Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord!
Her legacy was love.
It was charity.
At the wake at Wasik Funeral Home in Warren, MI., a crowd shared how Kathy touched their lives personally.
"She always was right there with the person she was talking with."
"I knew she was a counselor who cared."
"Amid problems, she was happy, smiling."
"She knew how to have fun."
"She shook the tambourines with confidence at this shop to attract shoppers."
"Kathy loved us."
At the lunch after the burial, people continued to share Kathy's legacy.
No U-hauls, I thought, as each spoke. Nothing goes with us as we pass over.
Nothing. Only one's soul.
Nope, just the charity we're called to be by the Creator.
I better get with the program, no?
Eternal rest grant unto Kathy, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.
And, may we strive to emulate her virtues, strengths and more.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner?
Sunday's Scriptures: Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ
Genesis 14:18-20 Psalm 110 I Corinthians 11:23-26 Luke 9:11-17
Guess who is coming to dinner?
Have you ever?
How about someone like Melchizedek who welcomes Abram with traditional eastern hospitality: food and drink.
Bonds are built.
Meals are like that, you know.
God and Abram are blessed by Melchizedek. And, in turn, God blesses with abundant life, favor, and power to give life. Participants, reciprocate blessing God, giving thanks and praise for these gifts.
Eucharist, from the Greek, means thanksgiving, after all.
And, it's communal in the common "work" of the people. Liturgy means the "work" of the worshippers.
This gathering is about the elements of bread and wine becoming the Body of Christ that we Catholics believe. The Body of Christ is all of us also.
"Make of your hands a throne to receive who you are, the Body of Christ," reminded Saint Augustine, telling the faithful.
Take, eat, drink, be the Body of Christ today in a world that needs you dear graduates, that welcomes your calm and conflict-resolving ways.
Come, eat and drink.
Be.
Genesis 14:18-20 Psalm 110 I Corinthians 11:23-26 Luke 9:11-17
Guess who is coming to dinner?
Have you ever?
How about someone like Melchizedek who welcomes Abram with traditional eastern hospitality: food and drink.
Bonds are built.
Meals are like that, you know.
God and Abram are blessed by Melchizedek. And, in turn, God blesses with abundant life, favor, and power to give life. Participants, reciprocate blessing God, giving thanks and praise for these gifts.
Eucharist, from the Greek, means thanksgiving, after all.
And, it's communal in the common "work" of the people. Liturgy means the "work" of the worshippers.
This gathering is about the elements of bread and wine becoming the Body of Christ that we Catholics believe. The Body of Christ is all of us also.
"Make of your hands a throne to receive who you are, the Body of Christ," reminded Saint Augustine, telling the faithful.
Take, eat, drink, be the Body of Christ today in a world that needs you dear graduates, that welcomes your calm and conflict-resolving ways.
Come, eat and drink.
Be.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Reading, Arithmetic, and. . .
It's coming soon to Big Jack's Grille in Roseville, MI.
Family education.
With dad, mom, and the kids, of course altogether in one room.
Facilitators will enable parents to read to their children from early on in childhood, and beyond.
Imagine dad placing the three-year-old on his lap and reading for a few minutes.
Watch the baby's eyes light up! Not to mention his or her ears.
Stand by.
It's set for the first Monday and Wednesday of June at 6:30 pm for an hour.
Come one.
Come all.
But, be sure to bring the family household to read. All or some will do.
Sandra Bell and I will assist you to help you learn to teach your child to read.
And, when school bell's ring for you Monday and Wednesday, bring a favorite child's book you like, OK?
School bells ringing, children and parents singing. . .
Family education.
With dad, mom, and the kids, of course altogether in one room.
Facilitators will enable parents to read to their children from early on in childhood, and beyond.
Imagine dad placing the three-year-old on his lap and reading for a few minutes.
Watch the baby's eyes light up! Not to mention his or her ears.
Stand by.
It's set for the first Monday and Wednesday of June at 6:30 pm for an hour.
Come one.
Come all.
But, be sure to bring the family household to read. All or some will do.
Sandra Bell and I will assist you to help you learn to teach your child to read.
And, when school bell's ring for you Monday and Wednesday, bring a favorite child's book you like, OK?
