This week I actually attended more liturgical services at St. Bonaventure University than at any other time in my life. Since I’m now a graduate student there that is probably not too surprising, but it was a personal first. Last week I attended Sunday Mass and again this evening I joined the university community for a lovely Eucharist in the university chapel. When I first moved to the area in 1979 I used to come and sit in this chapel. I always liked it’s architecture and the peace that surrounded it. Tonight during the service I could hear a flock of geese as they were honking their way overhead. That seemed quite Franciscan as tonight we were marking the Feast of St. Francis. Last night I joined the university and local community along with Friars, Sister and Seculars as we marked the Transitus of St. Francis and renewed our commitment to follow the Gospel way of life in the manner of our seraphic father St. Francis. I felt honored and humbled to be in the presence of so many holy men and women. I’m grateful to be a Franciscan. I’m definitely one of the lesser brothers of the Secular Franciscan Order, but I am nonetheless a brother and follower of our Christ and St. Francis. Pace e Bene!
In the woods..
Today I went to Mass at Mt. Irenaeus and it was a lovely day to be sure. Blue skies with temperatures hovering around 65F at 11:00am when Mass started. The chapel was full of young men from St. Bonaventure University. The celebrant today was, Fr. Dan Riley, OFM. There were a number of young folks and a theology professor and his family from nearby Houghton College too. Several Secular Franciscans were there and then some other visitors. Fr. Dan’s homily challenged us all to lead but at the same time to keep our ego out of it and instead to follow what Christ said in today’s Gospel, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
I liked that verse and the theme of Dan’s homily because it seemed to resonate with what I’ve been reading in the Educational Leadership course I’ve been taking at St. Bonaventure University this semester. Leaders who aren’t servants aren’t usually very effective leaders or their power is only contained in their ability to force or control what a person does. Real leadership that really changes people and paradigms comes from servant leadership like that practiced by Jesus in the Gospel.
After Mass and Brunch I took a walk up to the top of the land at Mt. Irenaeus. I was going to walk the labyrinth, but since there already some people doing that I thought I’d walk up to Naomi’s knoll, from there I walked along the “Hope” trail until it intersected the “Peace” trail. Eventually my walk led me to one of my favorite places at Mt. Irenaeus and that is La Posada. La Posada is the most primitive hermitage at Mt. Irenaeus and it’s about a ten minute walk from nearly all the other buildings. I like to visit there. It’s like visiting God’s own house. I went inside, read the reflection book which contains the thoughts of the dozens of people who have written reflections of their stay at Mt. Irenaeus. Then I sat in a soft chair near the center of the cabin and in no time I was asleep. I slept in this place for almost forty minutes. It must have been what I needed. I’ll be back to La Posada but I carry her in my heart wherever I go.
La Posada is symbolic of the place where Jesus was born. It seems fitting that this small hermitage named for the birthplace of Christ would be one of my favorite haunts.
Sunday thoughts
Today I made my weekly trip to Mt. Irenaeus. It was a lovely morning and when I first arrived I met Br. Kevin who is a good friend. He was walking toward the House of Peace and after dropping off some groceries for brunch I accompanied Kevin up the path toward the chapel. As we walked I could see overripe elderberries hanging from their bushes. Kevin and I talked about how he had prepared elderberry preserves last year, but not this year.
Once inside the chapel I spotted many familiar faces. Several present were members of our St. Irenaeus Secular Franciscan fraternity. Others were parents of St. Bonaventure alumni and others were Mountain regulars. Four of those present were students from nearby Houghton College. A Houghton alumni member who currently is on the faculty of Daemen College in Buffalo and me the spouse of a Houghton graduate. Amazingly there were more Houghton students than St. Bonaventure students.
Mass began and our celebrant, Fr. Lou McCormick, OFM led us in the opening song. The readings were very powerful for me today. Especially the second reading from James. A familiar quote of “faith without works,” was part of that reading and that got me paying attention a bit more. Fr. Lou’s homily on the readings and in particular the gospel caused me to see where I’d been in an error lately. I hadn’t been picking up my cross and following Christ. I’d been complaining a bit more than necessary about a situation where I believe I’d been wronged, but complaining no longer seems to work, at least in that situation so I have to pick up my cross and follow. The Serenity Prayer has a line about “wisdom to know the difference,” and today’s readings and homily helped me to see and know that difference.
