Kiss Goodbye

 

LECTIO:

1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21

The LORD said to Elijah:
“You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”

Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,
as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;
he was following the twelfth.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.”
Elijah answered, “Go back!
Have I done anything to you?”
Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;
he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,
and gave it to his people to eat.
Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Studium:

When Elijah threw his cloak on Elisha, Elisha knew that Elijah was giving his his job. I think of it as a speaker giving his gavel to the new speaker.  

MEDITATIO:

When Elijah answered, "Go Back!" He was not taking the job offer back, he was telling Elisha, OK, go back.  We all can't just flit here and there.  We have responsibilities to complete.

When my friend Karen entered the convent, she had to find a good home for her beloved dog. She sold her car. IOW, she tied up her old life to be free to enter the convent.

ORATIO:

I wish I were free of responsibilities so I could devote myself to God.  I love going on retreat.  There I have nothing to do but pray, read, and eat. But my vocation isn't being a contemplative.  It's being a Lay Dominican with family responsibilities.  I need to do those jobs well.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Lord I trust that you gave me the life I live.  I certainly would never have become a Lay Dominican with an apostolate of prison ministry.  You gave me three children and now two grandchildren. I do my best to tell them all about You.  Help me to bring them closer to You.

RESOLUTIO:

This week I'm bringing my grands to Adoration.  Speak to them, O Lord.

Raab

I finally got to work in my garden today.  I was shocked to see that my sage, chives, and kale, had flowered.  I googled to see if the flowers were edible.  

Not only are they edible, they're delicious.  

You cook them in oil with salt and pepper.  

 This didn't seem very much so I added the flowers to chives and sage.

They tasted good just like this, but I cut up a tomato and used these herbs as a dressing.  Yes it was good.

All the Way or No Way

 Luke 9: 59-62 always bothered me.  ...He said, "Follow me," But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."  But He answered him, "Let the dead bury the dead.  But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home."  Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."   

It seems that Jesus doesn't want us to say proper goodbyes to our families, or even perform obligatory necessities, i.e., bury our dead.  But it all became clear when I read the Elijah and Elisha story.

1 Kings 19: 19-21

Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth.  Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.  Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you."  Elijah answered, "Go back! Have I done anything to you?"  Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat.  Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Throwing a cloak over someone evidently meant that you were chosen to follow the prophet.  Elisha was willing, so willing that he destroyed his means of making a living.  He slaughtered his oxen and had a "goodbye" cookout.  The fuel was the equipment Elisha used.  Now, Elisha had absolutely nothing to hold him back.  He could now follow Elijah.

Jesus wants us to be fully committed.

New Dominican Friars

Please pray for these newly ordained Dominican priests from the Province of St. Joseph.

(l-r) Fr. Bernard Knapke, O.P.; Fr. Luke VanBerkum, O.P.; Fr. Paul Marich, O.P.; Fr. Damian Day, O.P.; Fr. Philip Nolan, O.P.; Fr. Pachomius Walker, O.P.; Fr. Maximilian Jaskowak, O.P.; Fr. James Ritch, O.P.; Fr. Bartholomew Calvano, O.P.; Fr. Albert Dempsey, O.P.

Journaling is Lectio Divina

It just wasn't clear to me which Catholic Journaling Bible had what we were looking for.  We, are my two granddaughters (age 7 and 11), and myself. There seemed to be three Bibles.  We bought them all.  As soon as the girls opened the packages, they chose.  Immediately, they personalized their choices.  That's why there are stickers on them, except mine.  I definitely don't like the plain cover but I haven't decided what to cover it with, yet.  Anyway, here's my overall review of these Catholic Journaling Bibles.

The seven year old honed in on the word, YOUTH.  She interpreted that to mean "children's."  Anyway, she chose The Catholic Youth Bible.  It is the New American Bible, Revised Edition from Saint Mary's Press, 2017.  I added the Bible Tabs to it, marking the books in the Bible.  While it has good pictures and explanations, I didn't see much room for her to write, never mind draw.  She said she didn't care; she would find somewhere to express her thoughts.

The eleven year old didn't want Bible tabs because the outside pages were too, too beautiful!

 

This Bible is the Inspire Catholic Bible, NLT Catholic Edition, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2015.  Each page has wide margins on the side for writing or drawing.  Some also have designs to be colored.  We all read the parable of the Good Samaritan and the Inspire edition had a design to be colored and she did.

