Fascinate

John Shea writes the most amazing gospel commentaries. The one he has written for this Sunday’s gospel, where Simon and Andrew, James and John are summoned to be disciples of Jesus, is again completely filled with extraordinary insight. But the word that caught me most by surprise was “fascinated.” He talks about a disciple as someone who is fascinated by another – so much so that s/he wants to do everything like that other person. Think about it – think about someone with whom you have been fascinated. You watch the person, you think about the person, you want to be around the person, and pretty soon you may be trying to imitate the person. This person HAS your attention. Teens are fascinated by their rock stars, so much so that they dress like them, sing their songs, follow them in the news, and many dream of having that particular lifestyle as adults themselves. Who fascinates us? Google gives us the cultural top ten in “trending now” on their homepage. Is this where our attention is focused? Maybe that’s why the first disciples left their nets so willingly – they were fascinated by Jesus. They wanted to be with him; they wanted to do what he did, say what he said. Enter into the world of the first disciples; be fascinated again.

Notes For the Holidays

The times I get the largest number of comments on my blog are the times I write about incidents with my dad. (Nearly all of the comments, by the way, are sent to me directly so they don’t get posted- but please, post them!) People have been able to identify with many of those incidents. With that in mind, I offer this modern-day list of beatitudes, for dealing with the elderly. I heard this on youtube; perhaps you have heard it also. If you have the opportunity, take these into consideration as you gather with family over the holidays:
Blessed are they who understand
my faltering steps and shaking hand.
Blessed are they who know my ears today
must strain to catch the things they say.
Blessed are they who seem to know
that my eyes are dim and my wits are slow.
Blessed are they who looked away
when I spilled the coffee at table today.
Blessed are they with a cheery smile
who take the time to chat for a while.
Blessed are they who know the ways
to bring back memories of yesterdays.
Blessed are they who make it known
that I’m love, respected, and not alone.

May you have a blessed Christmas, remembering that Christ can be born again into this world only if you incarnate him in your own life.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE MINE ALONE
AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF MY EMPLOYER.

What Did You Do?

I was watching a short video the other day by Michael Himes, a priest on the faculty of Boston College, and he was talking about Matthew 25, the last judgment. He began by pointing out that the great medieval cathedrals of Europe almost all have the same depiction above their doors. It is not the nativity, nor the crucifixion, nor the resurrection, nor Jesus teaching, nor any of those pericopes we remember so vividly from scripture, but Matthew 25, the description of the last judgment. Everyone had to pass under that depiction before entering the churches. At the time of the last judgment, according to Matthew 25, Jesus will not ask us how much theology we studied, or how many religious books we read, or how many church services we attended; we will simply be asked one question: how did you treat the least of your brethren? This is the criterion for salvation – what did we do with what we knew. Did our study of scripture or the hours on our knees lead to anything beyond ourselves? -because if not, we have mistaken the message. What did you do for the least of your brethren? How did you reach beyond yourself today to hurting humanity? Do you live a practical piety? It is a deceptively simple criterion, one which makes no distinctions between the most learned and most humble, and yet it is everything. What did you do…what did you do…what did you do for those most in need?
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE MINE ALONE AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF MY EMPLOYER.

Uncoupled

We had a crowd around the table for Thanksgiving – some family, and two couples who were friends. Among the family was my 95-year-old dad, hard of hearing and legally blind. One of the first things he said as he sat at his place was that someone must have laid his watch down and forgotten it. (Dad mistook the napkin ring for a watch.) People laughed and told him what it was. Dad didn’t laugh; he didn’t know one of the couples at the table and was probably embarrassed. I can’t recall that he said another thing throughout the meal. I thought about it later and thought that had it been me, I would have talked with my husband about it later that evening in bed – pillow talk – and shared my embarrassment with him, and he would have told me to forget about it – it didn’t mean anything. The point I’m getting at is that people who are alone, who have lost a spouse and who now walk, perhaps for the first time, uncoupled in the world, have no one with whom to share their secrets. I have thought that often since mom died six years ago, when I thought dad would be about to say something but then didn’t. And now as we come into the most difficult time of year for those who are alone, I think about it again. When you’re alone (and without a BFF!), you have no one with whom to share your secrets – big ones and silly ones, ones bursting for a tell and ones that are plain gossip. There’s just something so wondrous about the companionship of a partner – the intimacy of that relationship – which encourages every manner of sharing. Losing that, if you have ever had it, must be devastating. If you know people who have been recently widowed or divorced, this would probably be a good time of the year to be especially aware of including them. It certainly won’t take away their pain or loneliness, but it may lessen the feeling of emptiness just enough to ease them through the holidays.

The Toll of Living

This Sunday in the Catholic lectionary we meet one of my favorite characters in all of scripture – John the Baptist. He appears in the desert out of nowhere and preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Author John Shea talks about needing to be cleansed from the “toll of living,” and the appropriateness of the desert as the backdrop for this endeavor. The desert – a place of total quiet, solitude, where one has nothing to distract but oneself. -and what an interesting phrase – to think about one’s toll of living. What is the toll which has been assessed on my life for the compromises I make, for the pride which directs many of my comments and actions, for the greed which drives my desires? How am I misshapen by this toll? And what am I going to do about it? You see the toll is not the transgression – it is how the transgression forms me. Who have I become as a result of the daily decisions I make and the actions I take? And how far away from whom I want to be, am I really? That’s a good meditation as we make our way through the season of preparation.

Greed Trumps Giving?

Are you as angry as I am at the number of stores which are staying open on Thanksgiving Day and getting a head start on black Friday?? Apparently Kmart has been open on Thanksgiving for the last few years (I didn’t know that), but now I hear ads for Sears opening all day on Thanksgiving and Target opening at midnight. I’m fairly certain the malls can’t be far behind. Why can’t this nation allow for one day to set aside commerce and concentrate instead on family and gratitude?? But merchants want to be first in line to grab the Christmas dollars right out of our fists and lead our country even farther afield, away from a sense of gratefulness and family as the center of our lives. We can’t allow this to happen. If you believe as I do, write your newspapers, stay out of the stores, encourage your friends to do the same! We have to protect this sacred day from commercial piracy!
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE MINE ALONE AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF MY EMPLOYER.

Some Book Recommendations

If you are a reader and looking for some inspiring and insightful books, try these:
Lit (by Mary Karr) is a memoir of her early and middle adult years, including her conversion journey. The author is a poet who tells her story with honesty and humility, boldness and humor. I listened to the audio version gotten from the library in which Ms. Karr is the reader and I could almost picture her as I listened to her voice. Another great read is Still Alice by Lisa Genova who holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard. This is a fictional account of a Harvard professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and is written in the first person, as a month-by-month account. Ms. Genova’s professional work is with the National Alzheimer’s Association which gives her realistic insight into the progression of the disease. If you have ever wondered what it must be like to be an Alzheimer’s victim, or how to relate to someone who has been diagnosed, this book will be very helpful. Finally, I recommend Sabbath by Wayne Muller. If you are one of us who feels overcommitted and harried by the demands of life today, wondering how to keep your balance and stave off guilt at the same time, you will benefit from Muller’s observations. There’s a reason for the necessity of rest, of saying no, of retreating to regroup, and it has nothing to do with selfishness. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE MINE ALONE AND DO NOT REFLECT THOSE OF MY EMPLOYER.