prayer – Page 2 – The Future is Open

May 19, 2020

A day of prayer for Covid-19

We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, here, and in all your churches throughout the world, and we bless you, for by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
St. Francis of Assisi

Two years ago I was in Assisi with a group of United States Veterans as part of a Franciscan pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. That morning the friar leading our pilgrimage celebrated Mass at the Portiuncola. It was a peak experience for me and other members of our group. Now, two years later as we are reeling from the effects of this global pandemic those days come into sharper focus. Pope Francis has designated the entire month of May as a time of prayer for relief from Covid-19. Fr. Kevin Mullen, OFM who is the provincial of Holy Name of Jesus Province of the Order of Friars Minor has designated today as a special day of prayer.

Therefore I’m joining Franciscans and others in a special day of prayer. The crucifix below is a San Damiano Cross I received on the pilgrimage.

May 13, 2020

Living in the present moment

I was listening to a Super Soul podcast with Oprah Winfrey interviewing Eckhert Tolle and as they were talking about the present moment I had a helpful insight. In the midst of all this stress and daily projection and worry I haven’t been living in the present moment. Sometimes words are just words until they come to have meaning in my life. Today was one of those days when the present moment became more than two words. A chap once said to me, “if you were to ask God what time it is what do you think he would say.” I said, “I don’t know.” My friend said, “he’d say it was now.” Many years later the thought of the conversation returned and I came to appreciate the power of now.

The past and future are imaginary. The only thing that matters is now. All we have is now. Right now I’m okay. Earlier today I had a chance to visit one of my favorite quiet spots in nearby Ellicottville. I visited Nannen Arboretum. It’s a very contemplative setting. It was a beautiful day.

May 11, 2020

St. Jude

I have a statue of St. Jude that’s been mine since I was a young boy. I had lost track of it for years until five years ago when we were moving my Mom to assisted living. Since then the statue has returned to my life and and currently lives most of the time next to my laser printer.

I was drawn to the statue as a young boy because I mistook St. Jude for St. Patrick. You notice that Jude is wearing green and so naturally as an Irish-American I assumed that if you wore green you were usually Irish. My Mom and Dad purchased the statue while we were visiting the Catholic Union Store in Buffalo. It was after I got the statue home that I learned it’s true identity. Then I began to learn that Jude is the patron saint of lost causes. From that time until now I’ve given thoughts and prayers to St. Jude when there was an impossible cause in my path. The Coronavirus, Covid-19 and our federal government’s inept response to it are all impossible causes that I’ve given to St. Jude. The statue has survived about sixty years and that’s remarkable because it’s made of plaster. You’ll notice that the flame that once adorned Jude’s head has not survived the test of time. I continue to hope and pray that St. Jude, the Holy Spirit and other positive forces can change the course of the pandemic or at least our response to it.

May 10, 2020

Expressing doubt is normal and healthy

Today I posted a picture of my rosary on Instagram and posed a rhetorical question about the effectiveness of that ancient prayer. The only way I learn is by experience and asking questions. That led one of my followers to respond that my family was healthy which indeed they are. I’m grateful for that. This month Pope Francis has asked us to pray the rosary everyday and pray that Mary intercede for us with the pandemic. I’m inclined to be a skeptic of rote prayers and particularly the rosary but I’ve been praying the rosary everyday since early March. It’s been part of a larger effort to seek and do God’s will. I usually recite the rosary when I’m walking. It’s a walking meditation for me but being a curious guy I wonder does it really accomplish anything. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Mary. After all I was born on a Marian feast and blue is my favorite color. I believe that doubt is integral to faith. They’re two sides of the same coin.

As Jesus was dying on the cross he is supposed to have said, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” If the son of God can express doubt then isn’t that a sign of spiritual health. I hope so. Is everything so certain in your walk of faith that you don’t question the effectiveness of your prayer life? My life has been a series of conversion experiences. Dark nights and soul searching followed by metanoia.

May 6, 2020

The Mouths of the Liars

Psalm 63 is one of my favorites. It is a psalm of David when he was in the Desert of Judah. I often turn to it when I am troubled and read the verses over and over. It is a tonic for me. While reading it the other day I came to meditate on its final verse, “the mouths of the liars will be silenced.” Thousands are dying each day of Covid-19 and yet some politicians, pundits and citizens are spreading misinformation designed to create doubt of its deadliness. Some of these people are driven by greed. Others believe they are immune. Some see quarantine, lock down and social distancing as anathema. Other see these new regulations as infringement on their civil liberties. Whatever their beef they are spreading lies and falsehoods which put the lives of everyone in danger.

