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Today a group of six Secular Franciscans from our fraternity made a pilgrimage to the Kateri Shrine at Fonda, New York. We got going around 5:15 AM to make the two-hundred-fifty mile trip from our homes to the Kateri Shrine. We got to the shrine in time for Mass. It was an event that had been in our planning for some time. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed our time at the both the Kateri Shrine and later at the nearby Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, New York. We stopped on the way home for a lovely dinner in Pittsford, New York.

I came upon a new song by an American Institution about the war. It’s called “In the News”. It’s worth your time to listen to it. Click here….

Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life reveals just the opposite: that letting go is the real path to freedom.–Sogyal Rinpoche

This quote came from Brother David Steindl-Rast’s Gratefulness.org.

Thank you to those of you who have showered my special request with prayers. I can sense that your prayers have been having a positive effect on the situation that I had been facing. I covet your prayers when you think of it and I’ll try to be attentive to your needs as well. Often in the past several days I’ve thought of the Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” I have a tendency to fret and borrow trouble. Meditating on that small piece of scripture is very powerful.

The blogosphere gets a lot of negative coverage and while that may be true of the politically oriented blogs I am encouraged by the work of bloggers who write about spirituality. Thank you to all who continue to be an inspiration to my life. This weekend I’ll be traveling once again to the Mohawk Valley of New York State for a Secular Franciscan gathering at the Kateri Shrine in Fonda, New York. We will be traveling five hours by car to attend Mass on Sunday morning and then spend some time at the Kateri Shrine and later Auriesville before returning to Western New York. Please pray for our safe journey. Pace e bene!

Today is the feast of the Assumption of Mary. I drove to Mt. Irenaeus to attend Mass this afternoon. I decided forty minutes prior to Mass to make a forty-five minute trip. I arrived a little late having missed the readings and got there in time for most of the homily. Fr. Bob reflected on the history of the feast and his own personal devotion to Our Lady. Fr. Bob said that some contemplatives believe that Marian devotion is the key to contemplation. I hadn’t heard that before and I’ll have to do some more reading and thinking on that. Brother Joe shared about how the “Hail Mary” had helped him weather some negative thinking today. Later as we sat talking before dinner I related how I carried a Franciscan Crown Rosary in my car and last year carried a rosary with me to work every day. I was born on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and so Mary has always figured in my life. My favorite hymn is Ave Maria. The Lady continues to bless and protect me and I’m grateful for her presence.

I’m grateful too for the Friars who welcomed me for dinner tonight. Eating a dinner with them is always a gift that I cherish. Tonight was no exception. I felt as though I were dining with the Lord himself. Brother Joe prepared a lovely dinner complete with Swiss chard and carrots from the garden, a salad and chicken that had been marinated in Coca-Cola. Fr. Dan had prepared a blueberry betty for dessert. Today I was hungry for God and good food and I was well fed. Peace.

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rosary, mary, marian devotion

A friend sent me this link. I hope that you get something out of this meditation.
It hit me right where I needed it. Follow this link…

Reading today’s news I could see where on the eve of a truce Hezbollah had fired 450 rockets into Israel and Israel also seeking to gain an advantage had put more troops into southern Lebanon. Will this sort of peacemaking work? Of course not. It’s simply more of the same. It’s another way of hitting back. I believe the message of Jesus is about radical forgiveness and acceptance. Someone has to absorb the blows of the other in order to end the cycle of violence. They will get hurt in the process because everyone gets hurt in real fighting. My point in relating the story about myself was to illustrate the personal anguish that I endured, often to the point of anger with myself, to stick to my own principles of non-violence. We can’t have His peace until we are peace. That peace came as the result of a community process of sharing and great personal pain.

As Jim Forest states in his web article on peacemaking, “Among the things that Christ did not say in the Sermon on the Mount is, “Blessed are those who prefer peace, wish for peace, await peace, love peace, or praise peace.” He blesses the makers of peace. He requires an active rather than passive role….Unfortunately, for most of us peace is not the Kingdom of God but a slightly improved version of the world we already have. We would like to get rid of conflict without eliminating the factors, spiritual and material, that draw us into conflict.”

If you’d like to read more of what Jim Forest has written in Blessed are the Peacemakers follow this link.

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peacemaking, hezbollah, israel, christ, sermon on the mount

I came upon this quote today on my way to Mass at Mt. Irenaeus. Fr. Lou’s homily mirrored much of what I’ve been writing about this week. I’d never seen this quote from St. Francis before but I immediately loved it.

“Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s Creature. What you are in His sight is what you are and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing you have received..but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” – St. Francis of Assisi

I have a special prayer intention that I’d like some prayer for. If you will pray that God’s will be done in my case then that will be more than sufficient. Thank you for your time and your prayers.

Peace.

In reflecting on my post “Romans 12” and the comments, which are the most any of my posts have ever generated, I feel the need not to clarify but to further examine more of what and how I think. I am attempting not to scapegoat anyone. In dealing with others especially those not like us it’s fairly common to set up false dichotomies. False because they exist only as ways to justify our own egos. We are all children of one creator. We define that creator differently. Even those of us who claim to follow Jesus define him differently. Jesus came to bring Shalom. One of my Franciscan mentors defines biblical justice as “fidelity to the bonds of a relationship.” Shalom encompasses that description of justice.

Jesus’ message is radical. Forgiving one’s enemies is counter intuitive, counter cultural, counter to anything I react to. I have been a victim and the hurt inflicted on me was real. I went through the process of reaction to the attack. I wanted to retaliate, but my convictions, both the words of Mahatma Gandhi and Jesus rang in my head. Every time I wanted to retaliate I realized that if I did I’d be hitting back. I resented myself, I even attacked myself. The hurt I endured in all this eventually resulted in a pulmonary embolism. I had tried everything I knew to receive this person. I told myself I could forgive but never forget. I learned that as long as I held on to the string of never forgetting I was still holding back from the true forgiveness that Jesus asks. Finally I had to completely forgive and forget. I had to practice Romans 12 literally. The person(s) who had harmed me had to receive gifts from me. In my case it was something tangible. I had to provide water and food for my enemy. I had to embrace my enemy and I had to work and live with this person whom I never thought I could work and live with again.

There are times even now when I’m not sure. There are times even now when the wound seems fresh. Yesterday, when my own mother lay in a hospital and the outcome was in doubt this person came to me and told me that he would ensure that my work was done and that I should leave immediately to be with my mother. Tears welled in my eyes as they have many times in the past year. Those tears are the grace of Jesus Christ and the pain and grace are real, because there are many times just like Peter I have denied him. He is faithful. He has never denied me.

May he give you peace.

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forgiveness, jesus, gandhi, peace