After brunch and an extended visit with the Houghton students I wandered back up the hill toward the labyrinth and walked it very mindfully. I really tried to stay in the moment and be cognizant of what I was doing. After my contemplative walk I took a nap on one of the benches near the labyrinth. I had a sense of peace as I walked and later drove down from the Mountain. Merton’s prayer was with me as I walked and it continues to be with me at times. “My Lord God I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead…” Yet, I continue to walk the road which much like the labyrinth continues to twist and turn.
Those are my thoughts this day and into the night. I’m looking forward to working with the students again this week. I’m surprised and challenged by their excitement. I’m challenged by the graduate classes I’m involved with at St. Bonaventure too. I cannot imagine a schedule that could be more full. I’m almost overwhelmed at times.
Holy is His Name
I love this song by John Michael Talbot. In fact as I listened to it Sunday morning on my drive over to Mt. Irenaeus I could not stop crying. The gift of tears is wonderful at times. It is such a lovely song I’m including it for you to listen too. Maybe it’s just what you need right now. I haven’t stopped listening either. I fell asleep listening to it last night on Youtube.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aYecuDlDYM]
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
And my spirit exalts in God my savior
For he has looked with mercy on my lowliness
And my name will be forever exalted.
For the mighty God has done great things for me
An his mercy will reach from age to ageAnd holy, holy, holy is His name.
He has mercy in every generation
He has revealed His power and His glory
He has cast down the mighty in their arrogance
And has lifted up the meek and the lowly
He has come to help His servant Israel
He remembered His promise to our fathersAnd holy, holy, holy is His name.
And holy, holy, holy is His name.
Open
Today I was reading Shipwrecked in South Carolina’s “Already Broken.” I’d been thinking about what it means to be open before, but James got me focused again. Openness is a concept which is not expressed much in education, at least I don’t remember my teachers ever directly speaking about the necessity of an open mind, but in fact there can be no learning without it. We are surrounded by openness and upon reflection it doesn’t take much thought to realize that without openness nothing could really exist. A milk glass would be of no use without an opening to hold the milk. A home would have no value without empty spaces in which to live. Autos, trains, planes all require openings and open space for utility. Walls and bulkheads are useful too, but it is the openings and openness which invite us in.
Last week one of my Facebook friends posted a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Every wall is a door.” I hadn’t thought of that at all but a simple quote and an open mind helps me to see that where I might have turned back is actually an invitation to move forward.
Secular thoughts
Lately I’ve read a number of posts on Twitter and some of the more prominent blogs about secularity. Those thoughts along with some of my own have led me to speculate that it is man who has created this division. All that is created is created by a supreme being whether you call that being God, I Am, Yahweh, Allah or whatever sacred name. That which some would name as secular is in fact divine because it was created by humans who didn’t create themselves, but are instead manifestations of the infinite.
The false dichotomy of secular and sacred allows some men to regard what they call secular as lower and therefore un-holy and un-worthy. This allows men to regard each other as less than holy, to regard nature as less than holy and to exploit that which is regarded as secular. Western thought seems permeated with this argument over secular vs. sacred when in simple fact all is sacred. If we really saw all as sacred, how would that impact our decision making. Scientific or so called rational thought is just a sacred as those words written in the most sacred texts. What sets the sacred apart and and who gets to decide what is sacred? We accept what is sacred because somebody else told us it was sacred. But, is it really sacred to us. All life seems sacred to me, even rocks in the field were created. Squirrels, mice, snakes, insects, fish, people, grass are all created. In Franciscan terms they bear the imprint of the Most High.