Lastly, is The Holy Bible, NRSV, Catholic Edition, Anglicized Text Bible, Harper Collins Christian Publishers, 1995. It has no coloring for me to do, but every single page has wide margins for me to write in or draw.  

As I said, we read Luke 10 : 29-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Here's my first attempt at journaling.

I am happy to say, all three of us are content with our choices.  No one is jealous or sorry they chose the Bible they have.  May these Bibles bring us all in a closer relationship with Jesus.  

Pass the Baton

 Today the homilist talked about relay races.  He is fascinated watching how each runner runs his best and hands over the baton to a new runner.  He connected that image to us.  Jesus handed over the baton to the apostles.  The apostles handed on the baton to the first bishops.  This is called Apostolic Succession.  

 Today it's our turn to run.

Expressions of Reverence

 I'm reading God is Near Us by Ratzinger and he is talking about different ways to receive communion.  We know about receiving in the hand and/or the mouth, but did you know that the monks at Cluny, around the year one thousand, took their shoes off to receive communion?

BTW, Jesus and his apostles received in the hand.  As a matter of fact, everyone received in the hand while standing until the ninth century.  

Patron Saints for World Youth Day 2023

 Here are the patron saints for the World Youth Day in 2023:

1.  St. Pope John Paul II, who start WYD.

2.  St. John Bosco who started schools for boys.

3.  St. Vincent Saragossa who is patron of Lisbon, Portugal, where WYD will be held.

4.  St. Anthony who finds everything and found a spot here.

5. St. Bartholomew of the Martyrs who was born in Lisbon.

6.  St. John Brito was born in Lisbon.

7.  Bl. Joana of Portugal.

8.  Bl.  Maria Clara of the child Jesus worked in Portugal.

9.  Bl. Joao Fernandes, martyred in Canary islands.

10. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati young Lay Dominican--inspiration for young people.

11.  Bl. Marcel Calo was another young man who was a scout and youth worker.

12. Bl. Chiara Badano was a young lady who offers hope to the young.

13.  Bl Carlo Acutis a youth who created an exhibit of Eucharistic miracles.

Luck Undermines Skill

 After winning a "string of pearls" ("0" points) tonight in cribbage, I'm meditating on "luck."  I've noticed  that some times I can do no wrong.  I win.  Analyzing those times leads to no conclusion.  Luck doesn't depend on how much or little sleep one has.  Nor does it matter whether one is thinking positive thoughts. Anyone walking outside during a thunderstorm must have been thinking positive thoughts, until they were struck by lightening. 

But let's go back to playing cribbage.  If I am skilled and am experienced, then I should win, right.  Then explain beginner's luck.  Why wouldn't the most skilled player win most of the time?  It is said, that cribbage is 10% skill and 90% luck.  Those aren't good odds.  But it does offer hope to poor players.

Card players will say they're lucky or unlucky, today.  "Why", is a futile question.  Luck is random.  But if you are winning, then don't change anything.  Use the same cards, don't change your seat, or anything.  However, next week you can wear the same clothes, use the same cards and sit in the same seat, and you lose. Luck is fickle.

 The conclusion is that there just seems to be no plausible explanation.  So what should I do about it? Since luck is unforeseeable, maybe I should not try

to be lucky, but rather aim to be"good" at what I am doing.  Play cribbage the best that I can and if I lose, consider that I played poorly, or that I was beaten by a better player.  I should learn by these mistakes.  Of course, when I get a string of pearls, like today, there's no explanation except I had no luck.  That doesn't make me feel better; I'd rather be lucky than skilled.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum

 Hyperemesis Gravidarum is a serious medical condition that many pregnant women have and deserves to be known and treated properly by doctors. Many doctors have no standard treatment plan for HG, and some even deny medication because "everyone gets morning sickness." Please sign this petition to advocate for HG education and standard treatments. This can literally save lives. https://chng.it/B5wJF9gScc

St. Ewolda Where Are You?

 If you like to read thrillers, then Charlie Lovett’s novel, The Lost Book of the Grail, will suit you just fine. It is a unique kind of thriller, though. It’s not violent. There’s a mystery to solve. There’s romance. There are places to go where you know no one should be going, but you will follow curiously if anxiously.

