Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Words of Wisdom


Here is a wonderful site to help re-ignite your spirit:

Mother Teresa Quotes

Monday, May 01, 2006

Wandering

"Not all those who wander are lost."

J.R.R. Tolkien

Thursday, April 13, 2006

#12 - What Are You Willing to Sacrifice?

A little over five years ago, I was working as a church organist and choir director at a rural Catholic church.



We had just been assigned a new pastor who had been born and raised in Poland. He did not come to the US until he was an adult.



I found the cultural differences to be confounding many times during my stay at that church.



One of Father's sermons, in particular, struck my mind this morning.



With passion he had asked our Sunday morning obligation bored parish, "Are you willing to die for what you believe in? Are you willing to die for Christ? Because someday that may happen."



WHOA!



That made a few eyelids snap awake.



DIE?!!


Are you serious?



I thought he was being a bit fanatical, but upon closer examination of this sermon throught the past few years... I can see where the passion came from.



Our pastor grew up in communist Poland.


Yeah... you might have to think about losing everything you cherish, including your life to stand up and be Catholic and follow Jesus in such a regime.


And that stuff still goes on in the world... even now:

BBC NEWS World Asia-Pacific China's Catholics: Far from Rome


China recently permitted a huge religious gathering of Buddhist monks (sans the Dalai Lama)... in an effort to show the world that they are more open minded than other nations think they are...



but, the reality is that if you are Catholic and living in China... 


your priest has to talk about contraceptives and Mao Zedong (Tse tung) flourishing forever in Heaven.



um.... that doesn't exactly "fit" with the foundations of Catholicism.



But, that is the only way that Catholic communities can publicly celebrate their faith in China.



Here's the clincher...



people in China organized an underground Catholic community that has secret connections to the Vatican.



The Chinese government is not too fond of the Vatican... they speak out about politics... a definite NO-NO in China.



Now here's the confusion for me.



I do not attend Mass regularly... like maybe twice this past year.



I surrendered all of that during the most recent hypocrisy over the pedophilia debacle bursting open like a malignant cancer throughout the heirarchy of the Catholic Church.



What exactly am I willing to sacrifice for my faith?



Would I be willing to give up my liberties to defend my Mother Church?



No.



Although, I strongly support those people in this world who are willing to do that.

If you had asked me a few years ago... I would have been one of them, but no longer.



More importantly, would I sacrifice in the name of Jesus?



Yes.



I can no longer allow an organization to define my relationship with God, but I am willing to defend my belief in Jesus.



But, not to the point where I would trample on the liberties (TRANSLATION: free will) of others.



I can not reconcile with the "My way or the highway" mode of Christianity.



And Catholics are big time proponents of this mode of thinking.



I can not deny being Catholic, either... I have just decided that.



And that is WHY I have had a real problem with the Catholic Church.



My whole "issue" started when my first marriage dissolved into a divorce.

I "had to" get an annulment.



Why?



I mean... how can you erase a sacrament?



The marriage was consecrated... I was there I KNOW it was.


How can a priest just take some money, fulfill a pretense of "counseling" prior to this bizarre ritual, and then same... TADA!... your marriage was null and void?



Yeah... as if?



My first marriage WAS annulled. My first husband wanted this. I did not block this procedure, but I certainly declined to participate.



And that freaky little whatever we can call it... ritual?



That is when my faith in the Catholic Church took a huge bonk on the noggin.



The cover-up of criminal priests doesn't help one bit either.



But, how would I behave if tomorrow our government said "You can not gather in public to celebrate the Mass." ?



You know... 


I would probably be the first one through the door and walking up to the altar for Communion.



So... I am confused.



My relationship with the Catholic Church is the longest relationship I have had with the exception of my family of origin... well, goodness, the Church was there from day one of my life.


Here I am 43 years old and I am starting to feel like a rebellious teenager in regards to the Catholic Church.



Good Grief.



And where is Jesus in all of this?



Lots of praying and thinking to do on all of this...

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Growing Up Catholic

NOTE: The story is true, the people are real, the names have been changed .

Growing up Catholic doesn't necessarily guarantee that you are learning about Jesus.

I can't recall Jesus being a topic of discussion in my formative years.

I remember learning the rules and catechism... although no one ever told me these lessons were called catechism.

Priests were an integral part of my family's spiritual life, but I never had close contact with the religious orders until I entered Catholc school.

The time was 1968 and I was five years old when I met my first grade teacher, Sister Mary Joseph.

I thought she was so old!

