This feast day is definitely one of the highlights of my year! Since the Holy Spirit transformed my life, and brought me to an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, I have loved celebrating this feast!
There is a scripture passage from today's liturgy that I can't help but feel is in need of a little expansion in our day. St. Paul tells us that "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit." Today, we toss the verb "say" around pretty loosely, partly because it has become so common to say things we don't fully mean or understand. Examples could fill a book! Of course, anyone can say any words at all. I believe what St. Paul must mean is that no one can profess "Jesus is my Lord" except by faith which is the gift of grace that can only come by the Holy Spirit's movement in an open, humble heart.
We're entirely too little proud of ourselves to submit to the Spirit's transforming power. "Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of Your love! Lord, send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth!"
Create me anew, O Spirit!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Holy Week
A post previously written but not posted:
The Lenten season has provided so many opportunities for growth. It's amazing to me that, no matter how long we walk with the Lord, there are always so many new and challenging and exciting things to learn about our wonderful, loving God, who continually calls us deeper.
Sunday evening after getting home from our party following our final Way of the Cross for this Lenten season, I sat down to pray the Office of Readings for the day. I don't know if it's that Palm Sunday is typically so busy that I haven't had time to pray this "hour" previously, or if it just struck me afresh this time. But the idea from St. Andrew of Crete that so struck me was this image of should running enthusiastically to meet Jesus on his entry into Jerusalem. Instead of laying down palm branches or garments along his way, St. Andrew suggests that we should lay down our very selves in supporting Christ. This is only way I can now smooth the way for Christ's triumphal entry into the lives of those who do not yet have personal experience of his unfathomable love and glory.
I find that I get so wrapped up in aspects of my life to which I'm too attached, which I don't want to give up. My Lenten journey always reveals this to me in some way.
The Lenten season has provided so many opportunities for growth. It's amazing to me that, no matter how long we walk with the Lord, there are always so many new and challenging and exciting things to learn about our wonderful, loving God, who continually calls us deeper.
Sunday evening after getting home from our party following our final Way of the Cross for this Lenten season, I sat down to pray the Office of Readings for the day. I don't know if it's that Palm Sunday is typically so busy that I haven't had time to pray this "hour" previously, or if it just struck me afresh this time. But the idea from St. Andrew of Crete that so struck me was this image of should running enthusiastically to meet Jesus on his entry into Jerusalem. Instead of laying down palm branches or garments along his way, St. Andrew suggests that we should lay down our very selves in supporting Christ. This is only way I can now smooth the way for Christ's triumphal entry into the lives of those who do not yet have personal experience of his unfathomable love and glory.
I find that I get so wrapped up in aspects of my life to which I'm too attached, which I don't want to give up. My Lenten journey always reveals this to me in some way.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Lenten catch-up
Wow, I haven't entered anything new here for a while! Been too busy living, I guess. I haven't had time to ride, either!
Jubilee's season has been going great. What a wonderful Way of the Cross service we're blessed to offer to the parishes in the area. I may get to experience most of it from the congregation's perspective on Friday, as I'm fighting off a cold and doubt my voice will be up to snuff, barring Divine intervention in the next 20 hours. I'll need to be there anyway, to play on the one guitar piece that's part of the program, so I may as well prayerfully immerse myself in these wonderful reflections and prayers from an entirely different perspective.
The weekend before last, we got to share this service with dear friends from our time in Biloxi in the first half of the 80's. Three and a half years ago, when our youngest daughter was in the hospital giving birth to her oldest child, a familiar looking person strode through the door into the hospital lobby. We hadn't seen Carol and Phil in 8 years, only twice in the preceeding 20, and never outside of Mississippi. Their daughter and son-in-law had moved here, and they were also soon welcoming a new grandchild. We've managed to visit together whenever they've been in town in the ensuing years. This dear couple was part of the faith community that was so instrumental in forming my relationship with my Lord. We won't be seeing them locally again, as their daughter and her family are moving away, but we're looking forward to visiting our friends in their home in Colorado, where they now live. These several years of intermittent time with them was such a wonderful gift, and their affirmation of the power of my current ministry is all the more precious because we know they've walked closely with Christ for so long.
