Category: Uncategorized

I’ve gone back to using Centos Enterprise Linux on my notebook. I enjoyed a nearly two month experience with Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake. I’m impressed by the Ubuntu community and how well they support their users. However, I’ve been attempting to do some development work with MySQL and PHP and I just couldn’t get Apache, MySQL and PHP to work well on Dapper Drake. I downloaded the Centos 4.3 DVD with Azureus burned the disk and performed the installation. I must say it’s nice to be back in a more Red Hat centric world.

I really enjoyed Dapper Drake but most of my Linux experience has been with Red Hat, Fedora, Centos and Mandrake. Centos is a great distribution if you haven’t tried it. I started using it a year ago and I’ve really come to like it. I must say that Dapper Drake recognized my Intell 2200BG wireless card right out of the box. With Centos I had to download the ipw2200-firmware-2.2-5.at.noarch.rpm driver to get my wireless card to operate. Centos has their own “up2date” libraries and I’m using Dag Wieers yum and apt repositories to download and install extra software.

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centos, ubuntu, linux, php, mysql, apache, intel 2200

Paula’s latest post got me to thinking of one of my favorite poems. It was written by a narcotics addict, Francis Thompson.

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat – and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet –
“All things betray thee, who betrayest Me

Read the whole poem here…

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God, spirit, heaven, journey, recovery

“At the root of all war is fear: not so much the fear men have of one another as the fear they have of everything. It is not merely that they do not trust one another; they do not trust even themselves. If they are not sure when someone else may turn around and kill them, they are still less sure when they may turn around and kill themselves. They cannot trust anything, because they have ceased to believe in God.”–Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

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war, fear, merton

“There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force which really changes our lives from within. And yet the same instinct tells us that this change is a recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in ourselves. To be born again is not to become somebody else, but to become ourselves.”

Thomas Merton. “Christian Humanism” in Love and Living. Edited by Naomi Burton Stone and Brother Patrick Hart. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1979: Page 196

I read this story a number of years ago and just thought of it again tonight after getting an email from a regular reader of this blog. ShipWreckedInSC thought I was taking life too seriously and he is right. I forgot who’s in charge. I do that at least twice a week and sometimes more depending on events.

“A water-bearer carries two large pots on a yoke across his shoulders up the hill from the river to his master’s house each day. One has a crack and leaks half its water out each day before arriving at the house. The other pot is perfect and always delivered a full portion of water after the long walk from the river.

Finally, after years of arriving half-empty and feeling guilty, the cracked pot apologized to the water-bearer. It was miserable. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t accomplish what the perfect pot did.”

The water-bearer says, “What do you have to apologize for?”

“After all this time, I still only deliver half my load of water. I make more work for you because of my flaw.”

The man smiled and told the pot. “Take note of all the lovely flowers growing on the side of the path where I carried you. The flowers grew so lovely because of the water you leaked. There are no flowers on the perfect pot’s side.”

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spirituality, imperfection

It’s hard not to be worried today. The Middle East is in carnage thanks in part to extremists in Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah is fueled by Iran and of course Israel is our darling. Newt Gingrich, a man who never wore a uniform is calling it World War III. Don’t you love chickenhawks like Newt? People who are too afraid to put on a uniform all too willing to send you and/or your children into harm’s way. People like Gingrich should be incarcerated temporarily until cooler heads prevail. Christian extremists who populate much of the American right-wing think this is the beginning of Armageddon. They are so full of themselves and their heresy that they perceive it as reality.

It was against this backdrop that I dragged myself to Mt. Irenaeus this morning. I was thinking, “Where the hell is Jesus?” in all this. The Prince of Peace seemed like a mockery at best on mornings like this. I was really down and just sat in the back of the chapel only humming the hymns. I just couldn’t get into it. During the homily I kept Fr. Dan Riley, OFM kept referring to “Murray”. Murray Bodo, OFM was sitting probably ten feet from me in Holy Peace Chapel this morning. I got a chance to visit with him after Mass and before brunch. He is currently at the Franciscan Institute at nearby St. Bonaventure University. We shared a couple of stories and it was wonderful to meet a great Franciscan author.

Meeting Murray helped to overshadow the carnage in the Middle East and the war drumming by the chickenhawks of the Republican party. They are not interested in making peace. They are interested only in making political hay for the fall elections. They are truly sick. They are the Antichrist. I hope folks can see through their sinister and self serving agenda and send them packing.

Peace.

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murray bodo, franciscan, middle east, war, chickenhawk

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.–Albert Camus

One of my favorite stories in scripture is from Genesis 18:1-4. “The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: “Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree.” This event is depicted in Rublev’s famous Icon of the Trinity at Mamre.

The trinity frequently enters my life. They always come in the person or persons of older members of my community. This never happens in a church and yet their presence is always deeply spiritual. Look around you and see if you can see this trinitarian presence in your life. Who are the angels that come onto your plain and under your oaks? Peace.

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Abraham, Mamre, Rublev

Since I attended the Holy Name Province Peace and Justice retreat at St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in May of this year I receive regular emails from Pace e bene. Today’s email contained a link to become a partner with Pace’ e bene.

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nonviolence, peace

Last night I listened to Carol Kenyon, OSF share from her heart on the topic of “Our Name is Love.” Sr. Carol is a lovely woman who is one of four members of the Allegany Franciscan Order that lives in a ritiro at the motherhouse. Carol has a bright smile and is always so loving that I feel like I’m the presence of a real saint. Some of her talk was drawn from the work of Ilia Delio and parts from the Gospel and other sources. Ritiro means “a place apart.” It’s very Franciscan to look for a place apart. Francis frequently withdrew to the mountains near Assisi. Jesus withdrew to the deserts and the mountains for a time to be with God. Sr. Carol said that one of the ways to be more loving was to spend more time in prayer.

I liked her whole talk, but the parts that really resonated for me were ego and forgiveness. It has been said that “EGO” means “easing God out.” Keeping our lives centered in God and not in and on ourselves is the way to live a more loving life. The importance of forgiveness is often overlooked in daily life. No one is perfect, yet often I spend too much time judging others. I’m judging them harshly because I’m really being tough on myself. The secret to forgiveness lies in forgiving and accepting ourselves. Forgiveness of others requires spiritual strength. Gandhi said, “the weak can never forgive, forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” In the Lord’s Prayer we hear, “forgive us our trespasses, just as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In the Sermon on the Mount, “blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” Help me to remember these truths. Peace.

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love, mercy, forgiveness