The setting is in England with references to P.G. Wodehouse. The reader follows the adventures of Arthur and Bethany. These two are an unlikely pair. Arthur is a medievalist who resists modernity. He is aghast when he is introduced to Bethany.
1. She’s a wise mouth American. (Arthur is a wise mouth Englishman.)
2. She’s a computer whiz who comes into Arthur’s library to digitize the manuscripts (some date from the sixth century).
3. She has faith. Arthur is an atheist.
4. Bethany’s father is an Evangelical preacher. Although a nonbeliever, Arthur loves the rhythm and poetry of the psalms and attends all the monk’s hours.
5. She’s young—20’s. He’s 20 years older.

The adventure begins when Bethany starts putting two plus two together and squares it with her computer skill, to help Arthur find lost manuscripts. There are pressures from rich people who want to buy the old manuscripts, superiors who need money to keep the library open, and those who need to keep the cathedral viable.

The setting and story remind me of Brother Cadfael’s mysteries. There’s history from medieval times to the reformation. The author has his character explain how to make vellum and how the scribes made their ink and art work. Some of the manuscripts are written in Latin and some in Saxon and of course there’s a code that hints of where the Holy Grail is hidden.

The town, college, abbey, cathedral, and the ever important, St. Ewolda, are all fictitious. But they remind the reader of real places, saints, and characters. All in all, it’s fun.

Don't Stop Praying

I often feel prayer is useless, especially long devotions, litanies, novena and specifically the rosary.  I know.  I pray a rosary every day, but as a Lay Dominican, that's a rule.  I pray the rosary because I follow the rule.  Besides, my prayer partner calls me to it.  

However, this story from Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage hit me in my mind and heart.  I have hope and better belief, that prayer is not useless.  I believe it.

 "In 2001, Richard Johnson suffered a major knee injury during an operation in Kosovo. He was given strong painkillers, which led him into an addiction that gradually dragged him into the abyss.

He spent the next 14 years in growing isolation and despair. When his family — practicing Catholics with a proud tradition of military service — lost all influence over him, they resolved to support him by prayer, from a distance.

“My family grieved me as I was basically gone,” Richard, 47, told CNA during the May 10-16 Warriors to Lourdes

 pilgrimage. “I spent years in darkness, with no thought, no emotion. I felt I completely lost my soul, while my mom was praying the rosary continuously.”

He is aware, with hindsight, that it is thanks to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary that he emerged into the light.

In 2014, he experienced a psychotic break in which he lost all contact with reality. It took four years for him to come through it.

“One night, in 2018, in a totally sudden way, I heard the first thought in my mind in four years,” he recalled. “And I know now that all was connected. At that point, I felt what I would describe as a flood of grace. I felt at peace, started to feel emotions again, my soul was coming back.”

That night, Richard felt compelled to pray, even though he had cut himself off from his childhood faith as a teenager after his parents’ divorce, some 20 years earlier. A week later, a strong will to pray the rosary arose in him.

“I asked a Catholic friend I had in the Army to help me pray as I had forgotten everything,” he said. “Then I started reconnecting with people, with my faith and Scripture, and I became a completely new person.

A National Moment of Remembrance

 In the year 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the National Moment of Remembrance Act.  This piece of legislation asked all Americans to observe a moment of silence remembering all those who died while serving their country.  The time picked was 3:00 pm, on Memorial Day.

Don't forget to this.

You Aren't Abandoned

 LECTIO: 

Jn 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”

STUDIUM:

This passage reads as a series of precepts or sayings, Jesus is giving to His apostles.  The theme seems to be to copy Jesus' pattern of living conscious of doing what the Father expects.  Jesus also makes it clear that He will not abandon them. The Holy Spirit will guide them.  

MEDITATIO:

Jesus promises us His peace, which is different than most people expect.  It does not mean "no fighting."  Jesus is talking about putting things in the order the Father intends.  So does that mean that while in the midst of war, I could find peace?

ORATIO:

Lord, if You keep me close will I find Your peace?  If I keep my eyes on You will I be safe in Your care?  I pray this is so.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Where did God the Father come from?  I understand that He always was--that's why He is God.  I also understand that I owe Him everything. I can rest in that understanding.

RESOLUTIO:

I plan on consciously attempting to achieve that peace that Jesus calls the "Peace He leaves us."

