A Reflection for Palm Sunday

THE DONKEY
 G.K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet. 

150 Days With the Psalms: Today is for Deacon John

So some of you may know that I am spending 150 days immersed in a study of the book of Psalms in the bible. Just last night my dear friend Deacon John Simmons posted a note on his blog about some disheartening news he just got from his Insurance Company denying the treatment option that his Dr.'s have decided upon for his best chance at treatment.
You can read about it here:

http://meandpoindexter.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-found-one.html

Then, when I got up this morning, the Psalm was # 28:

To You Lord I call,
My Rock, do not be deaf to me.
Do not drag me off with the wicked,
with those who do wrong,
Who speak peace to their neighbors
though evil is in their hearts.
Repay them for their deeds,
for the evil that they do.
For the work of their hands repay them;
give them what they deserve.
They pay no heed to the LORD'S works,
to the deeds of God's hands.

God will tear them down, never to be rebuilt.
Blessed be the LORD, who has heard the sound of my pleading.
The LORD is my strength and my shield,
in whom my heart trusted and found help.
So my heart rejoices; with my song I praise my God
LORD, you are the strength of your people,
the saving refuge of your anointed king.
Save your people, bless your inheritance;
feed and sustain them forever!


One of my reflection books talked specifically about those who are dealing with Cancer in reference to this psalm. and Of course when I read it, my thoughts immediately went to John and his troubling news from the Insurance Company, who only see the cost of the treatment in dollar signs and not in the loss of his quality or length of life.

The reflection book also had this to add:

Cancer is so limited--
It cannot cripple love,
It cannot shatter hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot suppress memories,
It cannot silence outrage,
It cannot invade the soul,
It cannot steal eternal life,
It cannot conquer the Spirit.
"What Cancer Cannot Do" The Senior Times



My dear friend John, We must not forget that ultimately this corporation is not the one who is control of your life, but our loving heavenly Father is in control. God will make a way where there is no way.


As the psalmist says: My heart rejoices, with my song I praise my God. Lord you are the strength of your people!


Let God be our strength as we wait for God to make the way we cannot yet see .

Pax

The SEASON of Easter Begins Today

Wake Up Folks, Easter isn't just a Sunday, it is a season of the Church year.

For seven weeks we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and what that means to us. For fifty days (even longer than the Lent we just passed through, we enter into a new kind of apprenticeship of our journey with our loving Saviour; for in the resurrection stories we learn something new about Jesus.

As Father said at Mass this morning, quoting from Fr. Larry Gillick SJ (of Creighton University ) The risen Christ plays a game of Now you see me, Now you see me in a new way in the stories we hear during the Easter season. Each new encounter draws us deeper into the mystery that is our union and communion with Him in faith and belief. We become so enamoured of the Good News that we cannot keep it to ourselves; like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who after their encounter with the Risen Lord ran all the way back to Jerusalem to report the Good News to the others with the phrase "Were not our hearts burning within us?" (Luke 24: 5-34)

Or like the Apostles at Pentecost, we are so emboldened by the Holy Spirit that we cannot keep silence, and are called out of our hide-away to preach what we know to be true to the crowds, some of whom I am sure weren't receptive to the message. (Acts 2)

And also like our friend Steven the first martyr for the faith. Steven teaches us that we must be bold enough too stand up for the truth, and our faith even in the face of the most crushing contempt and unbelief. We must be willing to do so even if it means doing so at our very own peril. (Acts 7)

So my dear children, enter into this season of Easter with Joy and thanksgiving. Allow yourself to seek the Lord where he may be found and draw strength from Him while He is still near. Grow strong and bold in your faith, because I can tell you that dark days are ahead when even your own brothers and sisters will reject you because of your faith in Christ.

Do not be swayed, stand up for the truth and be bold in proclaiming in loudly. You have a right in this country to the free expression of your religious faith. Use that right.

Pax

Holy Week with John of the Cross

I didn't post on Wednesday or Thursday due to too may commitments outside the house. I will just skip adding those reflections and continue with my Friday John of the Cross meditation:

Where have you hidden ,

Beloved, and left me moaning?

You fled like the stag

After wounding me;

I went out calling you, and you were gone.

This is the way it feels in a Catholic Church after Holy Thursday Mass, when the Tabernacle is emptied, its light extinguished, and the altar is bare. Jesus has fled [to the altar of repose] . The church is somehow more quiet, more cold than it normally is. Something palpable is missing.

My mother used to say, Jesus is in hiding until Holy Saturday Mass when the consecration happens again and the balance is restored.

We are on our way toward the Resurrection, Happy Good Friday.

Pax

B.R.A meme, Are you Thinking What I am Thinking?

Okay, so I will have to admit that when my friend and alumnus of my Gradual School Paul sent me a comment saying he was going to "hit me with the BRA meme" my first thought was does his wife know that he plays with bras. Maybe I am tired, or maybe The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church which I have been perusing today to see what I can use in my essays has finally pushed me over the edge.


I am honored that he has chosen to put me in the company of the other bloggers he wrote about, even if he did get a few details wrong (I live in south central Indiana, not northern, and I am actually an MA candidate not an MTS)


That being said, and really needing something to distract me after an entire day with Neuner and Dupuis (see above) I will gladly play along.





Here are the rules:





1. Copy these rules.


2. Reflect on five bloggers and write a least a paragraph about each one.


3. Make sure you link to this post so others can read it and the rules.


4. Leave your chosen bloggers a comment to let them know they've been given the award.


5. Put the award icon on your site

In no particular order I will reflect on:

Adoro te devote I came across this blog through a fortuitous link from another blog. I have been a loyal reader ever since that first visit. With deeply personal reflections on work, life and pets, she is a real inspiration to me. She is just beginning her Masters work as I am ending mine albeit at different Gradual Schools. I wish her much luck and encouragement on her journey.

Ironic Catholic My week would not be complete without a stop at this wonderful blog that is part religious truth part total LOL funny sarcasm. I have been a loyal reader for a long time now and am in awe of her wit and wisdom. If you haven't read her 100 Ironic reasons to be Catholic (in groups of ten) it is worth an afternoon of checking her archives.

. . .And I Let Myself be Duped is the blog of Mark Mossa SJ, a Jesuit Scholastic who has been chronicling his life and studies for the priesthood. I count Mark as a very dear friend that I have never actually met in person; but hope to someday. He has always had a word of encouragement or some other helpful tidbit (like the paper on Substance he sent me when I was suffering through taking my first ever philosophy class was like a lifeline in a very stormy sea.

Martha Martha is another of my earliest finds in the Blogosphere. Penni is so openly honest about her joys and struggles with her faith that she reminds me that we are all still "working out our salvation with fear and trembling.: She has possibly the most visually stunning site of anyone I know on the Internet. A few months of reading her posts is like an adult education class in Art Appreciation. Not to mention all of the scripture and inspirational posts she includes.

And finally but in no way least:

Maior autem his est caritas is the blog of Gashwin Gomes (not his real name). This is a gentleman who was raised in India but is currently a resident of the American South. Of late his blog has been an amazing travelogue that makes my head spin (me who has never left the North American Continent save a three month diversion in Hawaii at 13). He has chronicled the illness and death of his father in a way that is deeply moving. Not only is he one of my regular reads, he is in my daily prayers.

Five is entirely too few choices for this kind of award, but I will leave all my other blogger pals to the mercy of God.

I hope you enjoy these blogs especially if you haven't ever visited them.

Pax