School bells ringing, children and parents singing. . .
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Play
SUNDAY'S SERMON
Mass Celebration of the Blessed Trinity, including the Maker this Memorial Day Weekend, the One Who Bought us Back, and the Holy Ghost! + Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
What are the three parts of an egg?
(A shell, yoke and albumin, no?) Three parts making up a whole (WHOLE) like the Trinity sprinkled through the Sacred Scriptures).
Or think of a three-leaf clover!
Or....any other examples?
Delight and play are highlighted in today's Proverbs, chapter 8. In Proverbs, we hear:
"Oh you simple, understand wisdom; and fool, be you of an understanding heart."
Often I hear people I counsel say things like:
"He's a pig!" (Referring to alcohol attachment disorder that Saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross refer to as a diagnosis long before Sigmund Freud).
No delight let alone intimacy in that statement. Not a kindly statement, is it?
Yet, the bible character, Wisdom/Sophia takes delight in God and God in Sophia, and in you and me, despite sin and expectations that write people off.
We are saved by faith, Paul reminds us in Romans. We are. Faith is like that, no?
Even our afflictions, sickness, and sufferings, shut-in seniors, lonely teens or single young adults, and more, build character, endurance and evergreen hope, for sure.
God says so. Believe the Creator.
How true, no?
While a disease of lethargy seems to enfold this culture today amid the delight and intimacy in the bible, we can stand together in solidarity and strength.
Bishop Fulton Sheen said that all religious people can come together and pray on our knees, beyond one religion. We can.
You also.
Yes, the feminine wisdom, Sophia is the internally harmonic song of God that alone gives meaning and purpose, fullness of life! Proverb's instructions are for us. You and me!
The fragile vine of John 16 is not ready to bear such heavy fruit. Saint John attempts to link Jesus' disciples with creation of self and others before the foundations of the earth and world were made.
How awesome is that?
That God is so intimate with you and me, and loves us with an understanding heart so tenderly
Play, delight in the Lord this Memorial Day.
And, pledge to commit anew at this table of the Word and Sacrament, the Eucharist!
Intimacy and delight humming in the harmony of God, Detroit and this region with beloved disciples as the Trappist Thomas Merton reminds.
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
.
Mass Celebration of the Blessed Trinity, including the Maker this Memorial Day Weekend, the One Who Bought us Back, and the Holy Ghost! + Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
What are the three parts of an egg?
(A shell, yoke and albumin, no?) Three parts making up a whole (WHOLE) like the Trinity sprinkled through the Sacred Scriptures).
Or think of a three-leaf clover!
Or....any other examples?
Delight and play are highlighted in today's Proverbs, chapter 8. In Proverbs, we hear:
"Oh you simple, understand wisdom; and fool, be you of an understanding heart."
Often I hear people I counsel say things like:
"He's a pig!" (Referring to alcohol attachment disorder that Saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross refer to as a diagnosis long before Sigmund Freud).
No delight let alone intimacy in that statement. Not a kindly statement, is it?
Yet, the bible character, Wisdom/Sophia takes delight in God and God in Sophia, and in you and me, despite sin and expectations that write people off.
We are saved by faith, Paul reminds us in Romans. We are. Faith is like that, no?
Even our afflictions, sickness, and sufferings, shut-in seniors, lonely teens or single young adults, and more, build character, endurance and evergreen hope, for sure.
God says so. Believe the Creator.
How true, no?
While a disease of lethargy seems to enfold this culture today amid the delight and intimacy in the bible, we can stand together in solidarity and strength.
Bishop Fulton Sheen said that all religious people can come together and pray on our knees, beyond one religion. We can.
You also.
Yes, the feminine wisdom, Sophia is the internally harmonic song of God that alone gives meaning and purpose, fullness of life! Proverb's instructions are for us. You and me!
The fragile vine of John 16 is not ready to bear such heavy fruit. Saint John attempts to link Jesus' disciples with creation of self and others before the foundations of the earth and world were made.
How awesome is that?
That God is so intimate with you and me, and loves us with an understanding heart so tenderly
Play, delight in the Lord this Memorial Day.
And, pledge to commit anew at this table of the Word and Sacrament, the Eucharist!
