Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

I realise I have been silent for a long time, but I feel compelled to comment upon the passing of one of the finest human beings to trod this earth in many years.  After 95 years and a path which has gone from prison to presidential palace, Dr. Nelson Mandela will walk a bit further to another set of gates, these being pearly.

Over all the years, Mandela showed us a better, kinder and more Christ-like way in which the world could be made.  A world based on mutual respect, investment in our youth and meaningful dialogue.  It is in our hands now to carry the work on that he began.


"There is no passion in playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
 - Nelson Mandela

A tree and its fruit.

I have many friends and colleagues who have made much of the words and actions of HH Francis, sounding at times like fangirls and royal watchers with their kawaii squees of joy at every morsel of news.  I am not one who is prone to gush and I can honestly say I have never been really a fanboy.

Do not get me wrong.

What I have seen and heard regarding both the words and deeds of Pope Francis point to him being a man of real compassion and dedication to both God and Church who is putting forth great effort towards righting the institutional wrongs which have crept into the Vatican.  Where I part ways with my above-mentioned friends is that they are all a-twitter because the head of a religion is following the tenets of the faith.

 To me, it is expected.

You lead by example.

It is what the Master did and it is what all good leaders do.  That Pope Francis is doing so means, in my mind, that he has read, understood and feels the message of faith.  That others have not and do not.....well, I recall something about a tree and its fruit.

Where two or three are gathered....

Yesterday, the folks of Colouful Colorado were treated to a reverse-Turnerism, wherein the world was drained of its myriad hues and everything was white and shades of grey.  Driving to mass, there were whiteout conditions most everwhere.  Yet, a dozen or so of us 'committed catholics' (or catholics who should be committed) gathered, sang, prayed and were in communion with each other and the Divine.

Our guiding lenten imagery centers around the Labyrinth and the homily was about how, even though the path may not seem clear to us, if we hold our vision on the Divine above and follow Him, we will be led through the twists and turns till we arrive at the center.  Considering the weather conditions outside, I found it particularly apt.

As masses go, it was the most intimate, with an informality which is not normally seen even in our rather informal community.  And, yes....the Divine was there.

Thanks, Dad.

Lenten Reflection: Judging

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Lk. 6:36-38)

What else needs to be said?

Lenten reflection: Peter's words

Beloved:
I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed.  Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.  Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1Pt. 5:1-4)

Looking at the scandals, the cappa magnas, the dictates underscored by excommunications, the untold millions in the Vatican coffers...I find these words in the lectionary today hard to reconcile with the clergy of the church which celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter.

Further reflection: a more positive approach

After posting, there is something else which needs to be said, lest it be considered that all of my experiences, learning and study have jaded vision such that there is no hope.

Consider the words of the Master:
 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ....? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? .... You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Mat. 6)

One cannot serve both the Lord of Heaven and the god of earthly riches.  Decide who you love more, and follow them with your whole heart.  If one has chosen to serve the Lord of Heaven, then there is no reason to worry about the 'little things' of this world.  If one has chosen to serve the master of money, then matters of the next world are of no consequence.

Who do you love?  Who do you trust?

The Divine will care for you, if you trust Her.  Follow the Voice and He will deliver you, no matter where the path leads.

Lenten reading :Who do you trust?

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes,  in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. (Psalm 146:1-4)

Warning: hard truths and ugly words ahead.

There is a lot of noise on the internet with the recent abdication of Benedict XVI and the conclave of cardinals which will meet to choose a new pontiff.  Chalk up my cynicism to being generational, but I don't hold much hope for a group of like-minded senior executives to break with generations of tradition to possibly harm their position in an altruistic attempt to right a sinking ship.

Put far more bluntly by my father years ago, "Look, our generation knows that we've f****d this world up, most of us don't care and our only hope is to die before the bill comes due."  In my time on this planet, there isn't a single sector, public or private, secular or religious, which hasn't taken taken their turn at this, flagrantly and egregiously, and been caught at it. It appears that part of our mortal, human condition that when given authority and power is invested, especially in an institution, we screw it up.

So, who do you trust?  Not institutions, for certain.  What about people you know?  To a certain extent, as we have enough of a connection with them to know how far NOT to trust them.  And the Divine?  Every time, the Boss comes through.  She never stops loving, He never quits you.

Trust not in the Princes of the Church, Kings of countries or Captains of industry, for they are ALL mortal, ALL fallible.

Trust in God, for He is immortal, She is infallible.