And she had a man's name!

Sister ran a tight ship.

I have no recollections of anyone causing one lick of trouble in her class. I know in hindsight that I was in a class of thirty really tough kids.

Our time was always occupied.

If my work was finished early, a plastic container was plunked down onto my desk.

MODELING CLAY!

My favorite.

I never looked into Sister's face. I saw mostly her belly region, black voluminous robes.

She floated.

Her hands were thick and firm... no wasted movement.

But, there was this good feeling always with her. I finished my work, she noticed and gave me a reward of clay time.

It felt so good to have an adult who cared about you so much that even in a sea of children, she knew your needs and attended to you.

Nothing ruffled her.

Fran Smolinski was terrified of thunder and lightening as we were to learn that spring.

Sobbing hysterically as the lightening flashed before our wall of windows, Sister Mary Joseph kept us all calm like a captain sailing a ship across stormy seas and Fran's woe.

I remember how Sister kept calm and serene during prayers as one of our classmates, Timothy O'Connor, threw up.

And... of course, Fran had a sympathetic cookie toss immediately afterwards.

Sister smoothly managed to tend to both ill children, clean them up in our classroom bathroom, and move forward with the day while reassuring us all.

The only time that Sister gave me a startle was when she had moved my desk beside that big wall of windows. We were all soon to discover that I was a big-time daydreamer.

She kept repeatedly asking me to read a sight word to her from the Dick and Jane reader list. The words were on the chalkboard and my eyes were out the window flying like a birdy in the clear sky. I never once looked at the board.

The word was "play" and I kept saying "toy". Over and over and over.
We both were persistent. Finally I realized my mistake. Sister never scolded. She just looked perplexed. I liked that about her.

My desk was moved to the other side of the classroom. There was no reprimand, no yelling, no adult authority games.

Sister was firm, consistent, and attentive.

When I was frightened about getting onto the big bus at the end of the day, there was Sister Mary Joseph, standing by side and reassuring me that my big sister would be there for me soon.

And when Sis arrived, "See! There she is!"

******************************************
I ran into Sister Mary Joseph in the early 1990's at the retirement home for the sisters of her religious order.

I knew her in an instant.

I never realized before that she had sweet eyes.

She smiled at me as I told her that she had been my first grade teacher.

She rememberd me in an instant.

"Oh, you are the youngest of the six sisters! I remember you! So beautiful. How could I forget those eyes of yours?"

And I thanked her as chills ran up my spine.

How many... so many... children had she taught, yet she could remember me?

I felt loved.

I felt cherished.

**********************************
No we didn't talk a lot about Jesus while growing up Catholic, but once in awhile I had the honor to travel along with someone who knew Jesus quite well.




Jerusalem Virtual Tour

Here is an opportunity to "visit" the Holy City via the internet:

Virtual Tour of Jerusalem

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

How Do Gay People Find Jesus?

I have known and loved a lot of gay people in my life.

I still do.

How do gay people ever get close to Jesus?

It seems to me that every imaginable barrier is thrust upon them each step of the way.

They are the lepers of modern times in Christianity.

People are born gay... go ahead and prove otherwise... because science will eventually prove that you can't.

I have only known one person who told me she "chose" to be gay. Of course, this person was a survivor of horrible sexual atrocities committed by the opposite sex.
That would make anyone think twice about wanting to interact with the gender of your predator.

But, I don't understand how ANYONE can come close to Jesus while persecuting God's children?

Would Jesus really want us to extend energy into ostracizing a whole portion of our society?

Aren't we supposed to spend our energies on love?

How is victimizing gay people an act of love?

It only drives a chasm between them and accessing Jesus through organized religion.

And banning gay people from adopting???

Hellooo....

As if all of the righteous ones who claim to be doing the work of Jesus are in line adopting the destitute children of the world?

I have a gay family member who is an adoptive parent.

The child (now my family too) is flourishing, happy and very well adjusted.

The child has received the best medical care that our nation can offer.

This child will always have food, clothing, shelter, a good education, a future full of hope... and L-O-V-E. A family full of love for that child.

And some of that family happens to be gay.

I have very little patience for those who claim to follow Jesus, yet expend energy in ostracizing homosexuals.

There are much, much better things to do with that energy.

As for me... I am such a sinner... I have plenty to work on in improving my own self, so there is a lifetime of work ahead in becoming a person of compassion.

And as for the gay community?

They have nothing to fear from me.

I love Jesus, and I love people who have crossed my path in life's journey... be they heterosexual or homosexual.

