, you reconcile all things in Jesus, -
O God of Jesus, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit –
O God of Jesus, who invites us, “Come and see” –
O God of Jesus, who was tempted as we all are –
O God of Sarah and Abraham, from whom came Jesus -
O God of Anna and Simeon, who recognized Jesus, your Son,
as Messiah –
O God of Mary, who bore Jesus, -
O God of all generations, of all times and seasons and peoples –
O God of our mothers and fathers, of all who have loved us –
O God of our past; O God of our future –
O God of our present, O God in our present -
Memorial of Oscar Romero ~ "I will rise again in the people of El Salvador."
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent
enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of
saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an
opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
*This prayer was composed by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw, drafted for a homily by Card. John Dearden in Nov. 1979 for a celebration of departed priests. As a reflection on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Romero, Bishop Untener included in a reflection book a passage titled "The mystery of the Romero Prayer." The mystery is that the words of the prayer are attributed to Oscar Romero, but they were never spoken by him.
The Gift of Hope . . .
Rough Translations
Hope nonetheless.
Hope despite.
Hope regardless.
Hope still.
Hope where we had ceased to hope.
Hope amid what threatens hope.
Hope with those who feed our hope.
Hope beyond what we had hoped.
Hope that draws us past our limits.
Hope that defies expectations.
Hope that questions what we have known.
Hope that makes a way where there is none.
Hope that takes us past our fear.
Hope that calls us into life.
Hope that holds us beyond death.
Hope that blesses those to come.
From: Circle of Grace, Wanton Gospeller Press, Orlando, FL, 2015
http://www.janrichardson.com/index.htmlichardson.com
©Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com
Photo by sjh-osu
Sunday, March 20, 2022
A Blessing . . .
May the God of Comfort bless you.
May God's care for you ease all that is troubling to you and reassure you in times of adversity.
May you be encouraged by the whisper of God's love for you in the center of your being and may you rest securely in the arms of the One who will never let go of you.
May you extend the hand of comfort to those around you who are in need of that same reassurance.
May the God of Comfort be with you.
--Maxine Shonk, OP
March Madness ~ Sadness ~ Gladness!
March Madness: Here in the United States, presently the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) women’s and men’s basketball championships are vying for our attention. March Madness refers to the excitement of the final few weeks of the college basketball tournaments in the United States that feature many major schools. It is called madness simply because there are so many games going on throughout the country, usually during the same time, in rapid succession during the month of March.
In addition to the term March Madness, various
rounds of the NCAA tournament also have distinctive names. The third round, in
which there are 16 teams left, is called the Sweet 16. The next round is
referred to as the Elite 8. Then, there is the Final 4. The Final 4 play two
games over three days to determine the national champion and close out March
Madness. Amen to all this madness! (I have to admit that I only know this from being informed and coached by my friends.)
However, I don’t believe I’m into sports that much, so I’m pretty pathetic
trying to make a metaphor about all of this madness. The madness that I know of
is that I’m really getting a little restless that
spring is having such a struggle to arrive. I have seen our snow finally melting,
and yet consistent warm breezes disappear overnight. Then with the early morning
dawn, two to three inches of new snow has visited once again. Is this not madness? Definitely not!! Yet, it is nothing compared to the unprovoked and senseless madness experienced
by our sisters and brothers in Ukraine!
March Sadness: Today, after watching a morning news show, I
collected “war rhetoric”as I pondered the tragedy of humanity in Ukraine and eastward
as disinformation is streamed into the lives of people causing fear, anxiety, untold trauma and death! Here are a few words and phrases I gathered within
10 minutes of listening: ground invasion, advances, missile strikes, targeting
of civilians, military support, front line, agreements, Summit, protect and
defend, no-fly zone, chemical weapons, alliance, International Law, combat
forces, transfer of weapons, defensive positions, World Order, nuclear power, sovereignty and freedom, drones, hypersonic missiles, security, peace
talks! Is this not madness and deep sadness
that we as a people who share this planet have to confront the temptations of
power, possessiveness, and prestige that Jesus confronted with the evil one
after his baptism?
March Gladness: Friday, March 25, is
the Feast of the Annunciation. It is the feast in which Christians
celebrate Mary's fiat—her willing acceptance of God's holy plan through the
visit of the angel Gabriel, during which he told her that she would be the
mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Let us petition our Lady of Kiev (Kyiv) to intercede
for us all so that the God of Hope, the God of Peace, the God of Love will move
hearts so as to bring an end to this world tragedy!
God of hope,
we pray to
you when hope is scarce
as our
world convulses with the horror of war.
You alone
know the extent of the crimes committed in Ukraine:
the people
murdered, the homes and infrastructure destroyed,
the way
violence comes as a calamity,
cutting a
swath through the world.
Why is
power concentrated in the hands of so few?
How can we
make this war stop?
You alone
know a way out of this quagmire of evil.
Help us
find it.
Awaken
those who dismiss this as someone else’s problem.
Give world
leaders wisdom as they impose sanctions,
looking
for diplomatic and economic ways to end this aggression.
Raise up
resistance to war in Russia itself.
Protect
the people of Ukraine,
who are
reeling from the trauma of invasion.
Open the
arms of neighbouring countries
to take in
refugees.
In times
like these,
fill us
with resolve rather than hatred.
Help us
believe that justice will prevail,
that
crimes will be prosecuted,
that peace
can be found
even in
the roar and rubble of war. Amen
“Copyright Carol
Penner www.leadinginworship.com.”
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Feast of St. Joseph . . .
