Irises by Vincent Van Gogh (click on image for larger version)
Tomorrow is the first day of June! I am very ready for summer, for slowing down a bit, for warm days and for a real change of seasons.
How about you?
From my Glee Club days in high school I remember singing Rodgers and Hammerstein's June Is Bustin' Out All Over but at the time I hadn't seen Carousel and so I had no context for the rollicking show stopper . Take a few minutes now to enjoy the singing and dancing here at Nettie Fowler's Spa!
(YouTube has disabled embedding this video so you'll need to click on the "singing and dancing" link. The video is in letterbox format: for a larger version, click on the icon in the lower right hand corner of the YouTube box.)
You know, they just don't make movies with 8 minute long song and dance numbers any more! When I was working in Campus Ministry at Notre Dame (1978-1982) the University would run movies in the dining hall that was open all night during finals. I recall going over one night when My Fair Lady was the featured flick. The students would laugh every time Professor Higgins, Colonel Pickering, Eliza or Freddy broke into song in Covent Gardens, their homes, at the race track or "on the street where you live." While I know most sane people don't sing like that in public, I still like to think that it could happen or that there are times when we walk around with a song in our hearts waiting and wanting to be sung.
Enjoy the clip from Carousel! Enjoy June and enjoy the summer!
La Visitation by JacopodaPontormo (Be sure to click on image for larger version, better color and detail!)
Saturday, May 31, is the Feast of the Visitation which the painting above depicts. To understand the story of this feast, read the beginning of Luke's gospel.
And here's a beautiful reflection on the feast and the Lucan account that pulls it all together from Zechariah's vantage point. (Zechariah was Elizabeth's husband.)
Those who pray the Rosary know the Visitation as the second of the Joyful Mysteries.
One can hardly ponder the scripture and the feast here without renewing reverence for life in all its shapes and forms, no matter how small that form may be. The joy of the Visitation is captured by the notion that somehow John, in Elizabeth's womb, already recognizes in Mary's womb, the One whose coming he will herald and in whose name he will baptize many in the Jordan. And of course, John leaps for joy in his mother's womb at the nearness of the One for whose name he will give his life.
For some Marian music for your celebration of this feast, turn your ears and heart to these posts.
(And I hoped you clicked on the da Pontormo above to enjoy the larger version!)
The Sacred Heart of Jesus by Salvador Dali: click on image for a larger version.
Today, May 30, is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I have posted Salvador Dali's painting of the Sacred Heart before and here again for the same reason: the beauty, the strength, the intensity and the raw humanity of the divine heart-for-us is so clear in this image.
This is not the passive Christ of so much religious art but rather the strong Christ of self-emptying love whose heart was crucified for us.
Here is a Christ I can imagine fishermen leaving their boats and nets to follow.
Here is a Christ strong enough to carry any burdens we might lay at his feet.
Here is a Christ with a heart robust enough to pump its Spirit through the universe; a heart tender enough to welcome any who seek refuge within it; a heart unafraid to expose itself that all might know its love and mercy; a heart ready for giving itself away from unfathomable depths; a heart big enough to be the very heart of God, made flesh, that our hearts might know God's love for us.
Cor ad cor loquitur!
To help us pray on this feast, here are the scriptures for today's Mass.
Does the very word baguette make you hungry? Imagine slicing open a fresh one and painting the inside with deli mustard... and then stuffing it with pot roast slow cooked for over 7 hours... adding slices of horseradish cheddar cheese... and then popping that long loaf back in the oven for toasting, melting and melding the flavors!
If that sounds great to you, then make sure you visit La Petite France Cafe on Main Street in Hyannis - on a Wednesday - when these pot roast sandwiches make their weekly appearance. Gotta tell you: the pot roast here is as moist, tender and flavorful as you'll find anywhere; the bread is fresh, crusty on the outside and delicious all the way through; and the mustard and cheese make this a perfect lunch.
If you're not able to stop by on a Wednesday, come any day for great sandwiches, soups and salads - not to mention great breads, croissants and other baked goods which are definitely not l0-cal. Everything here is fresh and the sandwiches are made by Ian Parent, La Petite's owner and genial host.
Lots of take-out here but there are about a half-dozen small tables for those who want to take a seat. At lunch time you might find a line at the counter but things move quickly and it's more than worth the short wait. Check here for the whole menu and open/close times.