So long, and thanks for all the fish

As has been reported widely, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has tendered his resignation, effective 28 February, at which time the College of Cardinals will choose a new pope.  Though not unprecedented, it is the first abdication by a Roman pope since Gregory XII resigned in 1415 because of the Papal Schism and is only the 5th in the history of the Roman church.

In the last year or so, I have noted with some compassion that the Pontiff appeared to be less leading the Church than being led by the church machine (not unlike the waning years of his predecessor, John Paul II).  Considering his closeness to the former pontiff, I cannot help but believe that this trend has gone unnoticed by His Holiness either.  Though I remain adamant in my disagreement with His Holiness in regards to much of his theology and doctrinal applications, my respect for him as a person, an academician and a man of God who has done what he has believed is best has not diminished.

 I chose the title of this post as a reference to the dolphins in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It is their farewell note as they abandon their home right before it is destroyed in the name of 'progress'.  Considering the scandals at the Vatican Bank, the slow-moving train wreck that is the clerical paedophilia and cover-up, increasing irrelevance of the church as a moral authority, the rapidly decline of the church in numbers on both sides of the altar (to mention but a few), perhaps Dr. Ratzinger has realised that the time to make an exit is now before the entire edifice crumbles and something new, different and alien to the present generation replaces it.

One of the perks when retiring as CEO of a corporation is that you have a hand in the process of finding a replacement.  Given the Pontiff's address, I would expect that his replacement will be younger, more media and tech-savvy.  Considering his own personal understanding of Church, as well as the culture of the Vatican, I would also expect that the next pope will be as bound to tradition, hierarchy and generally conservative as the current one.

Meanwhile, the machinery of the Vatican continues to chug along, oblivious (or actively denying) the Vogon Destructor fleet in orbit around it.

Advice and counsel requested

Recently, there has been some lively discussion within our little Communion of churches regarding the requirements and pre-requisites for ordination to the priesthood.  At one point, I recall seeing a captioned image of some young priests which said (effectively) that none of their education and standard preparation will do any good at getting them ready to be a priest.  Though it would rankle a good deal of well-meaning folk, this isn't nearly as shocking as it sounds.  Getting degrees, no matter how good the education, rarely prepares you for the real-world application of that vocation, whether it is mending bodies, healing minds or salving souls.

So, I'm asking.

What can prepare someone for this vocation?

More importantly, how can someone prepare to be a good priest?

What qualites, skills and abilities constitute a good (that is to say, effectual) priest?

For those who have experience in this endeavour, let me put it differently.

What has served you in good stead whilst carrying out your duties as a pastor/priest/minister?

If you could pass on a nugget of wisdom to an aspiring priest, what would that be?

Inquiring hearts want to know.

P.S. - If, in responding, you would prefer confidentiality, please email me privately.

Silence

I realise that it has been a long time, a very long time, since I have penned any substantive material to this blog.  I am certain that there is some glib excuse or quippy rejoinder, but the unvarnished truth of the matter is simple.

I have met my match.

Verily, dear readers (and I know all three of you), I have come face to face with the most disturbing and frightening of things - a person who is, in every way possible of measuring, at least my equal if not my better.  Indeed, a veritable mirror image of my own self, yet with barely enough difference to make such a doppleganger distinguishable.

Given such a formidable and singular personage, I said the only thing reasonable.

"Be my companion throughout time."

Fortunately, she said yes.

Identity

Identity (noun) : Condition or character as to who a person or what a thing is.

You are a child of God, created in Her image and His likeness.

Respect Identity.

(image by Chris at Misfile as part of the Transgender Day of Remembrance Webcomic Project)

Do unto others.....

Meet Savita Halappanavar, a 31 year old dentist.  Originally from India, Mrs. Halappanavar lived in Ireland with her husband, was a Hindu and expecting their first child. Then, one evening, she started to have symptoms which suggested that she was having a miscarriage.  They went to the University hospital in Galway where...

He [her husband] said she continued to experience pain and asked a consultant if she could be induced. They said unfortunately she can't "because it's a Catholic country," Mr Halappanavar said.

"Savita said to her she is not Catholic, she is Hindu, and why impose the law on her. But she said 'I'm sorry, unfortunately it's a Catholic country' and it's the law that they can't abort when the foetus is live." (source: BBC)

A few days later, the foetus' heart stopped, Ms. Halappanavar went into septic shock and was pronounced dead a week after she walked into the hospital under her own power.

I mention this tale is not to mourn a young woman or the unborn child (which is right, fitting and proper, certainly). Rather, I would wish to consider what it says about the understandings we have about the Master's teachings and how we apply them.  I want to continue, but I fear that is gilding the lily.

Post election inspiration

After months and months of spin, lies and ad buys, here's a little detox for you.

