The adage goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Mark Shea add a few of his own to a photo of his granddaughter and the resulting post is a reminder of what the day is about.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Hide And Seek
Krush reminds us today is National DeLurking Day. This annual event in the 'blogosphere is designed for those who read 'blogs to leave a comment and let us know they have visited. With some affection these guest are called "lurkers", just hanging around. (Groupies for 'bloggers?)
My comment section is open. I welcome you to leave your remarks and suggestions on what could make this infinitesimal corner of the universe a better place to be. Speak the truth in love else it will be deleted.
My comment section is open. I welcome you to leave your remarks and suggestions on what could make this infinitesimal corner of the universe a better place to be. Speak the truth in love else it will be deleted.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Working Vacation
In my own small way, I am part of the "reform of the Reform". With my educational background in music (both at the undergraduate and graduate levels), I want to hear meaningful and worthy song in liturgy. This, at times, has put me at odds with some of my lay colleagues at a local level in terms of taste and appropriateness; but, not being in any kind of leadership position, I have had to "go along to get along". I can say I am very pleased with what we attempt to do at St. Olaf, as the music director and I are of the same general mindset.
But, as the saying goes, I have to be the change I want to see. To that end, I will be here. While I have had a minimum amount of exposure to chant, this will be an wonderful opportunity to learn more. I wrestled with the decision of whether or not to go, but I opted to take advantage of the opportunity. (The only drawback is I am taking "red eyes" through Denver and Atlanta to get there.)
A fedora doff to Anastasia Crosswell, who posted this on her Facebook page. As this is in her backyard, hopefully we will be able to meet each other in person.
Back late Saturday night. Time to me to fly.
But, as the saying goes, I have to be the change I want to see. To that end, I will be here. While I have had a minimum amount of exposure to chant, this will be an wonderful opportunity to learn more. I wrestled with the decision of whether or not to go, but I opted to take advantage of the opportunity. (The only drawback is I am taking "red eyes" through Denver and Atlanta to get there.)
A fedora doff to Anastasia Crosswell, who posted this on her Facebook page. As this is in her backyard, hopefully we will be able to meet each other in person.
Back late Saturday night. Time to me to fly.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
First Song, Again
We should know this quite well by now.
Whatever your memories of 2009, may you hold them with the proper due respect.
May 2010 be full of blessings, joys, and life.
Happy New Year!
Janus' Annual Visit
For those of you who are regulars to this infinitesimal corner of the universe, you know I have a motto which developed on this day in 2005.
Go Forward.
What does it mean? At the very least, it is to not regress, lose ground, or acquiesce what I want to become. At its core, it is to progress, grow, mature.
It is now four years later. I ask myself the question which candidates for political office sometimes pose to the voting public. It is the one quiery which begs for an answer.
Am I better off now than I was then?
Right now, I really don't know what the best answer is. Being my harshest critic (unlike the advise from "Desiderata"), I also realize I have to have a balance between what is going well and what room for improvement is needed. But, as a priest had pointed out to me once in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, my honesty is my salvation.
While I have never experienced the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, I understand one of the foundations is to be sincerely honest while looking into your soul. That I seem to do well. And so, with the final hours of 2009 passing, what do I see?
As with all of us, a mixed bag of results.
The blessings given by God to me in the form of challenges the past 48 months have been received in various degrees. I would be foolish to say I am the same as I was back then. I have changed. There has been the good, the bad, and the unresolved (and sometimes all three at once). It is still being sorted; puzzle pieces are not yet in place. I cannot say which way the scale is tipped.
Yet, we all live with uncertainty. Nothing is finished or final until our last day. Like the Parable of the Rich Man's Harvest (Luke 12:16-21), beware when we think we have got it made.
At times it seem I am back at square one. My search for meaningful, consistent, gainful employment is just about at a standstill. My prayer life is as dry as the desert. There is just a underlying feeling of unease about my life.
So, where do I go?
There is only one answer:
"Come to Me...."
And isn't that what it really means to Go Forward?
Go Forward.
What does it mean? At the very least, it is to not regress, lose ground, or acquiesce what I want to become. At its core, it is to progress, grow, mature.
It is now four years later. I ask myself the question which candidates for political office sometimes pose to the voting public. It is the one quiery which begs for an answer.
Am I better off now than I was then?
Right now, I really don't know what the best answer is. Being my harshest critic (unlike the advise from "Desiderata"), I also realize I have to have a balance between what is going well and what room for improvement is needed. But, as a priest had pointed out to me once in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, my honesty is my salvation.