I've been stopping in for lunch here for years, going back to when Lucien DeGioanni was the owner and Ian his employee. I miss hearing Lucien's accent but I'm sure he'd approve of what Ian has made of the Cafe. And while Ian's speech is thoroughly American, his hearty laugh and the sandwich he's preparing for you will make whatever kind of day you're having just a little better!
During an Ordination to the Diaconate, Cardinal Sean O'Malley presents the Book of the Gospels
This weekend Cardinal Sean O'Malley will ordain 27 to the permanent diaconate for service in the Archdiocese of Boston. One of those to be ordained is Gregory Burch of Holy Family Parish in Concord!
At the Rite of Ordination to the Diaconate, the Bishop speaks these words to the newly ordained as he hands them the Book of the Gospels:
Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.
Gregory will preach his first homily this Sunday at our 11:30 Eucharist.
Here's a reflection I wrote years ago on the ministry of preaching. I share it with Gregory and his classmates as they begin their preaching ministry and as a "refresher" for myself and all who have been preaching for many years.
The Ministry of Preaching
Yours is a share in the work of the Lord’s Spirit who opens our hearts to the Good News of salvation.
Yours is the ministry of the table of God’s Word.
Yours is the work of breaking open the scriptures that God’s people might be nourished by the food of the Lord’s Word.
Yours is the ministry of Jesus who came to announce that the reign of God is at hand.
Yours is the voice that opens for us the challenge and the consolation of the gospel.
Yours is to tell a story that tells the story of God’s love for us.
Yours is the prophet’s ministry among the hometown folks.
Yours is the task of announcing: promise, to those who have lost hope; love, to those who cannot find it; mercy, to those who have sinned; joy, to those in tears; justice to the oppressed and their oppressors; and God, to a world sometimes less than human.
Come to your work from your personal prayer, come filled with the Word that judges and saves your own life.
Come to your preaching mindful of your own need to hear the gospel message, that your word be clear and true.
Bear the book of the gospels as the weight of God’s judgment and the breadth of God’s mercy.
Carry this book as the Ark of the Covenant: with reverence, awe and wonder.
Proclaim the gospel as if our lives depended on it: they do. Proclaim the Good News as though we had never heard it: we are slow to understand.
Prepare your proclamation of the gospel as carefully as you prepare your homily: the one will never fail; the other may be forgotten.
Preach the scriptures: that is all we need to hear.
Pray for God’s Spirit to illumine your mind and heart with the light of Christ.
Let your preaching speak to this age, but not be conformed to it; let your thoughts be transformed by the renewal of your mind in Christ Jesus, - then we shall be re-created.
Preach to us as people you have come to know; we will come to know you well by what you preach.
Struggle as you must when preaching the difficult text or the hard saying: your honest struggle helps us in our own.
Spare us the used homily when those scripture texts come ‘round again: our lives have changed, as has your own, and we hunger for fresh food from the gospel table.
When the Lord has been sparing of inspiration, be brief: we will understand.
Let not even your own sin hold back from us the gospels’ demands.
Preach the Word in season and out of season.
Do not shrink from naming what is sinful: how else will we know our need for salvation?
Preach sin and grace for this is what we know the best - and need to hear again.
Preach the reign of God in our midst: help us to know its signs and presence.
Tell us the story of God’s mercy: no other story is more important.
Show us Jesus dying and rising among us: this is what we have come here to see.
When your brothers and sisters praise and thank you for your work, take delight in the Word that has nourished them and rejoice in the work the Lord has accomplished through you.
Be faithful in the work you do, for through it the Lord saves his people.
For more on the diaconate and preaching in general, check out Catholic Sensibility where Todd just completed a series of posts on the order of deacons and is in the midst of a series on preaching: the former based on Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem (Paul VI's document reviving the order of deacons) and the latter on the USCCB document on preaching, Fulfilled In Your Hearing.
Photo by James M. Thresher of The Washington Post One of the things I enjoy most about writing this blog is the capacity to illustrate my posts with a variety of images, videos and audio clips. Response from readers tells me how great an impact the visual and audio have on the written word.
I experience the impact myself when I write my weekly letter for the parish bulletin. I wish there were a way to include in that medium the illustrative elements so easy to employ here. The same is true of preaching. The written or spoken word can stand on its own and be very powerful indeed but when combined with other media, the difference in impact can be exponential.
This article in today's Globe, then, definitely caught my attention. No, I haven't any plans - not even dreams - of installing all that equipment in my church! Well, not all of it...