Christianity is Relational

 Christianity is not an ideology.  People meet Jesus through His presence in their lives. Somewhere, somehow, most people have an encounter with God.  A few people may think their way into encountering God, but most of us can tell when, where, and how it happened.

As for me, I brought a friend to a "healing Mass."  I wasn't expecting anything.  I was accommodating a friend.  But I went up to be healed because I was following the crowd.  Father Aniello asked me what I was praying for.  I didn't know what to say, so I said, "my family."  Anyway, surprisingly I felt my hands tingle with energy, then my forearms and the energy traveled up.  Father then pulled me close to him so that our foreheads touched.  Bam!  My head heated up.

It scared me.  I went back to my pew and tried to figure out what happened.  Whatever happened, left me with an insatiable desire to know everything about the Holy Spirit.  I love Him.

A Homemade Greenhouse

 Guess what this is.  It's a homemade greenhouse.  I filled a container with dirt.  I put in some seeds.  then I covered everything with plastic wrap.  I made a few holes for air.  Now it's sitting in strong sun.  When they start to sprout into seedlings, I'll transplant them into their own separate pots.  Lastly, when more mature, they'll go into my garden.

Marie Rivier

 The high school I went to, Presentation of Mary Academy, closed just before COVID.  It was known simply as Presentation or PMA.  I was in the third class to graduate from it, so it was a unique time to attend.  The sisters who taught there belonged to the Sisters of Presentation of Mary.  Tomorrow, Pope Francis will canonize their founder, Marie Rivier,  

Here is a picture of the habit the sisters wore.

She is being canonized in recognition of a miracle cure of a Filipino girl.  The sisters' charism is education and spreading the love of Jesus.  

Marie Rivier will be a good intercessor for these times.  She lived through the French Revolution and in her early life she suffered much.  

Nobody Flees From Love

 Inmates are always escaping from prisons.  Brazil is no exception.  In 2020 more than 400 inmates escaped.  But no one even tries to escape from Brazil's APAC sites.  This is Associacao de Protecao e Assistencia aos Condenados or the Association for Protecting and Assisting Convicts.

America tells the story of one inmate who escaped from six prisons before going to APAC.  He didn't even attempt to escape.  Why?  "Nobody flees from love."

APAC does not have prison guards.

APAC does not have prison uniforms.  The inmates wear regular street clothes.

They follow a 12 step program that keeps them busy.  They are not permitted to do nothing. They study, pray, clean, work and attend counseling programs.

There are over 100 of APAC facilities in Brazil.  Do you think they will ever come to USA?

from America, Dec 2021, p. 15.

There's No Such Thing as Easy Money

 I haven't seen the movie, "No Country for Old Men," by Cormac McCarthy but I have a love/hate relationship with the McCarthy's writing.  I love his dialogue, well drawn characterization, and themes.  It's his stories I hate.  I just can't relate; they're just not in my frame of reference.

      For example, there are more guns and I don't mean hand guns in this story than in military arsenals.  I haven't read many Cormac McCarthy books but the few I've read, remind me of Flannery O'Conner's characters.  I guess psychopaths and sociopaths make for thrilling plots.

      "No Country for Old Men" starts with Moss coming across a drug deal gone bad.  He takes their money.  Why not?  Who's going to report it missing?  

      The drug overlords, that's who. Well, they don't report it, they track it down to hell and back.

      Moss is hunted by a psychopath.  The novel becomes a thrilling page turner here.  But the story isn't about Moss.  It's about Bell, the sheriff.  Of course, he's after the bad guys.  During the course of the chase, we learn about Bell and will empathize with him that this is no country for old men.

Fear of God

 I'm still learning from Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.  Today I learned what "fear of the Lord," really means.  The good Reb explains it by breaking the word "fear" down in Hebrew.  

In Hebrew, there are three words that mean fear.  Pakhad means terror.  We are not to be terrified of God.
Aymah means high anxiety.  We are not to be anxious or nervous about God.  Yirah means realization or consciousness.  For example, you suddenly become aware that your beloved is watching you.  That's what fear of the Lord means--staying aware that God is watching you.  Smile because you make Him smile.

Kindred Spirits

 

These 2 men were close friends for decades; a Trappist monk mystic and a Kabbalist Rabbi. Here they were filmed to preserve some of their friendship. They are talking about God, Jesus, spirituality, revelation, transformation, and meditation...with a nod to quantum physics, lol.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/EYi6GmJR5OU

I like the friendship these two men of God have.  Don't you feel some of this attraction when you meet a fellow follower of Jesus, a kindred spirit?

