Today was a lazy day. Up at 9:30 am and then lounging all day until it was time to head over to Mt. Irenaeus for an Evening of Re-Creation. I’ve grown accustomed to these summer evenings. I wasn’t sure I’d go tonight as family was coming in and with it being the Fourth of July I thought that not many folks would be at the Mountain. Continue reading “The power of intention”
St. Irenaeus
Thursday, June 28 was the feast of St. Irenaeus. Irenaeus has come to have a lot of meaning for me. I am a member of the Mt. Irenaeus community and regularly attend Mass there. I’m also a member of the St. Irenaeus Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order. This week I also came to realize that my wife’s birthday is the same day as the feast of St. Irenaeus. That’s an interesting coincidence.
Prayer of St. Irenaeus
It is not thou that shapest God
it is God that shapest thee.
If thou art the work of God
await the hand of the artist
who does all things in due season.
Offer Him thy heart,
soft and tractable,
and keep the form
in which the artist has fashioned thee.
Let thy clay be moist,
lest thou grow hard
and lose the imprint of his fingers.– St. Irenaeus
Not doing
My day began with Mass at Mt. Irenaeus. While there I met a young man whom I had previously met via the blogosphere. Another positive impact of blogging and reading bloggers in my life. Continue reading “Not doing”
Mystical mountain
Today was a special day. Mom accompanied me to Mass at Mt. Irenaeus. I knew that I’d get a chance to see and perhaps hear once again the lovely voice of Cyprian Consiglio. What I didn’t know until I arrived was that Cyprian would be the celebrant of today’s liturgy. Continue reading “Mystical mountain”
Little friend
My wife spotted a baby rabbit that had wandered onto our patio tonight. She asked me to call our daughter and together the three of us enjoyed a moment with this lovely little visitor. He was later killed by one of the neighborhood cats. I’m not a cat lover, but I know that this is just the way of predators. Nonetheless I am saddened by the passing of this lovely little creature who bore the imprint of the Most High. I suppose the lesson in all this is the impermanence of all creation. Still I’m saddened at the passing of our little friend. There is terrorism in the world and this is one more example of that. I love all creatures even cats and can’t bear to harm any. [googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=231693131621462857]
What Dad’s really want…
I got a poster mailed to me this week from the Peace Alliance. I used to think that our generation was going to be the one to end war. We had a lot of idealism in the 1960’s and 1970’s. We’d lived through Vietnam with its lies and subterfuge and we were seasoned. Continue reading “What Dad’s really want…”
The lilies of the field
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin
As I turned onto Route 1 in the hamlet of Nile on my way to Mt. Irenaeus I was greeted with fields of flowers blooming everywhere. There were phlox, daisies and buttercups and other varieties that I cannot name. There were flowers everywhere in the fields along the road this morning on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Continue reading “The lilies of the field”
Business for Human Beings
Ubuntu is the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. It’s a unique and timely concept. Ubuntu’s slogan, “Linux for human beings,” is an extension of the concept. Imagine such a radical concept as an active concern for all humanity and even the world itself. It almost sounds like a concept advanced by St. Francis of Assisi. Continue reading “Business for Human Beings”
We are all one
St. Francis of Assisi saw all creation as brother and sister and bearing the imprint of the Most High. That’s an abstract concept and not easily seen or even practiced. Tonight I heard a fellow speak of DNA and how we’re all comprised of the same elements. Not long ago while reading a book by Thich Nhat Hanh he spoke of looking deeply and seeing ancestors in each of us and all of us. Continue reading “We are all one”
Benediction at Mt. Irenaeus
This is a video I recently edited with Kino and have uploaded to Google video. I am experimenting here, but it also gives you a very small impression of Mt. Irenaeus. This is Fr. Lou McCormick, OFM performing benediction for the St. Irenaeus Secular Franciscan Fraternity in December of 2005.
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2948652911478376347]