A blessing
Today I made my way along a number of different roads and routes to Mt. Irenaeus. I haven’t been to the Mountain in a couple of weeks. Last week I found myself in Washington, DC and at a bookstore in Dupont Circle at 11:00 AM. Today, the air was sunny and warm as I pulled off Route 1 in Friendship, New York and turned on to Hydetown Road. I drove very slowly along the the dirt road as I made my way to Mass. Lately I’ve been intentionally driving slower and especially on my way up to Holy Peace Chapel. As the liturgy started and Fr. Dan invited us to listen to the lyrics of Cyprian Consiglio as he sang “This is who you are.” Mass began and I listened to the readings and Fr. Dan’s homily and as rich as all of it was, it was the moment when Fr. Dan related the story of how all were truly welcome in this place. Dan said, that earlier this morning as he had been preparing the chapel for the Eucharist that two members of the Baha’i and Muslim faiths had been here praying and that their presence helped to consecrate this place. He explained that they were neighbors and had been here before. Dan’s complete acceptance of them and their faith tradition reminded me why I drive thirty miles to Mass most Sundays of the year. Thank God for Fr. Dan Riley and for the Franciscan Friars of Holy Peace Friary who open the word of God for us.
God’s will
What is God’s will for me is a thought I’ve often entertained. Today in the mail I got an answer that has the ring of truthfulness to it.
If you want to know what is meant by “God’s will”, this is one way to get a good idea of it. “God’s will” is certainly found in anything that is required of us in order that we may be united with one another in love. …Everything that is demanded of me, in order that I may treat every other person effectively as a human being, “is willed for me by God under the natural law.” …I must learn to share with others their joys, their sufferings, their ideas, their needs, their desires. I must learn to do this not only in the cases of those who are of the same class, the same profession, the same race, the same nation as myself, but when those who suffer belong to other groups, even to groups that are regarded as hostile. If I do this, I obey God. If I refuse to do it, I disobey Him. It is not therefore a matter left open to subjective caprice.
Thomas Merton. New Seeds of Contemplation(New York: New Directions Press, 1961): 76-77.
Brennan on the moor
This Youtube video of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem brings tears to my eyes. I’m proud to be of Irish descent. My Mom raised me that way. Mom’s Irish aunts actually thought that Jesus was Irish. How’s that for ethnocentrism? Today, where I work, dozens of children and most of my co-workers are wearing some green for the day. Many are not Irish, but wear the green because it is St. Patrick’s Day. But it wasn’t always like that. When the Irish first emigrated in droves to the United States, they were not welcome. In fact signs hung in cities that proclaimed, “Irish need not apply.” It’s okay to be Irish today in the United States of America. Only recently we elected our first African-American President. It took African-Americans a bit longer to be accepted and that no doubt had to do with the color of their skin. Americans aren’t alone when it comes to rejecting and persecuting the foreigner or the outsider.
All of this gives me hope that one day we’ll accept everybody that God created and just the way they were created and not how we’d like them to be. That’s my wish and along with that I’d like to share this wonderful Youtube video of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem singing “Brennan on the Moor.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aiKUIm8q_c]
A way forward
My sister sent me a Youtube video which reminded me of the work and writings of John Duns Scotus. I like to remind myself that all theology is theory and that no one really knows what is going on. But, first as a person and then later a person being formed in the Franciscan tradition the idea of a sin centered universe was counter intuitive to me. I have many reasons for saying that, but most of all my own experience dictates that God is love and that love surrounds me and us at all times and does not have to be earned.
Franciscan Spirituality sees the Incarnation as the guarantee of union with God. It is not something to be hoped for or to be looked forward to – it is something, which is happening NOW. God is Love and that Love is our redemption and redemption is not primarily being saved from sin, but is rather the gift of the possibility of openness to the experience of the divine Other in our life. How can it be otherwise when we posit the notion of the divine and human in Jesus? Scotus’s doctrine of the absolute centrality of Love is both timely and profoundly needed by our world. Men and women cry out for an experience of hope in a world which has lost direction – in the teaching of Duns Scotus, Franciscan Spirituality has within its hand that hope-filled experience and the end of that longing. For if God willed the Incarnation from all eternity, then it was always his intention to become part of sinful creation – sin determines the manner of that becoming, but it does not determine the fact that it was going to be….Br. Seamus Mulholland