Commas,

I knew that a lot of time has passed since I last posted, but since September?  The best explanation I have may be best expressed with an excerpt from "Meet Me in the Meadow" by
Roy Lessin:




Punctuation Marks (II)


"In this time of change, God would not use an exclamation point. An exclamation point would leave you with a sense of high emotion. Exclamation points have been called "screamers" or "gaspers". These are the things that would lead you into panic and fear. God has not given you the spirit of fear, and He has promised to give you His peace.
   Since God would not use a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point, which form of punctuation would He use?
   God would use a comma. The reason God would use a comma to punctuate a time of change is because a comma means a brief pause. A comma lets you know that the sentence has not come to an end. A comma says that after the brief pause, something else will follow. God wants you to know that there is something ahead that He has planned for you."






I have encountered many commas since last fall. Surgery, ministry adjustments, voluntarily resigning from my job of  19 years, have all served as significant  commas to varying degrees. I have developed a greater appreciation for commas during these past months. They were not periods that could have lead to despair or discouragement. They were not question marks that left uncertainty. They were commas, temporary commas. Commas, allowing for change. God will pen the period.  






  

Blurb

Snippet from my Facebook:

"If you're going to reach your highest potential, you have to have bold obedience. That means  you obey even when you don't understand it, you just do it even though it doesn't make sense."

                                              Joel Osteen Ministries

Interview with Pope Francis

www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview

Simplicity

I recently looked through my books to see who has been 'left behind' so to speak. The book that looked good, but whose pages are not worn and torn. Pages that aren't even smudged by being read cover to cover, even once!

A small paperback, "'Simplicity' The Freedom of Letting Go" by Father Richard Rohr is now on my desk. Instead of promising to soak up every word and nuance, I thought that I would 'simply' read it. What I need to take from this unassuming book, will step from the pages.

"These are only hints and guesses,
  Hints followed by guesses;
  And the rest is prayer, observance, discipline,
  Thought and action.
  The hint half guessed, the gift half understood,
  Is Incarnation."

                                              "The Dry Savages," T.S.Elliot

Moving On....

Noticed this posted on a friend's computer desk:

"It's time to move on
   because your past can't be your passion.
So what if you've done
    something wrong?
Find someone who hasn't.

Cleaning off my desk

"Great minds talk about ideas,
   Good minds talk about things,
     Weak minds talk about people."

"If we have nothing good to say, its best to keep quiet."


I really am cleaning off my desk, this little ditty would have caused a firestorm coming from me during the "dark times" of the consolidation! I envisioned at least a half dozen people getting a grin about me embracing that idea!

What I did on my summer vacation!

As a former teacher, I have always loved this time of year! That first day of school was always great, merely because of all the newness!  The promise of progress in the air!

I thought of that vintage question: "What did you do on your summer vacation?" I know that I did not write on this blog hardly at all these past few months, but that did not mean that I did not have plenty of opportunities to grow and reflect.  I guess I  have gotten into the habit of writing "Blurts" on my ipad, serving as more of a personal journal .I use the title "Blurts" because as those who know me can attest, I "Blurt!" I have a brain that works on the  "lottery ball principle". Lots of random thoughts popping together, and then, one Pops Up!! Those people around me who are subjected to these blurts, often wonder what in the world I am thinking. I realize now that I need to sanitize my Blurts somewhat for those around me. But not for God. Blurts usually carry truths with them. Not necessarily God's truths, but undeniably,  my truths. Gut reactions. Gut reactions are truths in themselves. I smile when I read them, realizing that I dearly want to immediately sanitize them before I present them to the world. Lots less judgement!  So, I have gotten into the habit of writing these Blurts quickly, and letting God sanitize them!


Blurt #70513 , came from reading Fr. Richard Rohr's book "Falling Upwards":


"Basically the first half of life is writing the text, and the second half of life is writing the commentary on that text."

"Such introversion is necessary to unpack all that life has given us and taken from us. We engage in what is now a necessary and somewhat natural contemplation."

"Life has stimulated us enough, and now we have to process it and integrate it, however unconsciously."

"Silence is the only language spacious enough to include everything and to keep us from slipping back into dualistic judgements  and divisive words."