Many years ago I read this quote from Hebrews.

The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

If Hebrews is correct then perhaps there is power in Psalm 63 too and the mouths of the liars will be silenced. In the meantime, wear a mask, keep your distance, pray for each other.

May 3, 2020

Help my unbelief

One of my friends read yesterday’s “Morning Thoughts” post and didn’t scold me for not having faith but instead said he was praying to help his unbelief. Questioning the existence of God is part of an mature relationship with a power greater than myself. A careful reading of the bible provides numerous cases where prophets despaired and called God out. My friend said he was following the example of Pope Francis and was praying the rosary every day in the month of May. I’ve been doing that too, but God wasn’t answering my prayers with the speed and accuracy I had been hoping for. God never does. One of my favorite biblical writers is David and throughout the psalms David battles with God. Jonah ran away and Job battled despair and depression.

“Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?”
Job 3:11

Sharing your despair with others is actually the secret to emotional and spiritual maturity. We’re as sick as our secrets. Finding someone we can confide in and share our pain is the touchstone of progress. Do I see God in the sunshine, flowers, trees and the life that surrounds me? Yes, I do. Will I continue to pray the rosary even though I don’t see any results? Yes, because when I’m praying I’m not overthinking. Enjoy your day.

April 16, 2020

The Spirit of the Lord

“Jesus called his disciples to create a new transformed Earth, a kindom of equality and inclusivity, where all men and women could live together in justice, mercy, and peace. His consciousness of the whole evoked a genuine revolution in cosmic and social relations.”

— A Hunger for Wholeness: Soul, Space, and Transcendence by Ilia Delio, OSF

Contrast this spirit with what we are witnessing around us each day as those on the margins suffer most from the Covid-19 pandemic. This is just one more example of why we don’t deserve to be called a Christian nation or even a moral nation. To their credit many of our states and nation’s governors are doing their best to bridge the gap. Nonetheless folks are falling through the cracks in a nation where money is valued more than people. The paycheck protection program is one more shining example of how our leaders bail out Wall Street and stick it to Main Street. The funding is already depleted. Contrast our own national priorities with those other nations around the globe who are putting their citizens first.

Some politicians are calling for the establishment of universal basic income for all citizens. Not surprisingly some say this would incentivize the less fortunate to stay home and not seek work. These politicians have lifetime pensions which are their own universal basic income and not the $2,000 dollars a month that’s being proposed but salary and benefits in excess of $174,000 per year.

We always have lots of money to bail out Wall Street or start another war but nothing for the poor souls in our midst. These are the folks who call themselves conservative and cloak their greed in patriotism and pseudo-religious trappings.

‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Matthew 15:8

April 7, 2020

Peanut butter and jelly

Almost everyday for much of my life I’ve had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my lunch. It’s a taste I acquired in elementary school at St. Pius X in Delevan, New York. Back then the bread was white and the jelly was almost always grape. Later in life while working at Franklinville Central School my coworkers marvelled at the lack of diversity in my lunch choices. While they enjoyed ham and cheese, egg salad and other choices I had PB&J. The choice of bread varied and the brand varied from time to time but my favorite brand since childhood has remained Monks Bread. Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, New York is about an hour’s drive from where i live and when we are no longer social distancing it will be one of my first visits. The Abbey was established in 1951 and one of the early Trappist brothers was a former US Navy baker. He began making bread for the community and in time they decided to marked the bread to stores in the area. As a boy I remember they had three flavors. White, wheat and cinnamon raisin.

My first visit to the monastery was in January 1979 and I’ve been returning ever since. My last visit was March 9 of this year. Today I ordered three loaves of Monks bread for my lunch meals. My favorite is sunflower but I also like multigrain and wheat. The monks make a number of other flavors and in recent years have begun to make biscotti in a number of different flavors. My favorite biscotti is dark chocolate. Though I cannot go there whenever I open the package of bread for lunch the aroma reminds me of the monastery and its prayerful presence. If you’ve never been there I encourage you to visit when its okay to visit people again. You won’t be disappointed.