We currently have the technology to record on CD's everything audio in our Sunday Masses and to duplicate the recorded CD for lectors, preachers and musicians to take home for self-critique and growth in their ministries. We have the equipment, but we don't always have the personnel handy to push the buttons and make things happen from liturgy to liturgy. It's my hope that one day soon I'll be able to send a CD out with each of our ministers to the sick and homebound so that they can share some of the Word, prayer and song of the community's worship. I need to learn about podcasting and how I might share an audio of my homilies and not just the text here on my blog. Lots to learn and lots to do!
The article below reports how churches with a less formal liturgical rite might use today's technology. The ritual of the Catholic community sets some parameters here and there are boundaries that I would hope we always respect. Still, there are moments when some of what these other churches are doing would easily find a home in the worship of my tradition.
Of course in my present circumstances I preside at the Eucharist in a church whose sanctuary is dead center in the nave with about half the assembly to my left and half to my right. Directly across from me and on the other side of a fairly open space before the altar is the choir. With this floorplan, any visuals would need to emply three screens to reach all the worshippers!
I think I'd best be satisfied with better management of our CD equipment and my hopes about podcasting!
-ConcordPastor
With aid of technology, preaching to the wired Mainline Protestants embrace new media to get out the word
NEWTON - Saying evangelicals have gotten too far ahead of mainline Protestants in the use of technology to reach out to the unchurched, a liberal Protestant seminary here is launching a new program to train future clergy in high-tech evangelization.
The seminary, Andover Newton Theological School, is joining the Massachusetts Bible Society in establishing a media center that will also coach pastors on creating better websites and podcasts, train seminarians on the liturgical uses of video, and offer material on biblical interpretation to congregations and clergy around the country...
"The conservative evangelical community has been way ahead, and the progressive community has been lagging behind," said the Rev. Nick Carter, president of Andover Newton. "Initially there was a knee-jerk reaction on the part of mainline and progressive churches - 'That's what they do' - but now there's more of a sense that maybe they've got something there..."
Andover Newton has just completed construction of a chapel that is fully wired for video and audio projection and recording... The school intends to record student preaching, both for critiques and so the students can develop video portfolios for use in applying for jobs. The school, which has students from 35 Christian denominations, plans to train seminarians and clergy in producing and editing podcasts, streaming video, and other forms of multimedia for use in churches and on the Internet.
"The old ways of communicating the Gospel, while not ineffective, at this point are not reaching more and more people who rely on 21st-century technology for their information," said the Rev. Anne Robertson, executive director of the Massachusetts Bible Society... "We are concerned about biblical literacy, or the lack thereof, and we want to be able to produce materials that will help to address that," she said...
"For this school that created the model for graduate theological education, it's time for us to break the model and do it again," Carter said. "Each generation needs to look at how we communicate the Gospel effectively, and today, if your clergy is technologically challenged, the Gospel is technologically challenged." Many theological schools have already moved in that direction. At Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, for example, there is a course on the use of technology in worship, as well as the role of religion online. That school's chapel was equipped this spring with cameras and computers so events could be broadcast...
"In certain corners of the Christian community, using screens and digital imagery and amplified music are very common and familiar and accepted without question, while in other parts there's still a lot of even theological questions about whether it's appropriate," said Mary E. Hess, a specialist in the use of technology in theological education and an associate professor of educational leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn.
"Within churches that are particularly interested in reaching out . . . you see more use of screens, film clips, recorded music, and a whole host of kinds of innovation," she said. However, technology is used less in churches with deep liturgical traditions, such as Catholic and Lutheran churches and in congregations where there is concern that technology "is disembodying, that somehow these technologies separate people."
- Read the complete report by Michael Paulson in The Boston Globe, 5-28-08
(For more on this topic, see this article from The Washington Post)
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock...
If it's Wednesday, it's time for Word for the Weekend and time to begin to read, ponder and pray over the scriptures for this coming Sunday.
Just a click right here will bring you to Sunday's scripture texts and background materials to help you understand them. Got kids? Then you want to check out these materials designed to help children take a look at the Word they'll hear this weekend.
We are two weeks past Pentecost and the completion of the Easter season but the solemnities of Trinity and Corpus Christi have filled the 7th and 8th Sundays of Ordinary Time. This week we find ourselves on the 9th Sunday of Ordinary Time with no special feast being celebrated. (For info on the change of the liturgical seasons skip back to this post.)
May is a month when many give special honor to Mary. Ferruzzi's beautiful Madonna hung in my mother's living room for many years and I'm sure that's why it's among my favorites.
