As many of you know I competed in swimming in high school, in college, and even today continue as a Masters swimmer. I wasn’t much of a sprinter; 200 and 500 freestyle were my best events. True then and true now. About six years ago I signed up for a long-course meters meet. One the events I entered was the 1,500 meter freestyle – a little outside my best events, but certainly do-able. Continue reading
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Some would say that we Catholic are foolish to hear the words of Jesus in this gospel and come to our understanding of Eucharist. Continue reading
Ever been in a conversation with someone – usually not an easy conversation – when the other person, exasperated with you, the conversation, or whatever just blurts out, “You just don’t get it, do you?” ….and “boom” there it is… the end of the conversation. Continue reading
A few Super Bowls past, Snickers candy bars began a clever ad campaign. One ad showed 4 people in a car driving through desert landscape. Three of the people were young men in their 20’s, but the fourth was a high maintenance complaining passenger (played by Aretha Franklin) who was moaning about everything – “Can you turn up the AC? I’m dying back here.” When a passenger in the front tells them that the AC is on high, “Can’t you feel it?” He is rewarded with a smack on the back of the head, “Can you feel that?” The backseat companion encourages the complainer to eat a snickers because “When you’re hungry you turn into a diva.” After eating a Snickers candy bar provided by the concerned friend, the diva is transformed back into themselves and indicates that they are “better” …. But still their old selves, just one not complaining at the moment. Continue reading
There are lots of studies that point to some truth in the adage that practice makes perfect – 10,000 hours of practice to be specific. It is a general number that is consistent across a variety of professions, sports, and skilled activities. Some recent studies in the Netherlands and England is that the benefits of practice are ongoing through the years – not just once a person has become proficient – and that once an elite performer reduces practice, their performance also declines because they practiced less. Continue reading
“When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue.” It is short verse, but one that I have admits tickles my imagination. I wonder what Jesus said? I suspect whatever Jesus had to say it was brimming with passion about the Kingdom of God, the Love of God, and the fulfillment of the promises of God in the covenants made with the ancestors. Maybe there were more specific comments and points – some no doubt controversial. Perhaps Jesus spoke about how God’s desire that all be saved was not limited to just Israel, but was available to all the world, even the hated Roman conquerors. That would have raised a few eyebrows and stated a few whispers. It might have been any one of a number of parables that would have challenged people in the core beliefs. The one we call the Parable of the Good Samaritan would have been shocking; to the Nazareth crowd there was nothing good about a Samaritan. “When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue.” I don’t think the people came that day expected to be riled up. Continue reading
Do you ever get stuck on an image, a word, a moment in time, and continue to return to it – take it into prayer, reflection, and consideration? Sometimes it is a haunting thought – why didn’t I understand, why didn’t I say something, why couldn’t I have helped. Sometimes it is a instinct to find deeper understanding. It can be lots of things. I find that I return to the events of June 17th when good, grace-filled people died at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston. It was an evening when grace and welcome abounded. Imagine being there at the Bible Study when someone, who looked completely different from you – perhaps triggering their instincts of danger – walks in and joins the study of God’s word. It would have been one thing for Dylan Roof to walk in guns blazing and be done with the terrible deed – but he was welcomed without condition or reservation, sat down, received their peace, and then an hour later unleashed his misguided hate, taking nine lives. Continue reading
Today we celebrate the patronal feast of our parish, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Simply put, what we celebrate is the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus. You can read more about the devotion and solemnity by following the link on the front page of our parish website.
Think about it…if we are celebrating the love of God – and especially symbolized by the heart of Jesus – we are celebrating God’s love for us; a pretty awesome thing to contemplate. Of course, your contemplation will be shaped by what you already think of love. You know… in English we can say “I love you” and… not a lot more without adding modifiers or descriptors. For example, “I really, really love you” – which sounds more like trying to convince someone than an intimate moment. “I like you” or “I am fond of you” does not carry the same gravitas or conviction. Love and the English language is road that does carry you too far. Kiswahili is a different road with lots of choices. There are as many as 21 different verbs for love. In addition to the love a parent has for a child (different that which a child has for the parent) and such other familial loves, Kiswahili acknowledges that the love shared by newlyweds is different from the love shared between a couple who forged their love in the cauldron of marriage over a 50 year different. Continue reading
I think my favorite comic strip of all time is “Calvin and Hobbes.” It was a simple comic strip featuring Calvin, a preternaturally bright six year-old, and Hobbes, his imaginary tiger friend. The comic strip managed to infuse wondering (and wandering) on a cosmic scale into an ageless world of lazy Sunday afternoons, space adventures, and tales of befuddled babysitters, teachers, and parents. What I most enjoyed about Calvin and Hobbes was that it reminded me of our innate human ability to be surprised, to imagine, and enter into mystery – and to do it with an amazing, incredibly open wonderment. Calvin’s openness to the mystery of it all allowed him entry to even the theological arts where he mused about the combination of predestination with procrastination, finally concluding, “God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never die.” Continue reading
We are firmly in the midst of high school and college graduation season. Every institution has their own traditions and ways to celebrate – including my alma mater, the United States Naval Academy. Every May, the seniors march on to the field at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium for graduation. The women and men are dressed in their “choker” whites (future Naval Officers) and blues (future Marine Corp officers). Theses graduating midshipmen take their places, listen to the speakers of the day, walk across the stage to receive their diploma, take the oath of office, and then it happens… Continue reading
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