Forty-nine years ago, my Mom had to go to the hospital. I was six years old then and really don’t know what I was thinking of. I knew we were going to have a new baby at our house because my Mom told me, but that’s about all I knew. I didn’t know why my Mom had to go to the hospital. Complexity is lost on six year olds.
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Christmas blessing
This comes from another site and its one of my favorite blessings. I hope it gives you a sense of what I believe is truly important at Christmas.
A Franciscan Christmas Blessing for Justice and Peace
May God bless you with discomfort…
at easy answers, hard hearts,
half-truths ,and superficial relationships.
May God bless you so that you may live
from deep within your heart
where God’s Spirit dwells.May God bless you with anger…
at injustice, oppression,
and exploitation of people.
May God bless you so that you may
work for justice, freedom, and peace.May God bless you with tears…
to shed for those who suffer from pain,
rejection, starvation and war.
May God bless you so that
you may reach out your hand
to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.And may God bless you with
enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference
in this world, in your neighborhood,
so that you will courageously try
what you don’t think you can do, but,
in Jesus Christ you’ll have all the strength necessary.
Biblical socialism
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.- Acts 4:32-35
Gratitude
Tonight our Secular Franciscan Fraternity hosted a dinner for the friars at Mt. Irenaeus. The core community at Mt. Irenaeus are five Friars of Holy Name of Jesus Province who live and work at Mt. Irenaeus. Without their presence in our lives I doubt few of us would have become seculars. But, with their animation and encouragement we have grown from a dream to a reality and tonight was a chance to honor them with a dinner at the House of Peace at Mt. Irenaeus.
Are you the one?
Much of our area was blanketed with snow overnight. Add to that a mix of freezing drizzle and you have the recipe for some slippery driving. I wasn’t sure I could make it up the hill to Mt. Irenaeus this morning. In fact I got stuck in the slippery snow just yards from the top. I called the Friars and Brother Joe came with the four-wheel drive truck and plow to pull me out. We couldn’t find a hook on my PT Cruiser to which the tow-rope could be attached. He tried to use his plow to make the road less slippery and I backed my car all the way down the hill to make a second go at it. I made it all the way up on the second try thanks in no small measure to Brother Joe cleaning up the road. I made it to Mass about twenty minutes late. I arrived in time for the homily. Today’s homily was about the gospel.
The War
I read a well written post this morning by PlainFoolish who was and is directly effected by this war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I also read that the Democratic congress caved in and sent President Bush another $189 billion of our tax dollars to fund the slaughter. We have become a one party system. We have the Republicans and Democrats who put up shows and scream at each other on talk shows, but neither truly represents the American people. They do however represent disaster capitalism and AIPAC.
Peace is every step..
I came across this video while searching for peace videos on Youtube. There is some footage of Claude Anshin Thomas of whom I wrote the other day. There is some of Thich Nhat Hanh and others who are committed to peace. I am committing what’s left of my life to stopping war and working for … Read more
Peace Train
I’ve always liked this song and today it seems more poignant than every. Peace to everyone even those who love and worship war. Peace to the weapon makers! Peace to those who hate! Peace in the season of the Prince of Peace! May all the weapons be turned into plowshares.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wEctHyuc0]
Birthday thoughts
Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I read just yesterday that the feast began in 1854. Protestants and the Eastern Church don’t recognize the feast, but it’s dogma in the Roman Church. It’s too bad that the dogma of more Christian churches doesn’t include the Sermon on the Mount and the phrase, “love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you.” Somehow we’ve managed to excise that from dogma. It’s perfectly okay to kill your enemies as long as you observe dogma. The mother of Christ will always hold a special place in my heart, “the lady” as I call her always seems to intercede and there can be no doubt that Mary’s presence in the Roman Catholic Church reaffirms the sacred feminine, even if women are not allowed to be priests as they should be. Alas, that is more dogma.
Countdown
I came across this video in reading today and it is eloquent. A hat tip to Keith Olbermann, a man who speaks truth to power on a regular basis. I wish we had few more Olberman like individuals in the halls of government. For over six years we have to listen to exaggerated rhetoric about the threat war and more specifically nuclear war by a President and Vice-President who have never shrunk from hyperbole when identifying these threats.