Those who have been reading this blog for some time will remember a series last September of Marian music which led up to a concert here at Holy Family Parish entitled Chosen From All Women, featuring soprano Lauren Sprague and pianist Carol Messina. I've collected those posts with their musical videos and you can find them here.
Save the Children UKreleased a photo of "Elizabeth," a 12-year-old who said she was raped by 10 peacekeepers in Ivory Coast last June, an example of the abuses listed in the report.
As you read the following (and link to the complete report) you will have a sickening sense of deja vu. Some important details here are the same and others very different, but the outline is sadly familiar and the contents depressingly similar to the story of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church.
This report reminds us of the need to be ever vigilant in how we care for children and provide a safe environment for them, particularly when their vulnerability makes them easy targets for predators.
What can we do?
We can take advantage, without grumbling, of every opportunity our parishes, schools and communities offer to learn more about the dangers facing children and ways to be vigilant on their behalf. We can respond in a timely fashion when parishes and schools and children's organizations ask us to complete a CORI form. We can make a conscious effort to never take a child's safety for granted and to learn and keep ourselves open to the behavioral signs children exhibit when they are being abused. We can continue to call Church leadership and ourselves to accountablilty for the care, safety and protection of children.
-ConcordPastor
Peacekeepers accused of sexual abuse of children
Crimes widespread, British charity says
The British-based aid agency Save the Children UK said in a report released yesterday that it has uncovered evidence of widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of peacekeepers and international aid workers in war zones and disaster areas. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, expressing "deep concern," said the United Nations will investigate the allegations that its peacekeepers are involved in the abuse.
The report, based on field research in southern Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Haiti, describes a litany of sexual crimes committed by peacekeepers and relief workers against children as young as 6.
It said some children were denied food aid unless they granted sexual favors; others were forced to have sex or to take part in child pornography; many more were subjected to improper touching or kissing.
"The report shows sexual abuse has been widely underreported because children are afraid to come forward," Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of Save the Children UK, told Associated Press Television News. The report is entitled "No One to Turn To."
"A tiny proportion of peacekeepers and aid workers are abusing the children they were sent to protect. It ranges from sex for food to coerced sex. It's despicable."
Calling the sexual exploitation of minors a "very serious issue," Ban reiterated that he has a "zero tolerance" policy for such acts by UN personnel.
"I think that the report is very valuable and does give us some good points to which the United Nations should continue to address this issue," Ban said. "On all these cases which have been raised, we will very carefully investigate" and will take "necessary measures" where appropriate.
Earlier, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas had welcomed the report. "It's fair, and I think it's essentially accurate," she said...
H/T to a faithful reader who draws our attention to a short, thoughtful post by Sidney Callahan on the America blog. (A link to this blog is always available on the sidebar here.)
In addition to an eye-catching title (got you to read this post, right?) Callahan deftly snapshots the American cultural experience and teases some implications for the worship question. She gets more said in a short space than most of us might, but I'm hoping that you'll try your hand at responding to her opening question, "Why go to Mass?" More specifically, "Why do you go to Mass? What drags you out of bed into pew on a Sunday morning? How does the ritual repetition enhance your spirituality? Are there ways in which ritual dulls your spiritual experience?"
(Here's another Americaarticle from three years ago by John Baldovin, SJ, which might help you ponder these questions. And from a different point of view, U.S. Catholic offers us a piece on Ten Reasons Not to Go to Mass.)
I look forward to you reading your thoughts! (I know you have them: I just have to pray that you might articulate them!)
-ConcordPastor
Love, Sex and Text Messaging
Why go to mass? Like other Americans, many Catholics claim to be "spiritual but not religious." They cannot believe that missing mass is a mortal sin, (who does?) nor do they feel obligated to support their(?) parish.
But Catholics today do appreciate friendship, sex, and communication; however they don't relate their insights to Sunday worship, as they well might.
Yes, God speaks to the soul in those "peak experiences"of beauty, nature, and music. Yet at mass spiritual seekers can receive God's own "text messages," in the inspired words of scripture.
The word of God focuses and concentrates "spirituality". God's Word can breach those habitual mind-sets that have been built up as defenses. Attention! Attention! Wake up! This way to the Truth and the Life.
Well, maybe, but what about the complaint that mass is boring? Repetition and slow moving rituals may try the short attention span of media wired moderns in an ADHD culture. But here's where knowing more about friendship comes to the rescue.