Oh, our CD turned out great!
This week has offered another wonderful set of blessings. Our associate pastor, Fr. Satish Joseph, used to travel the length and breadth of India offering parish missions with a close priest friend of his, who now resides and ministers in St. Louis. So this week the two of them were reunited, offering their first parish mission in the U.S. here. Next week they'll do another in Fr. Rajpaul's parish. The churches (of our two partner parishes) were packed with 500-700 people each night. The praise and worship was wonderful, the teaching inspiring, and the Holy Spirit was clearly at work. The theme was "Hakuna Mattata." Sounds unlikely, I know. But it was about looking at Christ through the eyes of St. Paul, a man who was in prison when he wrote about the joys of being a prisoner for Christ. (I'm pretty sure they didn't have cable T.V. or workout areas in first century Roman prisons.) What a great message. Once I encounter Christ, as Saul did on the road to Damascus, the events of my life are never measured the same way, and I can find joy in the midst of whatever else life brings, through Him who strengthens me. Setting aside all of the credentials and credits in which the world puts so much faith, we count them as rubbish (Fr. Rajpaul implied the actual Greek word St. Paul used is more like excrement) compared to what Jesus has done for us.
Also, we had a fabulous Catholic men's conference last Saturday. Cincinnati has had 15 of them; I've been to 12 or 13. This one was maybe the best ever; at least top 2.
Well, that's the biggest part of what I've been up to during this season of grace and reconciliation, besides striving to walk closely with Christ each day. May He continue to bless this Lenten season, that our celebration of our resurrection with Him may be complete!
Jubilee's season has been going great. What a wonderful Way of the Cross service we're blessed to offer to the parishes in the area. I may get to experience most of it from the congregation's perspective on Friday, as I'm fighting off a cold and doubt my voice will be up to snuff, barring Divine intervention in the next 20 hours. I'll need to be there anyway, to play on the one guitar piece that's part of the program, so I may as well prayerfully immerse myself in these wonderful reflections and prayers from an entirely different perspective.
The weekend before last, we got to share this service with dear friends from our time in Biloxi in the first half of the 80's. Three and a half years ago, when our youngest daughter was in the hospital giving birth to her oldest child, a familiar looking person strode through the door into the hospital lobby. We hadn't seen Carol and Phil in 8 years, only twice in the preceeding 20, and never outside of Mississippi. Their daughter and son-in-law had moved here, and they were also soon welcoming a new grandchild. We've managed to visit together whenever they've been in town in the ensuing years. This dear couple was part of the faith community that was so instrumental in forming my relationship with my Lord. We won't be seeing them locally again, as their daughter and her family are moving away, but we're looking forward to visiting our friends in their home in Colorado, where they now live. These several years of intermittent time with them was such a wonderful gift, and their affirmation of the power of my current ministry is all the more precious because we know they've walked closely with Christ for so long.
Oh, our CD turned out great!
This week has offered another wonderful set of blessings. Our associate pastor, Fr. Satish Joseph, used to travel the length and breadth of India offering parish missions with a close priest friend of his, who now resides and ministers in St. Louis. So this week the two of them were reunited, offering their first parish mission in the U.S. here. Next week they'll do another in Fr. Rajpaul's parish. The churches (of our two partner parishes) were packed with 500-700 people each night. The praise and worship was wonderful, the teaching inspiring, and the Holy Spirit was clearly at work. The theme was "Hakuna Mattata." Sounds unlikely, I know. But it was about looking at Christ through the eyes of St. Paul, a man who was in prison when he wrote about the joys of being a prisoner for Christ. (I'm pretty sure they didn't have cable T.V. or workout areas in first century Roman prisons.) What a great message. Once I encounter Christ, as Saul did on the road to Damascus, the events of my life are never measured the same way, and I can find joy in the midst of whatever else life brings, through Him who strengthens me. Setting aside all of the credentials and credits in which the world puts so much faith, we count them as rubbish (Fr. Rajpaul implied the actual Greek word St. Paul used is more like excrement) compared to what Jesus has done for us.
