Both And

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Friar Musings

One of the hallmarks of Catholic theology is that is rarely falls into the dynamic of it must be this or be that. Most often the true Catholic expression is a “both-and” position. When that perspective carries out into the modern landscape of life in secular America is will inevitably face push back or rejection from a world that is increasingly this or that. There are two options and no middle ground. Sound familiar? A friend of mine was recently called a CHINO (Catholic in name only) because they expressed frustration with their political choices in that they wanted a candidate the was pro-life, fully pro-life, and a candidate that has a social agenda of charity and compassion. When my friend was telling me the story my thought was that we as Catholic Christians and not shaping the world, but the world is shaping us. Continue reading →

Self-sufficient

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Friar Musings

The first reading for today is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians he mentions one of the value: self-sufficiency: “I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.” (Philippians 4:11-12) Continue reading →

Blessings

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Friar Musings

Once we have honored our dearly departed with a funeral, a heart-felt eulogy and a gathering of friends, we settled into our on-going lives. For many that means finding a new normal. In time, stories arise that were not part of the eulogy. When I was growing up, these later stories were told on the porch, in the small gatherings of family and friends. They were told on benches, told to the rhythm of a rocking chair, told in love, and sometimes ending with “God bless their heart.” Continue reading →

Known and Unknown

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Friar Musings

Today we celebrate, remember, and honor all the saints, known and unknown. Back in the earliest days of the Church, martyrs were especially esteemed. The local church celebrated the anniversary of a martyr’s death in the name of Christ – on the anniversary date and in the place of martyrdom – it was all part of what people just knew. By the 4th century the list of martyrs was much longer and the Church was caught between its desire to remember and celebrate the martyr’s witness and death, an ever expanding geography, and the practical matter of finding days to set aside to celebrate. Very soon there was a movement to find a common day to celebrate martyrs that were important to the Church while leaving the local communities to set aside days for martyrs that loomed larger in local memory. Continue reading →

All Saints Day with the saints

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Friar Musings

During the first 300 year of the Christian church, the people of God endured periods of peace, but also extended periods of persecution. Especially in the local churches, each generation remembered the martyrs and the leaders who exemplified the faith. By the fourth century these women and men were honored in liturgies that commemorated their passing into God’s bright glory. In time, churches were named to honor their memory, sometimes even built on their tombs. And in time relics were collected and honored. Continue reading →

Who we meet along the way

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Friar Musings

From time to time, my dad would remind me that “every person you meet is your better in that you can learn something from them.” Good and sage advice. I wonder if he knew he was echoing Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote: “In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” Of course one can then ask if the quote is original to Mr. Emerson. Continue reading →

Now more than ever

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Friar Musings

With two weeks before the mid-term elections the “volume” has been turned up on political ads. Locally there is only one item on our ballots: seat for this district’s seat in the US House of Representative. The television market place is saturated with political ads. The internet has places that saturate the moment, e.g., YouTube. I think we have all grown so accustomed to the unrelenting, intense bombardment of political ads that we don’t listen and just hunker down ans take shelter until it is over. Too much money and the Supreme Court decision on Citizens United v. FEC have make all this possible – the funding, technology and access. But the content is a different matter. Continue reading →

When no one is watching

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Friar Musings

Today’s first reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. If one step’s back for “the big picture” the letter deals, however, not so much with a congregation in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor as with the worldwide church, the head of which is Christ (Eph 4:15), the purpose of which is to be the instrument for making God’s plan of salvation known throughout the universe (Eph 3:9-10). Yet this ecclesiology is anchored in God’s saving love, shown in Jesus Christ as head of the Church (Eph 2:4-10), and the whole of redemption is rooted in the plan and accomplishment of the triune God (Eph 1:3-14). Continue reading →

Living in the Light

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Friar Musings

In today’s first reading, believers are reminded to speak “as is fitting among holy ones” and warned with a list of items which are considered “out of place.” Instead we are admonished to speak words of thanksgiving. This admonition about speaking “as is fitting among holy ones” follows one of the great passages from Ephesians that is not used in any weekday or Sunday liturgy. The verses speak to the role of anger in our lives – which seems to me the polar opposite of thanksgiving. Continue reading →

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the musings of a Franciscan friar…

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