How to Discern God's Will

 Since January 1, 2018, I have been reading the Bible in a year, following Meg Hunter-Kilmer's plan. Oh I know it's May 8, 2022.  So?  I am not consistently regular, but I have never given up.  I'm nearing the end.  Anyway, I noticed the way Paul and his companions discerned what and which way to go--to preach--to behave.  Acts 16: 6 caught my eye:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia/and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

Would you call this, "thinking twice," "thought better of it?"  Did Paul just intuit that it was a bad idea?  Did he hear God's voice?  Did he have a vision?

The scripture verse doesn't say.  This is what I think is the way Paul and his companions discerned what to do and that we also should follow:

• Pray asking God to show you what He want you to do.
• Make sure you aren't going against the Commandments, Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and Church Laws.  Are their any secular laws stated that you may or may not have to break?
• Ask mature Christians and authorities for advice.
• Discern whether it's your own will that is the primary motive.
• Ask for guidance, a sign, some feeling that what you are choosing is God's Will.

Note that in Acts 16:6, Paul was kept from Asia.  God leads us to go and NOT go.  

The Whole of Jesus' Message

 The thirteen chapter in the Gospel of John unfolds the whole of Jesus' message.  This is the story of the washing of the disciples' feet. Jesus shows us what He does and wants us to follow His example.  He puts aside any claim to glory and humbles Himself to become a slave and washes His disciples dirty feet and our dirty feet to make us clean.  The slave's washing of feet was done to make a person acceptable enough to sit at table.  We all can sit down for the Eucharistic meal.  We are washed through the grace of penance, and the grace of love.

The Basis of a Religion

 

Dummy that I am, I missed the point.  I was telling a friend about the boy who asked Father, "How can you base a religion on a rape?"   and she answered it differently.  She didn't look at it as I did.  I was focused on the word "rape" and she focused on the words, "base a religion."

This is a big difference.  Christianity is based on Jesus Christ, not His conception.  And even if He were conceived in a rape, Christianity is formed by what He said and did.  He upset everyone by His Words and deeds.  He was even put to death for it.  

Christianity is based on Christ.

In Defense of Mary

 A priest was telling us the story about the time he was talking to a class of Jewish students and he was completely taken aback when one student asked him, "How can you base a religion on a rape?"

The student was referring to the pregnancy of Mary.

The priest just said it was a matter of faith.  Well, I thought that was a lame answer.  I still think so but I understand the priest was blind-sided. I immediately thought that I would have answered that a virgin giving birth was predicted in the Old Testament.  So I googled it and only found one reference.  ONE!!! That's all.  I was so disappointed.  

14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.     Isaiah 7: 14

This morning, I came across another prediction. I am reading Cardinal Ratzinger's book, God is Near Us, and refers to Genisis 3:15: 

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

There can't be any more enmity between evil and God than Jesus.  This verse is referring to Jesus.  But it mentions "the woman."  The woman is Mary. 

Bible hub also has another:

Jeremiah 31:22
How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

Mary does encompass every human, except Jesus, but they both share the same DNA.

2022-23 Reading Suggestions

This is how we do it.  Fill in the chart and we will get together and choose what to read, trying to get a selection from all of us.

Reading Planning List - September 2022– June 2023

 

Month	Title & Author	Genre	Suggested by
September	The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristen Harmel	Fiction	Faith Flaherty
October	Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer	Non-Fiction	Faith Flaherty
November	Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry	American History	Faith Flaherty
December		Poetry share -	Everyone’s choice
January	The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware	Mystery	Faith Flaherty
February	The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor	Fiction	Faith Flaherty
March	Autobiography of a Hunted Priest by John Gerard	Biography	Faith Flaherty
April	American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins	Realistic Fiction	Faith Flaherty
May	Salvation is from the Jews by Roy Schoemann	Religion	Faith Flaherty

 

 

 

*Science- Fiction – Out of the Silent Planet – part 1 of C.S. Lewis' space trilogy, I enjoyed this rather short book and his creative style. I have always loved C.S. Lewis' work and what he values. I didn’t know he wrote this series and was pleasantly surprised