Also, we had a fabulous Catholic men's conference last Saturday. Cincinnati has had 15 of them; I've been to 12 or 13. This one was maybe the best ever; at least top 2.
Well, that's the biggest part of what I've been up to during this season of grace and reconciliation, besides striving to walk closely with Christ each day. May He continue to bless this Lenten season, that our celebration of our resurrection with Him may be complete!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A warped sense of normalcy
(3/17; Here's an unpublished post from a month ago; the granddaughter is fine.)
Well, that subject could cover a multitude of issues, couldn't it? In this case:
With our daughters' and grandchildren's chronic and acute medical issues, primarily with familial pancreatitis, but also with asthma, a recent emergency appendectomy, and the like, our family seems to have grown accustomed to having a family member in the hospital. It has become part of our sense of "normal." So when our 3-month-old granddaughter had to be taken in last night because she wasn't keeping anything down, we kinda' shifted into crisis mode, but neglected to ask those around us to help with prayer support. It just seemed almost like, "No big deal, we've been here before," especially given that so many others are dealing with so much, too.
Our dear little one really doesn't seem to be doing too badly. She has rotavirus, on top of the RSV with which she was diagnosed last week, but I went by to see her at lunch time, and she's bright, alert, and happy as ever. But that doesn't change the fact that, aside from her not-so-scary diagnosis, condition, and prognosis - depending how quickly she responds, she could be home today - this really cranks up our stress level, too. Mrs tg is in Maryland this week, celebrating with her dad and siblings her mom's first birthday in heaven - at least she has our baby girl's big sister with her, so there's one less grandchild to make arrangements for (including transportation to and from preschool). Middle daughter and I took turns last night helping out with "Bubby," who was about as dear and sweet as I've ever seen him; I think he's really flourishing in his time out of big sister's shadow.
Still, this morning I was feeling a bit chagrined by my lack of clearer vision, and chastised for not immediately turning to the Source of our strength. Finally getting a bit more on-track, I took a short break at work this morning to compose an e-mail asking our friends to lift us up before our loving Lord.
Well, that subject could cover a multitude of issues, couldn't it? In this case:
With our daughters' and grandchildren's chronic and acute medical issues, primarily with familial pancreatitis, but also with asthma, a recent emergency appendectomy, and the like, our family seems to have grown accustomed to having a family member in the hospital. It has become part of our sense of "normal." So when our 3-month-old granddaughter had to be taken in last night because she wasn't keeping anything down, we kinda' shifted into crisis mode, but neglected to ask those around us to help with prayer support. It just seemed almost like, "No big deal, we've been here before," especially given that so many others are dealing with so much, too.
Our dear little one really doesn't seem to be doing too badly. She has rotavirus, on top of the RSV with which she was diagnosed last week, but I went by to see her at lunch time, and she's bright, alert, and happy as ever. But that doesn't change the fact that, aside from her not-so-scary diagnosis, condition, and prognosis - depending how quickly she responds, she could be home today - this really cranks up our stress level, too. Mrs tg is in Maryland this week, celebrating with her dad and siblings her mom's first birthday in heaven - at least she has our baby girl's big sister with her, so there's one less grandchild to make arrangements for (including transportation to and from preschool). Middle daughter and I took turns last night helping out with "Bubby," who was about as dear and sweet as I've ever seen him; I think he's really flourishing in his time out of big sister's shadow.