The earth is the creation of God.  To feel it, experience it in a visceral and primal way is one of the deeper ways of connecting with the Divine.

Feel it turn.

Wait....wut?!

Confused and befuddled?  Just where we want you.

Try as I might, it appears that I cannot avoid being sucked into the confluence of modern-day politics and religious 'thought'.  That said, I want to comment on the large issues, not the specifics.

The world we live in has become so large, varied and technical that we generally rely upon outside experts to inform our opinions on things rather than attempting to become subject matter experts ourselves.  In a word, we outsource.  In itself, this is not entirely a bad thing as it gives us access to expertise in short order and permits us to become subject matter experts in our own fields.

The trouble is when said subject matter experts give advice and counsel which flies in the face of our own experience.  If an IT guru advises you against virus protection on your computer or an English professor tells you that War and Peace is a light and quick read, you would really question them. So....

When those who are purported to be religious authorities exhort views which plainly contradict what is in the Scripture and the Tradition they hold as valid....

When people who are recognized as religious/spiritual leaders lay out a description of 'Gods Vision' which they 'know' that is fundamentally at odds with your own, personal experience of the Divine.....

When 'liberal' political leaders are advocating status-quo to slow, incremental adjustments so 'we can move forward' while 'conservative' political leaders are demanding radical change in order to 'restore the past'....

...it calls into question the rationality of their reason and the cost of their counsel.

No matter that, some would say, for the prelates have proclaimed their promulgations beyond proof and their declarations debar discussion or debate (church doctors be damned).  Likewise, the vote-chasers are adverse to even the verisimilitude of veracity and appear unremorseful in their unabashed unheeding of the unwashed masses.

If these are the leaders, why should we follow?
If they represent, control and govern the organization, what value is in being a part of it?
Why engage in an exchange when their ends are egregious and empty?

In short, why feed the troll?

My question would be who do you believe?  Them or your lying eyes?

Speaking of ships coming in

A quick update:

The boy I was trying to help is no longer on the streets, but is back home with his parents.

Hallelujah!

My friend whose partner should have died from liver failure is now at home.

Hallelujah!

My very good friend who was in a coma is now awake and at home.

Hallelujah!

My love is requited in the most incredible person in the world.

Hallelujah!

My son is hale, healthy and wonderfully abnormal.

Hallelujah!

Prayers are listened to and answered.

Hallelujah!



"Keep the faith and your ship will come in.  It's all right!"

"Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without boundaries."

"Trust in God with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and She will make your paths straight."

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Inspiration from song

"I've got a smile on my face, I've got four walls around me;
The sun in the sky, the water surrounds me;
I'll win now but sometimes I'll lose;
I've been battered, but I'll never bruise;
it's not so bad....

And I say way-hey-hey, it's just an ordinary day;
and it's all your state of mind;
At the end of the day, you've just got to say;
it's all right.

In this beautiful life, but there's always some sorrow;
It's a double-edged knife, but there's always tomorrow;
It's up to you now if you sink or swim;
Keep the faith and your ship will come in;
It's not so bad"  - Great Big Sea, Ordinary Day

Perspective....that's what we should maintain.  It is so easy to be drawn into negative patterns, to see the darkness and forget that there are no shadows without light and what we see as 'bad' or 'good' is entirely a subjective opinion based upon a horribly incomplete understanding of the situation.

Be grateful for what  you have been given.  The here and now is a gift, which is why it's called the present.

It's all right.

Thanks be to God.

Hard words on reconstruction

A few bits of synchronicity which have come together and inspired me to pen this post. I warn you now that it is not an easy pill to swallow, nor am I pleased to administer it, but medicine is often efficacious in inverse proportion to its palatability.

The first comes this op-ed piece in the Boston Globe by James Carroll.  Carroll recalls the Vatican II council and upon the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIII calling for the council, his op-ed describes in lurid detail how much promise and change which the Council promised whilst expounding upon its failings.  The upshot of his lengthy memoir is that the revolution which was signaled 50 years ago is dead, ostensibly struck down by a few prelates who felt threatened by the changes which they themselves had instituted.  He states, "Alas, the age of miracles passed."  Clergy and laity both left the Roman Church in droves.

Some of those people came to places like my own Catholic-not-Roman church, which leads me directly into the next bit.  Our Presiding Bishop was in town to ordain a priest and was kind enough to spend an evening in dialogue with the laity of our parish.  When asked what his biggest fear is, the bishop replied that the Church (our break-away V2-style church) would die with 'our' (his, read Boomer) generation.   It is my belief that his fears are not only well-founded, but it is quite likely.

