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Today’s Gospel from St. Mark states, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” That’s a tall order. That’s every creature not just every man or woman. How do I proclaim the Gospel to every creature? This means to me that the incarnational presence of Christ and the Gospel is for every living thing. Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is the firstborn of all creation.

St. Francis saw all of creation as interdependent. Francis referred to Brother Fire and Sister Water in his writings. Can we expand this to Brother Climate or Sister Petroleum? How can we be good stewards of all creation? Is this what today’s Gospel is saying to me today? How do we live in relationship to all that surrounds us?

There is a lot of concern about fuel prices in the United States today. What is fair? Are we exploiting resources? Are we exploiting our brothers and sisters? How is it that one country consumes 80% of the world’s resources? Is that gospel living? Can we live more simply so that others can simply live? Peace.

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gospel, petroleum, creation, Christ, St. Francis

Paula has a picture and thoughts about the Holocaust. We need to always remember the Holocaust and the kind of thinking that led to it. Much of this same thinking is prevalent in the world today. The dehumanization of races and people through the trivialization of their suffering. The complete lack of humanity of man toward our fellow men continues unabated in Palestine, Darfur, Iraq and elsewhere. All of these situations are calls to conversion. St. Francis was forever changed by his encounter with the leper. Who are the lepers in our lives? More Light: Holocaust Memorial Day

Peace.

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Holocaust, Darfur, Iraq, dehumanization

“To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgment, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of who we are and of our true value. Approval cannot be trusted. It can be withdrawn at any time no matter what our track record has been. It is as nourishing of real growth as cotton candy. Yet many of us spend our lives pursuing it.” –Rachel Naomi Remen

This quote came my way today and it was just what I needed to read. I hope it will bless your day also. Peace.

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Rachel Naomi Remen

I was asked to do the first reading today at Mass. It is one of my favorite readings. I’m often impressed with the timeliness of all of the daily readings. “There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles,and they were distributed to each according to need.” Christian conservatives and politicians today would say this sounds like another entitlement program. It is just that. Everyone is entitled to the love and mercy of God. However, this is more than an entitlement program there is presence here that some government programs lack. This reading is a call to presence with and for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. It is a call to be mother, father, sister and brother to everyone.

More and more I see wounded people who are crying out to be loved and cared for at every level of need that people can have. It may be money for some. It may be food for others. It may be presence for others. Imagine if we really lived this way so that there was no needy person among us. Imagine living as mother, father, sister and brother to all creation. Pope Paul VI said, “If you want peace, work for justice.” Seeing all creation as brother and sister is seeing us all interdependent and connected. All the weapons systems in the world cannot bring peace. Living justly thus insuring there are no needy among us will bring peace. Peace.

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peace, justice, christian, conservative, interdependence

While I was at Mt. Saviour Monastery this week I purchased a book. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I will soon. I recommend it to anyone who reads this blog. It is Illuminated Life: Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light. It’s author is one of my favorites, Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB. The books is full of wonderful insights and wisdom from the Desert Fathers and Mothers. One of my favorite insights from the book is: “Religion is about ritual, about morals, about systems of thought, all of them good but all of them incomplete. Spirituality is about coming to consciousness of the sacred. It is in that consciousness that perspective comes, that peace comes. It is in that consciousness that a person comes to wholeness.” Peace.

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spirituality, religion, joan chittister, monastic wisdom

Yesterday, we arrived in Montreal, Quebec for a couple of days vacation. I’d never been here before and neither had my wife. It is a lovely city and it’s filled with much to see. The people are very friendly and thankfully bilingual. We walked 13.5 miles today according to my pedometer. Montreal is a city steeped in history and a city that has many churches. We visited a couple of those churches today. One of the churches we visited was the Notre Dame Basilica. The famous singer Celine Dion was married in this church. It’s beautiful and I recommend it to anyone visiting Montreal. We also visited Mary, Queen of the World Basilica. Peace.

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montreal, notre dame

On Tuesday morning I spied a bumper sticker that made me look twice. It’s timely commentary and I ordered four of them. If you’d like a bumper sticker like mine here is the link, On Earth Peace.

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peace, bumper sticker

I’ve returned from two days of retreat at Mt. Saviour Monastery. It was a rich experience. They have a great bookstore but much of what I read wasn’t really what I needed. I just wanted to come again and experience the quiet. After spending a couple days or more on a retreat one could easily remark that one has to return to the real world. Benedictines and Franciscans have much in common and one of those aspects is the absence of dualism in their thinking. Francis and Benedict saw God and goodness in the world that surrounded them. There is and was no dualism for either of these men. I’m more familiar with St. Francis, but in nearly all cases Francis spoke of all creation as brother and sister. This is the Incarnation. The presence of Jesus Christ in all things created. Mt. Saviour and other holy places are holy then for me because they really represent the truth. What I can bring back to the valley from Mount Saviour and from Mt. Irenaeus is the interdependence of all creation.

As societies became less and less Christ centered there was a concomitant movement away from the incarnation into a dualism of holy vs worldly. In actual fact this dichotomy is a lie, but it is a lie that has been practiced for so long that it is perceived as truth. There was a time in history when workers stopped for the Angelus bells to pray at midday. In monasteries and other communities that pray the divine office these prayer and work cycles continue to be practiced. In fact work is a part of all these prayers. Benedict and Francis both saw work as a necessity for their followers. In these communities work as seen as a necessary part of prayer. Work is not seen as an end for its own sake. When work becomes an end in itself, money is valued more than the laborers. Monasteries. friaries, convents and other retreat centers are then again models of the real world. A world of work and prayer. Peace.

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monastery, lectio, prayer, dualism, benedictine, franciscan

Steve Bogner has a post on his blog, Way of the Cross-Jesus Body is Buried. At the end of his post he states, “What is it in my life that keeps me entombed?” I’ve been thinking on that one for a day and a half and it is still making me think. I’ll take that question with me to Mt. Saviour and maybe I’ll bring it home again. There has been something drawing me lately and I can’t put my finger on it. Steve’s post really resonated with me. There is something there.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I would or could do this summer. Being in education I have a liberty few enjoy. My life changes during July and August each year. I have a different schedule and really I can take five or six weeks off. Last year I chose to work. This year there is something itching within me to spend more time in a more contemplative pursuit. What is it that I am being called to? Am I imagining this call? I’ve consulted others. How better could I use my time. Fear has me entombed. Who am I really? Whose am I really?

More silence in my life has left me with more questions and yet I am drawn to even more silence. Peace.

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silence, contemplative, vocation