Friends become friends by repeated low key, slow moving periods of "hanging out"together. They routinely indulge in retelling memories of the past and all know their standard lines. Face to face time includes companionable silence as well.
Ritual repetition, along with intense and restful moments also mark the practice of love and sex. Love increases with each loving act and so do sexual bonds. It's the repeated unions of body, mind and love that generate the energy for large hearted living.
Similarly, each loving union with Christ's risen body in the Eucharist expands and transforms the heart. Going to communion gives birth to new Christ like persons. God becomes human so that humans can become God. "Theosis," "deification" are the technical terms describing the astounding promise.
Since growing up into Christ is not the work of a day, we worship over and over--supported and encouraged by our sojourning brothers and sisters.
Then there are the regressions and lapses into childishness: "I want what I want when I want it. Who wants to be like God, anyway?"
In the worst of moods. I don't want to open up to anybody, much less to the "One Who makes all things new." Please, just dim the lights and shut the door, thank you.
But somehow if I drag myself into that left rear pew, the starter button becomes pressed and the motor slowly turns over. A few sparks flicker and a flame flares up.
In the end we go to mass to be set afire. Light from Light, at last.
The Concord Minutemen at St. Bernard Cemetery on Memorial Day
(Click image for a close up!) Photo by ConcordPastor
In many cities and towns (and certainly here in Concord, Massachusetts) soldiers and folks in soldier costumes paraded in formation up and down our streets today or, with less formality, walked to and from salutes and ceremonies. Flags were everywhere and some folks wore the stars and stripes or at least dressed in the national colors for Memorial Day.
We celebrated Mass at the parish cemetery under an archway of flowering trees and before an image of the risen Christ. Shortly after Mass a small parade of soldiers, bagpipers, Minutemen, horses, honored citizens and town officials stopped at our cemetery and gathered hard by the Resurrected One where I offered a prayer, a young woman sang America the Beautiful and two young people played Taps and Echo. A large brass canon delivered three exclamation points to all of this and the parade moved on to another stop in Monument Square.
None of the above is very unusual and I describe a scene repeated "from sea to shining sea" across America.
It is, of course, a good thing to remember the dead, to pray for them and to honor the bravery of those who have served and protected us. Still, the memory and present reality of war invisibly clouded this beautiful New England day and its rites, at least where I was standing.
Here's another poem from William Stafford, good for reading on a day when we gather at monuments and pray...
-ConcordPastor
FOR THE UNKNOWN ENEMY
This monument is for the unknown
good in our enemies. Like a picture
their life began to appear: they
gathered at home in the evening
and sang. Above their fields they saw
a new sky. A holiday came
and they carried the baby to the park
for a party. Sunlight surrounded them.
Here we glimpse what our minds long turned
away from. The great mutual
blindness darkened that sunlight in the partk,
and the sky that as new, and the holidays.
This monument says that one afternoon
we stood here letting a part of our minds
escape. They came back, but different.
Enemy: one day we glimpsed your life.
Each year the soldiers of the Third United States Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") take part in the ceremony called "Flags In." Just before Memorial Day, each grave in Arlington National Cemetery is decorated with a small American flag. The flags remain in place until the conclusion of the Memorial Day Weekend when they are all removed. It is the only time during the year when American flags are permitted at all grave sites in the Cemetery.
Memorial Day Prayer
In the quiet sanctuaries of our own hearts, let us call on the name of the One whose power over us is great and gentle, firm and forgiving, holy and healing…
You who created us, who sustain us, who call us to live in peace, hear our prayer this day.
Hear our prayer for all who have died, whose hearts and hopes are known to you alone…
Hear our prayer for those who put the welfare of others
ahead of their own: give us hearts as generous as theirs…
Hear our prayer for those who gave their lives
in the service of others, and accept the gift of their sacrifice…
Help us to shape and make a world where we will put down the arms of war and live in the harvest of justice and peace…
Comfort those who grieve the loss of their loved ones: in our hearts let your healing be our hope.
Hear our prayer this day and in your mercy answer us in the name of all that is holy.
Amen.
(This is the prayer I will use today at one of Concord's several town observances of Memorial Day. Because people of many faiths will be present, I have written the prayer to be as inclusive as possible. My parish will celebrate Mass in our cemetery on Memorial Day morning, praying for those who are buried there and for all who have gone before us.)
For the new Word for the Week I've chosen just a few lines from Sunday's first lesson from Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a.