The Boomer/V2 church will die with them just like the Roman model which the prelates are so keen to promote will, realistically, die with them.  Both will die because there is no need for the church as they know it. The US society is, by and large, no longer interested in 'pray, pay, obey' and the 'social justice revolution' of Vatican II is almost quaint and backwards compared to where mainstream secular society is today. Furthermore, there is a more fundamental question of relevance - why any church at all?  People of faith and good will can and do meet in non-church places, perform the Good Work outside of church walls and have formed community beyond the bounds of the bishop.This leads me to what I realized last night as I looked out on a sea of greying hair and balding pates.

St. Dominic once said,

It is not by the display of power and pomp, cavalcades of retainers, and richly-houseled palfreys, or by gorgeous apparel, that the heretics win proselytes; it is by zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity, by seeming, it is true, but by seeming holiness. Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth.

This applies to heretics within the organization as well as without. During the 1970's, when the Vatican II pushback happened, where was the zeal? the preaching truth? the real sanctity? Their days of revolution are past and, as is so clearly outlined in Carroll's piece, when it came time to take up pitchforks and torches and force the issue, the faithful did so very little.

IF the Good Work is to continue, it will not be done by the Boomers or the Church.  No, it must be done by those of us who have been left behind by the Boomers, by the prelates, by the Church.  On this, the vigil of the feast of St. Francis, I would echo the words he heard, "Rebuild My Church".

IF we are willing to hear and answer the voice of the Divine, it is for us, those left behind, to pick up those stones and rebuild the church so that it relates to OUR concerns, OUR times and OUR world, not for us or ourselves, but for His Glory and Her Will be done.

Thoughts on buildings, community and liturgy

This past weekend, the people of our region had the joyous opportunity of observing the ordination of a long standing member of our sister parish to the priesthood.  A (much too small) image of the beautiful sanctuary is at right, but suffice to say that the century-plus episcopal sanctuary was constructed to evoke the feel of a Hooker-era English country parish church.  Our sister parish is colocated with the Anglo-Catholics here and they are a good fit, as both are quite conservative and the ordination which we watched was reflective both of the sacred space and the community who uses it.  The bishop, vicar and pastor of the parish sat in front of the altar, bedecked in their finery, facing the pews and performed for us, whilst we took in the spectacle of an old-skool, espicopal-led Catholic mass and ordination.

This would be in stark contrast to the mass I participated in on Sunday.  Our stark-white, modernist sanctuary (well, it belongs to the Lutherans, but they let us borrow it) has little of the beauty which I saw on Saturday, but the differences don't stop there.  Sunday service is normally small (50-60 people) and we all come up and stand around the altar in a big circle while the rite of Eucharist is performed.  All are welcome and all participate in the flesh and spirit.

As I consider my own path, the question sits with me - what best represents the type of place I wish to be in, that I wish to build?  Where do I find the Divine and where/when do I experience Her moving in myself and others?  I'm afraid my answers would not be pleasing to some, but St. Dominic calls to me "Follow the Truth, no matter where it may lead."

Prayers

I don't ask with frequency, but I would ask for prayers for...

Kit and his family, that sickness would leave him and his liver be healed.

Michelle and her family, that her passing brings closure to long suffering and healing to all.

Will and for Roger, that both them come to terms with who they are and shed the sickness which afflicts them.

Tim, that he grasp the lessons being taught.

Dispatch from the Wilderness : two quotes, two thoughts

"A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials." - Confucius (attrib.)

A number of factors have been working together to dissuade me from posting.  I have no stomach for the current events or politics as of late and my studies have left me....unsatisfied.  That said, Dad's idea of OJT has been most 'illuminating' and has done much to stretch me mentally, emotionally and psychologically.  Also, my beloved has been most helpful in tempering and testing my beliefs and I feel rather indebted to her for this.  Polishing the stone, indeed.

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (I Cor. 2 : 4-7)

The more I look at this, where Dad is calling me and what needs doing, the more I realize that I can't reasonably be like most other priests and that my 'people' don't fit in a parish.  Maybe it's  all of the days and nights in the Wilderness, but the folks who I am called to serve don't sit in pews, sing V2 hymns off-key and talk about their grandchildren.  They don't care about ad orientem, by-mouth reception, bishops or any of that stuff.  They need to see, to know that both the Divine which suffuses all and people here on Earth love and care about them and wish to help them.

There is a lot of uncertainty and questioning which comes of this, being so far beyond the comfortable walls of 'church as usual'.  What I know for certain is that I do not walk alone.  There are others, both visible and invisible, who wander the wastelands with me.