While I have never experienced the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, I understand one of the foundations is to be sincerely honest while looking into your soul. That I seem to do well. And so, with the final hours of 2009 passing, what do I see?
As with all of us, a mixed bag of results.
The blessings given by God to me in the form of challenges the past 48 months have been received in various degrees. I would be foolish to say I am the same as I was back then. I have changed. There has been the good, the bad, and the unresolved (and sometimes all three at once). It is still being sorted; puzzle pieces are not yet in place. I cannot say which way the scale is tipped.
Yet, we all live with uncertainty. Nothing is finished or final until our last day. Like the Parable of the Rich Man's Harvest (Luke 12:16-21), beware when we think we have got it made.
At times it seem I am back at square one. My search for meaningful, consistent, gainful employment is just about at a standstill. My prayer life is as dry as the desert. There is just a underlying feeling of unease about my life.
So, where do I go?
There is only one answer:
"Come to Me...."
And isn't that what it really means to Go Forward?
Friday, December 25, 2009
Party Crasher
This is definitely not in the spirit of Christmas.
Prayers for the Cardinal would be in order, as well as the assailant.
Prayers for the Cardinal would be in order, as well as the assailant.
2009 Christmas Card
The Darling of the World is come,
And fit it is, we find a room
To welcome Him. The nobler part
Of all the house here, is the Heart,
Which we will give Him; and bequeath
This Holly and this Ivy Wreath,
To do Him honor; who's our King,
And Lord of all this Revelling.
And fit it is, we find a room
To welcome Him. The nobler part
Of all the house here, is the Heart,
Which we will give Him; and bequeath
This Holly and this Ivy Wreath,
To do Him honor; who's our King,
And Lord of all this Revelling.
From A Christmas Carol, Sung to the King in the Presence at White-Hall
by Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
May the Christ Child bless you at this holy season.
May His love, joy, and peace fill you.
May He, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, rule the world with Truth and Grace.
Merry Christmas!
by Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
**********
May the Christ Child bless you at this holy season.
May His love, joy, and peace fill you.
May He, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, rule the world with Truth and Grace.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Debut, Redux
At the 2008 Easter Vigil, I had the privilege of chanting the Exsultet for the first time as a cantor.
Tonight, at the Christmas Mass at Midnight, I will have the privilege of chanting the Proclamation of the Birth of Jesus Christ.
I will not be doing the version I traditionally post. Instead I will be doing the currently approved translation. A comparison with other versions can be found here.
May I truly "pray twice" as I intone the announcement of His birth.
Tonight, at the Christmas Mass at Midnight, I will have the privilege of chanting the Proclamation of the Birth of Jesus Christ.
I will not be doing the version I traditionally post. Instead I will be doing the currently approved translation. A comparison with other versions can be found here.
May I truly "pray twice" as I intone the announcement of His birth.
2009 Christmas Eve Reflection
In the Gospel Proclamation for the Vigil of Christmas we hear these words:
The promise it holds.
Allow me to delve into these verses and share my insights. I remind everybody I have no formal training in theology or exegesis. Please read this with a big grain of salt.
Let's begin with the phrase "All this happened". In the context of the narrative it refers to the scene where St. Joseph was visited by an angel and told to take the soon-to-be-born Child and His mother under his care. But did not this take place because all "this"--the whole of salvation history from Adam and Eve to this point in time--happened? If it were not for the "happy fault", the "necessary sin of Adam" as proclaimed in the Exsultet, all the covenants of the Old Testament, and all the prophecies related to this, especially these words from Isaiah, this moment of encounter between messenger and man would have never taken place.
To me, this is the first part of what makes this virgin birth story so different. As far as I know, while others have tried to explain why there is evil in the world, only this one goes to say that it will be rectified and in this manner. Only this one gives us the hope of salvation and delivers. Why would it not be intriguing?
The next phrase which grabbed my attention was "the virgin". Today's world sneers at the concept of being pure, unadulterated, undefiled, untouched, wholly clean. In an age when humanity wants to experience everything no matter the consequences, this is the one experience of which they want no part. They must like looking at their existence through a lens stained with Original Sin.
Adam and Eve knew better but knew too late. Once they disobeyed, they couldn't see the face of God again. The impure can never look at the pure without realizing what is missing. That's why redemption was promised. That's why a pure vessel in which to carry the Son of God was needed. That's why that singular act of grace known as the Immaculate Conception happened. Mary had to be sanctified before she could receive the Source of sanctity. She became the model and example for the rest of humanity.
This is what make this story so special. We are not left to our own devices. God has promised never to abandon us. He shows us how we are to prepare as He makes His preparations to bring us back into the fold. God still loves us, despite at times how we choose to respond to that Love.