The key to this passage is Moses asking the Israelites to remember and not to forget all that the Lord had done for them as they wandered for 40 years in the desert. Even today, this "remembering" is at the heart of Jewish and Christian prayer. There's an old Hebrew proverb, Remembering is a form of meeting."
In our own individual lives it's easy, even tempting, to remember all the troubles, the hard times, the difficulties. Sometimes we feed off this unhealthy diet. This scripture might prompt us to take a few moments in prayer to search our memories and hearts to remember and not to forget the good things the Lord has done for each of us, the gifts we have received from God, the blessings and mercies...
Here's a little exercise to get us started:
Who are three (or more) people in my life for whom I'm grateful to God? 1. 2. 3.
What are three (or more) blessings I've received in my life? 1. 2. 3.
What are three (or more) ways that I've experienced God as kind? 1. 2. 3.
What are three times when I've been grateful for my faith? 1. 2. 3.
Remember and don't forget: The Lord is merciful, rich in kindness, slow to anger and faithful..
Let me share with you an old and wonderful Hasidic story.*
When the great Rabbi Israel Baal Shem-Tov
saw misfortune threatening the Jewish people,
it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate.
There he would light a fire, say a special prayer,
and a miracle would be accomplished
and the misfortune averted.
Later, when his disciple, the celebrated Magid of Mezritch,
had occasion, for the same reason, to intercede with heaven,
he would go to the same place in the forest and say:
"Master of the Universe, listen!
I do not know how to light the fire,
but I am still able to say the prayer,"
and again the miracle would be accomplished,
the misfortune averted.
Still later, Rabbi Moshe-Leib, in order to save his people once more,
would go into the forest and say:
"I do not know how to light the fire, I do not know the prayer,
but I know the place and this must be sufficient."
It was sufficient and the miracle was accomplished,
the misfortune averted.
Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhyn to overcome misfortune.
Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands,
he spoke to God and said:
"I am unable to light the fire and I do not know the prayer;
I cannot even find the place in the forest.
All I can do is to tell the story, and this must be sufficient."
And it was sufficient.
The miracle was accomplished, the misfortune averted.
It is said that God made human beings because he loves stories.
And the best of our stories are the ones about God and us.
In the first scripture today Moses is telling the Jewish people,
“Don’t forget the story! Remember the story!
Tell the story of how the Lord has saved us:
from the desert, from starvation, from drought,
from slavery and from our enemies!
Remember the story – and tell the story…”
That’s what Moses told the Israelites
and we are still following his advice.
It’s just what we do every Sunday.
We tell the ancient stories
and remember how the God has saved his people,
so that we don’t forget the Lord’s love.
Preaching is meant to help us see how the old stories
are still the stories of how God loves and saves us - today.
And there is one story that we tell every Sunday,
no matter what the liturgical season or feast.
Every Sunday we tell the story that begins Before he was given up to death,
a death he freely accepted, he took bread… he took the cup…
he gave you thanks and praise…
We tell that story every Sunday because:
like the rabbi who could not find the place in the forest,
we cannot return to Calvary – and so we gather here;
like the rabbi who is unable to light the fire,
we do not know how to give ourselves as Jesus did,
and so we offer his sacrifice at the altar;
and like the rabbi who forgot the prayer,
we pray the words of Jesus and we tell his story…
We remember the story, we know the story
and we tell the story, over and over again…
And every week the miracle is accomplished (Christ who died and rose comes to our table)
and by the strength of his presence,
the misfortune of sin and death is averted,
in our not forgetting, in our remembering and telling…
That is why it is important for us
to gather, remember and tell the stories every week -
even when we don’t feel like getting up on Sunday morning.
That is why it is important for us to gather and tell the story
even when we allow ourselves to become “bored”
with the stories of how God loves and saves us.
That is why we need to listen to the ancient writings:
to long and learn to understand how they are stories for us today.
That is why it is important for us to gather together,
and why it’s not enough to pray alone on the Sabbath,
lest, left to our own devices, we fail to remember and tell the story.
That is why we bring our children to Mass on the Lord’s Day
so that even before they can speak or understand the story,
they begin to hear, week after week, the ancient words,
he took the bread, he broke it… he took the cup, he blessed it…
he gave it to his disciples and he said…”
On a Sunday morning some years ago,
a mother was in the front row at Our Lady’s with her toddler son
and just before the Lamb of God as I held up the Bread,
the mom shushed her son and told him to pay attention.
In reply he said, loud enough for all to hear,
“He’s just gonna break it!”