Still, this morning I was feeling a bit chagrined by my lack of clearer vision, and chastised for not immediately turning to the Source of our strength. Finally getting a bit more on-track, I took a short break at work this morning to compose an e-mail asking our friends to lift us up before our loving Lord.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A tenuous metaphor
(This started as part of a reply comment, but I wanted to expand on my thoughts beyond the time I had available, so copied it into a draft post that I could edit on at my leisure. Tom, you've given me a good chance to write - albeit obliquely - about something I've been dealing with. I mention this so you'll know I'm not attempting to elucidate some lesson for you, as if your shivering over my pictures represented some sort of deeper issue that you really need to deal with. Nothing of the sort.)
Don't you think we overrate comfort sometimes?
Physically, in the realms of fitness and sport, we don't make real progress until we push ourselves further than we thought capable. "No pain, no gain," whether the pain is the physical ache of our muscles or the toughening of our psyches. Little irritates us more than an athlete who looks for the easy way out, getting by on performance aids or not giving their all to fulfill their prodigious talent.
Intellectually, until we challenge our mind with new ideas and new ways of thinking, our conception of the world can be a set of superstitions (which can take many forms, including rationalism). It can be difficult to encounter a seemingly well reasoned perspective that counters our own. Sometimes we find a flaw in that perspective that allows appropriate parts of it to then fit into our understanding. Other times, we may be surprised to find that our view has been incomplete or inaccurate.
In Christian parlance (I'm sure other spiritual circles make similar observations), we speak of the importance of leaving our "comfort zones" to reach out to others in new ways with the love of Christ. This is an important and often overlooked aspect of becoming the Body of Christ in the world, as we learn to recognize and minister to His presence in ways we never considered before.
I've been dealing with a weird combination of feelings in my life (I'll spare you the details). It would be easier not to experience them, and I've long been careful to avoid situations that evoke them. I didn't respond so well to them, at first, falling back into familiar, old, and - well, a bit immature - patterns of thinking. But I've subsequently become convinced that dealing with them more appropriately is playing an important role in my becoming the person I'm called to be. So while they're uncomfortable, and somewhat evitable (like that morning's cold, which I didn't have to face, after all), I believe that - in the long term - choosing to avoid them (by holing up in a safer or warmer or more familiar and comfortable emotional "place") will really keep me from important growth (something better than a few great pictures).
Don't you think we overrate comfort sometimes?
Physically, in the realms of fitness and sport, we don't make real progress until we push ourselves further than we thought capable. "No pain, no gain," whether the pain is the physical ache of our muscles or the toughening of our psyches. Little irritates us more than an athlete who looks for the easy way out, getting by on performance aids or not giving their all to fulfill their prodigious talent.
Intellectually, until we challenge our mind with new ideas and new ways of thinking, our conception of the world can be a set of superstitions (which can take many forms, including rationalism). It can be difficult to encounter a seemingly well reasoned perspective that counters our own. Sometimes we find a flaw in that perspective that allows appropriate parts of it to then fit into our understanding. Other times, we may be surprised to find that our view has been incomplete or inaccurate.
In Christian parlance (I'm sure other spiritual circles make similar observations), we speak of the importance of leaving our "comfort zones" to reach out to others in new ways with the love of Christ. This is an important and often overlooked aspect of becoming the Body of Christ in the world, as we learn to recognize and minister to His presence in ways we never considered before.
I've been dealing with a weird combination of feelings in my life (I'll spare you the details). It would be easier not to experience them, and I've long been careful to avoid situations that evoke them. I didn't respond so well to them, at first, falling back into familiar, old, and - well, a bit immature - patterns of thinking. But I've subsequently become convinced that dealing with them more appropriately is playing an important role in my becoming the person I'm called to be. So while they're uncomfortable, and somewhat evitable (like that morning's cold, which I didn't have to face, after all), I believe that - in the long term - choosing to avoid them (by holing up in a safer or warmer or more familiar and comfortable emotional "place") will really keep me from important growth (something better than a few great pictures).
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