'Like Jesus, you may  soon feel as if you have 'nowhere to lay your head', while a whole set of new heads are now making sense to you! "

"Kind of  double belonging is characteristic of people at this stage. No one group meets all their needs, desires and visions."

"One cannot live in the afternoon of life according to the program of life's morning; for what was great in the morning will be of little importance in the evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie."    Carl Jung


"The genius of the Gospel was that it included the problem inside the solution. The falling became the rising. The raft became the shore."

Sorry, I won't let you see what the Blurt was that accompanied the writings of these Rohr quotes. When God allows me to understand that Blurt, I will share! May the  future writings I share, allow  the formation of your own BLURTS ! TADA! 

Whom do you seek?

If you look for Truth
   you may find comfort in the end.
If you look for comfort
   you will get neither comfort nor Truth,
only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin
     and in the end, despair.

                              CS Lewis

How Do You Like Your Eggs?

In the movie, "Runaway Bride", a woman became notorious for leaving bridegrooms at the altar, sometimes even dashing through swarms of guests  who valiantly tried to stop her! After four or five dashes, a reporter travels to her hometown to cover her latest intended nuptials. As he interviews all of her jilted bridegrooms, he innocently asks each,  "How does she like her eggs?"  Each man seems rather surprised at the question, but quickly answers something different, "over easy", "scrambled", "poached" and ends with, "Just like mine!"

When the reporter asked the bride- to- be the same question, she was stumped. Long story short, she runs out on the hometown bridegroom and eventually agrees to accept the reporters proposal. Yes, she runs out on him to. He returns to his home and the town settles down, accepting that their gal will never marry.

Eventually, the runaway bride is shown cooking eggs, all different kinds of dishes,carefully tasting each one. She starts to try to contact the reporter, but he will not return her calls. Finally, she is able to talk with him, and soon blurts "Eggs Benedict". He is confused, but she says it again and then he realizes  that she finally understood that she did not marry the other suitors because she tried to be what they wanted, not the person she was. Yes, happy ending, they married quietly on a hillside by a minister.

I loved that movie because it is easy to understand how relevant, "How do you like your eggs?" is for all of us. As I watched sixty young people in two parishes become confirmed this spring, I hoped that  each would discover who they were individually to God. That they would start to truly listen to the Holy Spirit and walk with him. That they would not follow their friends,their family, or even well intentioned "church people" to be someone who would 'fit' within a setting, rather than break the mold. As young apostles, they need to be confident in their calling. They need to become involved in different ministries until they find that special niche where they breathe with the Spirit. They will then become part of the church, not merely members.

And do not think that idea is not lost on me as well. I have not written on this blog for nearly two months. Yes, I was very busy working  with our staff to prepare all those young people for their confirmation, but I also was pondering, when all was said and done: "How did I like my eggs?" Was it time to specifically quiet my own heart and listen for the Spirit's call? Was it time to move where others would not have me go?  Have I been in any way  a "Runaway Bride" so to speak? Not committing to a deeper, more intimate  relationship with God, because my relationship  did not match the tastes of those close to me? The last several months have been filled with a series of spiritual taste tests and  I have quietly acknowledged lately that my taste buds have changed over the years. Now it is up to me to satisfy my palate!

New prayer routines, reading material, and slight adjustments in ministerial responsibilities, highlight a menu that will not fail to satisfy!       

How do you like your eggs?   

The Tomb is Empty

This Lenten season has been an extremely busy one. Looking back, it was if I had a checklist of things to get done for both the Confirmation class and my family, as I tried to walk the Lenten journey. As I was alone on the highway this morning, I  thought about how the women came to the tomb  in the dark and silence of early morning, to take care of their deceased Lord. I felt akin to them as all the tasks that I encountered these past forty days, with  all the standard preoccupation, worries and deadlines , have vanished. I now feel as if I am staring into an empty tomb. When I  truly look for my risen Lord, every other thing vanishes. The tomb where I hold all my worries, frustrations, grudges, and fears, is empty.

I smile as I can see the sun rising out my window. Time to get ready for mass and the blessings of the chaos of food, family and friends that will come today as I celebrate Easter.

The tomb is indeed empty!