Later that day I called the embarrassed mom
and told her how thrilled I was that a child so young already knew
that on Sundays we gather to break the bread of the Lord.
He already knew in his bones what he could not yet articulate.
The story was already seeping in…
That’s why we tell the old stories over and over again:
that new generations will know the miracle, the deliverance,
and learn that in the body and blood of Christ, who is the story,
we have communion with one another and with our God.
Today, ten children will join us for the first time
in receiving the sacrament of the Lord's table.
In the bread and cup of the Eucharist they will have,
as St. Paul wrote, a share, a participation,
in the body and blood of Christ.
They will be become part of the story we tell here
every Sunday and we welcome them warmly
to the story that is their story in Christ.
*See The Gates of the Forest by Elie Wiesel
-ConcordPastor
(H/T to a parishioner whose mother keeps this tune among her favorites.)
Sanctuary Choir Christ United Methodist Church College Station, Texas
I Love to Tell the Story Lyrics: Katherine Hankey, 1834-1911
Music: William G. Fischer, 1835-1912 1.
I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story, because I know 'tis true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
Refrain: I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
2.
I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams. I love to tell the story, it did so much for me; and that is just the reason I tell it now to thee. (Refrain)
3.
I love to tell the story; 'tis pleasant to repeat what seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard the message of salvation from God's own holy Word. (Refrain)
4.
I love to tell the story, for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest. And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song, 'twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long. (Refrain)
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
At the last supper, as he sat at table with his apostles, he offered himself to you as the spotless lamb, the acceptable gift that gives you perfect praise.
Christ has given us this memorial of his passion to bring us its saving power until the end of time.
In this great sacrament you feed your people and strengthen them in holiness, so that the family of humankind may come to walk in the light of one faith, in one communion of love.
We come then to this wonderful sacrament to be fed at your table and grow into the likeness of the risen Christ.
Earth unites with heaven to sing the new song of creation as we adore and praise you for ever:
What it looks like when cluster bombs DON'T explode...
What it looks like when cluster bombs DO explode...
Photos from Jack Scully's blog Am I Dead Yet? Pope supports Dublin Conference in banning cluster bombs
Benedict XVI has expressed hope that a Dublin conference beginning Monday will ban cluster bombs...
(T)he Pope expressed the hope that "through the responsibility of all the participants, a strong and credible international instrument will be created" at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions.
The meeting, to be held through May 30, will gather representatives from some 100 countries to negotiate a new instrument of international humanitarian law banning cluster munitions, which are blamed for indiscriminately killing and maiming civilians in conflict zones.
"In fact it is necessary to remedy the errors of the past and to avoid their repetition in the future," added the Holy Father. "I accompany the victims of cluster munitions and their families with my prayers as well as the participants in the conference, offering my best wishes of success."
The United States will not be attending the event.
Some folks around the parish were disappointed not to have had a piece of my ordination anniversary cake. And they weren't satisfied with the crumbs the day after, either! Others were surprised that they weren't invited to "the party."
Well, although May 19 really was my 35th ordination anniversary, the cake and the crumbs were a virtual dessert and there was no party!
The cake was "baked" by RedKid.net and I "decorated" it online. The crumbs on the plate the next day were scooped up from another blog: FoodOnTheFood.
No need to feel badly, then, about missing a party - and no need to feel badly for me that there was no party. Some time ago, some folks in the parish suggested a "35th" in my honor and I told them that since I'd had a very nice "25th" I thought it would be best to hold the next big bash for my "50th" - God willing!
I was quite content to go out to dinner with my cousin who was visiting from Florida this past week and to share my anniversary with all of you here online. (When my cousin saw the cake online he wanted to know where in the house I was hiding it!)
If you go to RedKid.net and play around with the sign generators there, you'll see just how easy some of this blogging business can be!
So, no one was left off the virtual guest list and if you arrived late, I saved the last piece of carrot cake above just for you - and it's calorie free!
Now, there's a man who must never forget to go to Mass! Imagine having the Last Supper tattooed on your forearm - the elements of the Eucharist ever at your side...
To the best of my knowledge the pope does not yet have a blog, but he does plan to text message young folks during World Youth Day this summer in Australia.
In light of my recent post, I wonder what depths of faith and love are being embraced as Bishop Michael Duca of Shreveport hugs his father, Lewis Duca, during the sign of the peace at his ordination and installation mass at the Shreveport Convention Center on Monday, May 19.