Joseph is the man on the outskirts, standing in the shadows, silently waiting, there when wanted and always ready to help. He is the man in whose life God is constantly intervening with warnings and visions. Without a complaint he allows his own plans to be set aside. His life is a succession of prophecies and dream-messages of packing up and moving on. He is the man who dreams of setting up a quiet household, simply leading a home life and going about his affairs, attending to his business and worshiping God and who, instead, is condemned to a life of wandering.
Beset with doubts, heavy-hearted and uneasy in his mind, his whole life disrupted. He has to take to the open road, to make his way through an unfriendly country finding no shelter but a miserable stable for those he holds most dear. He is the man who sets aside all thought of self and shoulders his responsibilities bravely — and obeys.
His message is willing obedience. He is the man who serves. It never enters his head to question God's commands. He makes all the necessary preparations and is ready when God's call comes. Willing, unquestioning service is the secret of his life. This is his message for us.
Author Unknown
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Welcome, Spring!
We've made it through
Here I am, to Rejoice with you
as we experience New Growth
little buds are formed,
the flowering has already begun
together or apart, we delight
and share this moment
knowing New Life,
fresh perspective, and green leaves
are arriving,
even as the last storm is passing…
Spring starts blossoming now
The winter of our hearts will
begin to fade into cold
distant memories
Joy begins sprouting
with our eyes,
in our smiles,
as it softens our hearts,
leading us to laughter
Hope enters,
which we know
will bud,
into the flower,
and then the seed,
gently dropping to feed the birds
The passing order of this Season
feels like it is rooting us on
toward New Life
Before long,
these cold days will pass away
into warm ones with
mild breezes
and
Easter Blessings
carrying a new promise for Life
In Gratitude,
I bear witness
to Your Beautiful Spring
and Celebrate!
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Blessing Prayers on St. Patrick's Day . . .
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Monday, March 14, 2022
Patrick ~ Man of Courage, Man of Myth!
 |
| St. Patrick http://www.biography.com/people/st-patrick-9434729#synopsis |
And your blessings be more
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door
The Blessing of Light, Rain and Earth
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
And warm your heart till it glows
Like a great peat fire, so that the stranger
may come and warm himself at it
and also a friend.
And may the light shine out of the two eyes of you
Like a candle set in the windows of a house
Bidding the wanderer to come in out of the storm.
And may the blessing of the Rain be upon you, the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up
And shed their sweetness on the air
And may the blessing of the Great Rains be on you
May they beat upon your spirit and wash it fair and clean
And leave there many a shining pool where the blue of heaven shines
And sometimes a star.
And may the blessing of the Earth be upon you, the great round earth
May you ever have a kindly greeting for them you pass
As you're going along the roads
May the earth be soft under you when you rest upon it
Tire at the end of the day
And may it rest easy over you
When at the last you lay out under it
May it rest so lightly over you
That your soul may be out from under it quickly
And up, and off, and on its way to God.
A Blessing Time . . .
May you be blest
with the strength of heaven,
the light of the sun,
the radiance of the moon,
the splendor of fire,
the speed of lightning,
the swiftness of wind,
the depth of the sea,
the stability of earth,
and the firmness of rock.
May the strength of God guide us.
May the power of God preserve us.
May the wisdom of God instruct us.
May the hand of God protect us.
May the way of God direct us.
May the shield of God defend us.
May the angels of God guard us,
Against the snares of the evil one.
May Christ be with us!
May Christ be before us!
May Christ be in us, Christ be over all!
May your grace, Lord, always be ours,
This day, O Lord, and forevermore.
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Change Our Hearts . . .
Litany of Repentance
and Conversion
We ask God’s forgiveness for our complicity in
the violence now unleashed in our world and we repent of the violence in our
own hearts.
Response: Deliver us, O God.
(Adapted from CPT
Litany of Resistance, by Jim Looney)
Response: Forgive us, O God.
Response: Change our hearts, O God.
Pax Christi
Metro D.C.-Baltimore - 2013
Purifying Fire . . .
Blessing That Undoes Us
On the day you are wearing
your certainty like a cloak
and your sureness goes before you
like a shield or like a sword,
may the sound of God’s name
spill from your lips as you have never
heard it before.
May your knowing be undone.
May mystery confound your
understanding.
May the Divine rain downi
in strange syllables
yet with an ancient familiarity,
a knowing borne in the blood,
the ear, the tongue,
bringing the clarity that comes
not in stone
or in steel
but in fire, in flame.
May there come one searing word –
enough to bare you to the bone,
enough to set your heart ablaze,
enough to make you
whole again.
https://www.janrichardson.com/ By
Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace
Crossing is a Spiritual Exercise . . .
TRASNA
The pilgrims paused on the ancient stones
In the mountain gap.
Behind them stretched the roadway they had travelled.
Ahead, mist hid the track.
Unspoken the question hovered:
Why go on? Is life not short enough?
Why seek to pierce its mystery?
Why venture further on strange paths, risking all?
Surely that is a gamble for fools - or lovers.
Why not return quietly to the known road?
Why be a pilgrim still?
A voice they knew called to them, saying:
This is Trasna, the crossing place.
Choose! Go back if you must,
You will find your way easily by yesterday's fires,
there may be life in the embers yet.
If that is not your deep desire,
Stand still. Lay down your load.
Take your life firmly in your two hands,
(Gently... you are trusted with something precious)
While you search your heart's yearnings:
What am I seeking? What is my quest?
When your star rises deep within,
Trust yourself to its leading.
You will have the light for first steps.
This is Trasna, the crossing place.
Choose!
This is Trasna, the crossing place
Come !
Raphael Consedine, PBVM