Intimacy and delight humming in the harmony of God, Detroit and this region with beloved disciples as the Trappist Thomas Merton reminds.
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Each Soldier is Every Soldier
Memorial Day.
Mindful of one soldier in London.
I am mindful of all of them.
The murdered father in London represents all soldiers.
Memories of my brother, Lukas, killed in Vietnam, emerge also, among others we recall.
He is a soldier who represents every soldier.
All are related.
Like one circle, all defenders come together to protect.
It is fitting that such a day fill our hearts and minds with memory of dedicated men and women who secure this Nation.
Although the wound never seems to heal, the void gets smaller and less overwhelming in my mind.
At 23, his life unfolded. Yet, his country called. And, he responded as every other soldier does.
May we mark this Memorial Day with the resolve to uphold all of life everywhere.
Rest in peace.
Mindful of one soldier in London.
I am mindful of all of them.
The murdered father in London represents all soldiers.
Memories of my brother, Lukas, killed in Vietnam, emerge also, among others we recall.
He is a soldier who represents every soldier.
All are related.
Like one circle, all defenders come together to protect.
It is fitting that such a day fill our hearts and minds with memory of dedicated men and women who secure this Nation.
Although the wound never seems to heal, the void gets smaller and less overwhelming in my mind.
At 23, his life unfolded. Yet, his country called. And, he responded as every other soldier does.
May we mark this Memorial Day with the resolve to uphold all of life everywhere.
Rest in peace.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Where two or three are gathered
Repeatedly, the suggestion that "where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am," by Jesus, finds me nodding in agreement.
Relationships form and develop at that level.
From there, other possibilities emerge.
Small groups of people praying, discussing a book, growing out of destructive ways, and more, best build relationships.
The foundation begins in homes, of course. In that small group that moves outward.
Catholic social thought is often identified with the common good throughout its history. This sweeping idea, however, must be matched by groups of two or three who take up the task of building a better society.
Jim Wallis and other Protestants use the term. That is evidence enough of the intellectual advance of Catholic social teaching across Christian confessions. In fact, Pope John Paul II defined the common good as the "good of all and of each individual, because we are really responsible for all."
Such thinking is a formula for flourishing communities.
Christianity is a clarion call to a relationship that changes all other relationships. It begins, however, at the basic level of two or three individuals who are committed to meet.
For large groups to be fruitful in the faith, small cells must prevail originally.
Relationships form and develop at that level.
From there, other possibilities emerge.
Small groups of people praying, discussing a book, growing out of destructive ways, and more, best build relationships.
The foundation begins in homes, of course. In that small group that moves outward.
Catholic social thought is often identified with the common good throughout its history. This sweeping idea, however, must be matched by groups of two or three who take up the task of building a better society.
Jim Wallis and other Protestants use the term. That is evidence enough of the intellectual advance of Catholic social teaching across Christian confessions. In fact, Pope John Paul II defined the common good as the "good of all and of each individual, because we are really responsible for all."
Such thinking is a formula for flourishing communities.
Christianity is a clarion call to a relationship that changes all other relationships. It begins, however, at the basic level of two or three individuals who are committed to meet.
For large groups to be fruitful in the faith, small cells must prevail originally.
Monday, May 20, 2013
On the Rise Bakery
Sponsored by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, On the Rise Bakery at 6110 McClellan at Gratiot in Detroit, each purchase of its baked goods helps with their housing, training, counseling services, education and self-help programs.
The ROPE program, reaching our potential everyday, is a residential baker's training program providing skills in a safe and supportive environment.
And, the participants are on the rise in their personal lives and in the neighborhood they serve.
They believe and embrace five core values, including sobriety, humility, spirituality, brother and sisterhood and generosity.
Like companions on the journey, they learn to bake and work with volunteers side by side.
For more information, call (313) 922 8510.
The ROPE program, reaching our potential everyday, is a residential baker's training program providing skills in a safe and supportive environment.
And, the participants are on the rise in their personal lives and in the neighborhood they serve.
They believe and embrace five core values, including sobriety, humility, spirituality, brother and sisterhood and generosity.
Like companions on the journey, they learn to bake and work with volunteers side by side.
For more information, call (313) 922 8510.
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