The image above is a play on the tag line from the movie, Sixth Sense, but it plays well here as we approach the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ this weekend. Saint Augustine in his sermons (below) spoke clearly that in the Eucharist we become, indeed we are, what we receive. At the Lord's table, then, we become and we are bread people.
Sermons, [227] A.D. 391-430:
... That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ. Through that bread and wine the Lord Christ willed to commend his Body and Blood, which he poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins. If you receive worthily, you are what you have received.
Sermons, [272] A.D. 391-430:
What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the Body of Christ and the chalice the Blood of Christ. ... How is the bread His Body? And the chalice, or what is in the chalice, how is it His Blood? Those elements, brothers and sisters, are called sacraments, because in them one thing is seen, but another is understood. What is seen is the corporeal species, but what is understood is the spiritual fruit. ... `You, however,are the Body of Christ and his members.' If, therefore,you are the Body of Christand his members,your mystery is presentedat the table of the Lord,you receive your mystery. To that which you are, you answer: `Amen...' For you hear: `The Body of Christ!' and you answer: `Amen!' Be a member of Christ's Body, so that your `Amen' may be the truth.
We who believe in the Eucharist arebread people and in those who share our Communion we seebread people!
Spend some time now with the readings and background material for Corpus Christi Sunday this weekend. Got kids ? You can help them prepare for this Sunday with these notes.
At the heart of the Eucharist is the breaking of bread which is, in fact, another name for the celebration of the Lord's Supper.
In Jesus' time and in the ancient world the breaking and sharing of bread was, in itself, a ritual act rich and deeply layered with meaning and social implications. How Jesus identifies himself with the bread and the cup of the Jewish ritual meal amplifies those layers and implications exponentially!
I fear that our unfamiliarity with such an action in our day to day lives may diminish our appreciation of the same action in the Eucharist. The image above is a Kouloura. This traditional Macedonian Wedding Bread was made throughout the Macedonia and in some regions, this tradition continues. On the wedding day, the bride breaks this round bread in two parts. She leaves one half at her family home, signifying her appreciation for her upbringing. The second half of the bread is presented to her new home, signifying expected prosperity and abundance in her life with her husband.
As we approach the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, I can't help but think that our understanding of Eucharist as the Breaking of the Bread would be enhanced if breaking bread were part of our daily lives and the special events in our lives. Of course, it might help, too, if the bread we used for Eucharist could be closer in its substance to what we ordinarily understand as bread in our culture.
Perhaps just once in a while (or more often!) we might think of buying a large beautiful, unsliced bread to share at the dinner table and special meals. Nothing can ever nourish us more deeply than the Eucharist and no breaking of bread can surpass the fractio in the Eucharist, but simply learning to break bread at our own tables might deepen our understanding of the sign Jesus chose to leave us to remember him and find him present at the Table of the Sacrament.
As we approach the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ this weekend, here's a beautifiul rendition of Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus. Below the screen you'll find the lyrics in both Latin and English.
The choral group is St. Philips Boys' Choir of Norbury, UK, featuring soloists Jaymi Bandtock and Sam Harper.
Panis angelicus The Bread of Angels fit panis hominum; becomes the bread of humankind; Dat panis coelicus The Bread of heaven figuris terminum: ends all prefigurations: O res mirabilis! What wonder! Manducat Dominum The Lord is consumed Pauper, servus et humilis by a poor and humble servant.
Te trina Deitas You, triune God unaque poscimus: we beg of you Sic nos tu visita, that you visit us, sicut te colimus; as we worship you; Per tuas semitas By your ways duc nos quo tendimus, lead us who seek Ad lucem quam inhabitas. the light in which you dwell. Amen.
This video appears to have been shot almost accidentally in an apartment where some college students are studying. Their study is interrupted by an old woman comes to the door offering bread for sale. I think you'll agree that she brings more than bread! The video is by a 21 year old MySpacer named Patrick who titles the piece Breaking Bread.
There's something delightful in the woman's simple graciousness, her words and her spirit - something that might open our hearts just a little more to the Lord who comes to us with the Bread of Life. We too quickly picture the Lord as a first century Jew with a beard and long hair. What a shame if we miss him when he knocks on our door as an old German lady, full of smiles and blessings - and a basket of bread!
Click on the bible above to find the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter and brief commentary on them.
The Importance of Baked Fish
HOMILY
A Sung Blessing
A prayer for when you're worried, anxious, afraid...
Help for Haiti
Reach out to the people of Haiti with health care, education and community development through Health Equity International (formerly known as the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation).