Which brings me to the third phrase upon which I dwell--"God is with us." Emmanuel. God has always been with us, even when we don't want to be with Him. That most radical concept called unconditional love. An idea around which the world cannot wrap its collective head. It fails because the head is not enough. It calls for the heart, the very core of our existence.
Augustinian restlessness, damaged but never destroyed by the Fall, is the energy which drives us to seek what we lost in Paradise. We search for it in everything created, but never in the Creator where it will be found. So to make it easier, God comes to dwell with us in a form we recognize--our own humanity. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, fully divine, became fully human because we relate to persons. And it is in that relationship where redemption is fulfilled.
That's what makes this story so enduring. In the Greatest Story Ever Told, we are invited to partake in the Greatest Love Story Ever Told. Made in the image and likeness of our Triune God, we are called to reflect the love indwelling in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by our love for Him and our neighbor. We are only able to do this by the example Jesus Christ show us by His life, death, and resurrection.
While we celebrate His coming as man once a year, He has always been among us.
Let us truly "see our God made visible" and so be "caught up in love of the God we cannot see."
Hodie Christus natus est.
Enjoy my previous Christmas Eve Reflections:
2005
2006
2007
2008
All this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin shall be with child and give birth to a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel," a name which means "God is with us."Now, these words are not foreign to the world. Cultures across the globe have similar myths about some god manifesting himself in human form via a pure maiden. What makes this particular story so special, so enduring, so different from the rest?
(Matthew 1:22-23; cf Isaiah 7:14)
The promise it holds.
Allow me to delve into these verses and share my insights. I remind everybody I have no formal training in theology or exegesis. Please read this with a big grain of salt.
Let's begin with the phrase "All this happened". In the context of the narrative it refers to the scene where St. Joseph was visited by an angel and told to take the soon-to-be-born Child and His mother under his care. But did not this take place because all "this"--the whole of salvation history from Adam and Eve to this point in time--happened? If it were not for the "happy fault", the "necessary sin of Adam" as proclaimed in the Exsultet, all the covenants of the Old Testament, and all the prophecies related to this, especially these words from Isaiah, this moment of encounter between messenger and man would have never taken place.
To me, this is the first part of what makes this virgin birth story so different. As far as I know, while others have tried to explain why there is evil in the world, only this one goes to say that it will be rectified and in this manner. Only this one gives us the hope of salvation and delivers. Why would it not be intriguing?
The next phrase which grabbed my attention was "the virgin". Today's world sneers at the concept of being pure, unadulterated, undefiled, untouched, wholly clean. In an age when humanity wants to experience everything no matter the consequences, this is the one experience of which they want no part. They must like looking at their existence through a lens stained with Original Sin.
Adam and Eve knew better but knew too late. Once they disobeyed, they couldn't see the face of God again. The impure can never look at the pure without realizing what is missing. That's why redemption was promised. That's why a pure vessel in which to carry the Son of God was needed. That's why that singular act of grace known as the Immaculate Conception happened. Mary had to be sanctified before she could receive the Source of sanctity. She became the model and example for the rest of humanity.
This is what make this story so special. We are not left to our own devices. God has promised never to abandon us. He shows us how we are to prepare as He makes His preparations to bring us back into the fold. God still loves us, despite at times how we choose to respond to that Love.
Which brings me to the third phrase upon which I dwell--"God is with us." Emmanuel. God has always been with us, even when we don't want to be with Him. That most radical concept called unconditional love. An idea around which the world cannot wrap its collective head. It fails because the head is not enough. It calls for the heart, the very core of our existence.
Augustinian restlessness, damaged but never destroyed by the Fall, is the energy which drives us to seek what we lost in Paradise. We search for it in everything created, but never in the Creator where it will be found. So to make it easier, God comes to dwell with us in a form we recognize--our own humanity. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, fully divine, became fully human because we relate to persons. And it is in that relationship where redemption is fulfilled.
That's what makes this story so enduring. In the Greatest Story Ever Told, we are invited to partake in the Greatest Love Story Ever Told. Made in the image and likeness of our Triune God, we are called to reflect the love indwelling in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by our love for Him and our neighbor. We are only able to do this by the example Jesus Christ show us by His life, death, and resurrection.
While we celebrate His coming as man once a year, He has always been among us.
Let us truly "see our God made visible" and so be "caught up in love of the God we cannot see."
Hodie Christus natus est.
**********
Enjoy my previous Christmas Eve Reflections:
2005
2006
2007
2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)