God made us all, and I know it is not in God's plan that I should be judge and jury.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Would the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

Today I am going to talk about watching a friend die.

And, hopefully before I finish you will see how the stories about Jesus have become blurred over the millenia.

My best friend, Ellen, died this past year.

She was 42, too young to die.

She died a slow and painful death to ovarian cancer.

And her friends, a whole bunch of us, were their to witness her dying.

Here is what happens when someone you love dies slowly and unexpectantly while in their prime.

Especially, someone who was blessed with a multitude of friends. Many who, like me, felt that she was their best friend.

We came together and as we talked throughout the death watch... we confirmed the things that we knew about our precious Ellen that were consistent amongst all of us.

We could all agree that she was funny, mischievous, passionate, intelligent, and that she had captured a special place in each of our hearts.

But, then the stories diverge.


When you are losing someone who has filled such a huge space in your life... their is an "ownership" thing that starts to go on.

"My friend", "my Ellen".

Each of us had our own connection there... and probably for some of us, there was a need to acknowledge that our loss was significant because there was a part of this delightful person that only we knew on an intimate level.

I am not saying that is a good thing... it is just human nature.

"My Ellen" was not the same Ellen that I was hearing about amongst her other intimates.

Some of us needed to share our knowledge of Ellen and some of us just needed to keep that quiet and safe, shut away from the eyes and ears of others.

Now...

Don't you think the same thing happened when Jesus died?

Those who witnessed His death... they may have felt a kinship with one another in having experienced this horrible event together.

And the ones that ran away... how were they feeling about that? The humiliation of leaving behind a friend in His most dire moment? The shame... and possibly anger at self for not being there because of fear?

And wouldn't some of the very, very human friends of Jesus have "ownership" issues after His passing on?

"My Jesus"... this is the man I knew.

Well, Jesus being who He was (and is)... a multidimensional fully actualized human being and Divine to boot... wouldn't He be many things to many people?

And being all loving... wouldn't each person who experienced Jesus in person have felt that they had a special connection with Him?

So I have to wonder... how is it that only a few folks got "ownership" of the story of Jesus?

What would His mother, Mary, have said about Jesus?

Or Joseph?

Or His grandparents?

His childhood friends?

His teachers?

Or Mary Magdelene?

Or those who were healed?

Or the multitude of followers who may have written about Jesus, but their work has been lost in the sands of time... or deemed unowrthy to be carried on?

And what about the texts discovered in the Qumran in the 1940's... now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Do we really have the full story of Jesus, or just a tailored view by the authors deemed worthy by the Council of Nicea?

Who is the real Jesus?

Can we find Him in the books, in what is said at the pulpit, or is Jesus an experience?

Can you only know Jesus through a supernatural relationship that defies the manmade constructs that have attempted to squeeze Him into a narrowed view that serves the purposes of those who feel they alone are the keepers of the truth?

Who is the real Jesus?

Who, indeed?












RESOURCES:


DEAD SEA SCROLLS:
http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/Library/library.html

JAMES THE BROTHER OF JESUS:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=pd_sl_aw_tops-1_stripbooks_7189314_2/103-8337517-7547001?search-alias=aps&keywords=james%20brother%20of%20jesus




COUNCIL OF NICEA:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0835563.html
http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1E1:Nicaea-F&ctrlInfo=Round18%3AMode18c%3ADocG%3AResult&ao
=






Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Beliefnet: Group Forum "In Search of Jesus"

Here is an interesting website to receive more insight into the face of Jesus.



http://www.beliefnet.com/features/searchforjesus/appearance/appearance1.asp



You also are invited to join in the discussion.

ENJOY.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Another Face of Jesus - The Gentle Healer

Here are the lyrics to a favorite song by Michael Card:





The Gentle Healer Lyrics By Card Michael

Psalm 146:5  Michael Card

The Gentle Healer came into our town todayHe touched blind eyes
and the darkness left to stayMore than the blindness,
He took their sins awayThe Gentle Healer came into our town today

The Gentle Healer came into our town todayHe spoke one word
that was all He had to sayThe One who had died
just rose up straight awayThe Gentle Healer came into our town today


Oh, He seems like just in ordinary manWith dirty feet
and rough but gentle handsThe words
He says are hard to understandAnd, Yet,
He seems like just and ordinary man

The Gentle Healer,
He left our town todayI just looked around and found
He'd gone awaySome folks from town had followed Him,
They say That the Gentle Healer is
the Truth
the Life
the Way