A Day at Salisbury Beach

Yelp Image

We didn’t feel the sun under the faded beach umbrella angled precisely to fend off the vicious rays.  I danced in and out of the waves, adding pretty tiny sea shells and rocks to my growing collection.

  Is it time, yet?

I wanted to go swimming but we had just eaten sandwiches for lunch and I had to wait an hour before I could go into the water, again.  Auntie took my hand to go for a walk.  The water at Salisbury always froze my ankles, but that was just a minor inconvenience for a child.  What bothered me more was Auntie, herself.  Grandma, too, but Auntie was the one holding my hand.  They both looked funny.  They always wore their hair in tight buns.  They wore house dresses and sensible shoes with sturdy heels.  They rolled up their stockings to their knees and everyone could see these rolls when they sat down.  They were so obviously “old country.”  But now Auntie was barefoot so we could wade into the eddies and pick up snails.  My pail was getting heavy with shells. I climbed up the black rocks and looked across the channel to Plum Island.

By the time we walked back to our blanket, the tide was starting to come in.  Dad was asleep after drinking a couple of bottles of Ballentine Ale.  Let him sleep it off.  So we moved the umbrella, blanket, towels and cooler up to higher ground and left dad.  He was asleep with his feet pointing out to sea and his mouth open, snoring away.  Everyone else on the beach moved back like us. 

Beach life continued:
                Mama put sun tan lotion on me.
                My sister buried me in the sand.
                A rogue wave knocked down Auntie.

We watched the waves creep up closer and closer, to dad.  So did everyone else on the beach.

                I rode the waves in.
                We drank lemonade and
                watched the people swim.

We watched the waves creep up closer and closer, to dad.  So did everyone else on the beach.

My sister read her book.
I got sand on the blanket.
My sister gave me her look.

We watched the waves creep up closer and closer, to dad.  So did everyone else on the beach.

Finally, a wave touched dad.
Nothing.
Another wave and another…

Everyone was poised for the entertainment.

He sat up.
He looked around.
He saw everyone laughing.
And he joined in the laughter, too.

The Tree of Life

First, it was in today's second reading for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Rev.22: 14.  There was mention of the tree of life. Then in my morning readings there was mention of the tree of life being off limits to the descendants of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3: 22-23.  AND!  Then came Prov. 3:18, where Wisdom herself is a tree of life; while wickedness leads to death, the right path leads to life (Prov. 2:18-19; 4:13; 6:23; 12:28).

What really gives me pause is the fact that the Book of Revelation brings up the tree of life in the very last words of the Bible.  Revelation is the last book in the Bible.  Chapter 22 is the last chapter in Revelation.

You had better pray for me because the fruits of my contemplation yield some irreverent images.  I get that the tree is for all, but not everyone chooses the path to get to the tree.  So just to make sure I won't stray from the path that leads to the tree of life, I picture building a tree house in its branches.  I'm living there--away from everybody and everything that could lead me away from God.  I'll be safe in the branches of the tree of life.

Walking the Race

I love this elk.

My son-in-law left us in his dust.

                                                                                                                                                             It was a good day to run.  The  temperature was about 50 degrees and it was raining so gently that you didn't even feel it.  I didn't run the Elks Care Elks Share 5 K Race; I walked the 5K.  My daughter and son-in-law ran and did well.  Hubby and I walked and had a good time.  We were among a group of teens who played frisbee the entire 5K.  Some younger kids tossed a small football around.  So we all joked, laughed and chatted the entire 5K.  Then the Elks treated us to pancakes.  Yum!

The Elks are a fraternal organization that does proceeds from today's race were the Franklin Food Pantry, The Fisher House Foundation, and our local Wounded Warrior Master Sargeant Joseph Deslauriers.  My community is blessed to have the Elks.
a lot of good.  Today's race is only one example.  The

God is the Complete Treasure

     

When my three children were young, I would sometimes hear this refrain:

First is worst.

Second is best.

Third wins the treasure chest!

Needless to say, the first child did not compose this verse.  However, it brings to mind that human desire to be the first, to be the best, and/or win a treasure chest.  According to Thomas Aquinas, God created us this way, i.e., to always search for happiness.  We find satisfaction in our search, only in God.  God is the treasure chest.  Only in God is perfect happiness.  What happiness we have on earth is imperfect, compared to what God has to offer. 

It is impossible for any created good to constitute man’s happiness. For happiness is that perfect good which entirely satisfies one’s desire; otherwise it would not be the ultimate end, if something yet remained to be desired. Now the object of the will, i.e., of man’s desire, is what is universally good; just as the object of the intellect is what is universally true. Hence it is evident that nothing can satisfy man’s will, except what is universally good. This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God alone, because every creature has only participated goodness. Therefore, God alone can satisfy the will of man, according to the words of the Psalms (102:5): “Who alone satisfies your desire with good things.” Therefore, God alone constitutes man’s happiness.” (Summa Theologica Part 2. Q.1. Article 8)

Don’t waste any time worrying that you don’t have the best of any material wealth or achievement.  “You can’t take it with you”, anyway.  Be satisfied that our good God provides you with what you need.  Trust the Father, as the apostles trusted Jesus.

Jubilee Event

Prayer vigil to "Dry the tears" is a Jubilee event to be held on May 5 at the Vatican.  The prayer vigil is for all those in need of consolation and will be presided over by Pope Francis in Saint Peter's Basilica.  Here I've posted some readings, in conjunction with "Dry the tears."

John 14   In Sorrow                                When loved ones fail you    Psalm 27

Psalm 51  When you have sinned           When you worry    Matthew 6: 19-34

Psalm 91  When you are in danger          When you have the blues   Psalm 34

Isaiah 40 When you are discouraged       When God seems far away  Psalm 139

Psalm 23  When you are lonely               When you feel down   Romans 8: 39

Matt 11: 25-30  When traveling              When you need courage   Joshua 1

1 Cor 13  When I'm critical                     When I need help   Isaiah 55

Missed Invitation

Because we never listened to talking voices, we missed the biggest event of our lives.  I’m talking about Woodstock.  Every time the DJ’s voice came on, we’d press the button to change the radio station.  We were only interested in music, not advertisements and certainly not the news.  But once in a while, we were slow in hitting the button.  One time we caught something about Santana and others, playing in a concert.  So? Days turned into weeks and maybe even a couple of months came and went, along with snatches of announcements:

Sly
Credence Clearwater
New York
 Joan Baez
Jimi Hendrix
Janis Joplin
Woodstock
Jefferson Airplane
free concert

The words “free concert” stopped our index finger from pressing the “change the station” button.  “What do you think they’re talking about?” Suddenly, “what they were talking about,” became the topic of conversation among my friends and me.  We pieced together that a huge music festival was going to be held during the weekend of August 14-18, 1969, in the town of Woodstock, NY and it was free.  Of course, we had to go.  Could we?  Realistically, very few of us could get the time off from work or other responsibilities.  I was one of them.  I needed the money for school and other bills and I knew this adventure would cost me money. Sadly we waved goodbye to our carload of friends as they set off on their great Woodstock adventure.  We were sad but they drove off singing deliriously.   They set off on Thursday and came back Friday night. What!! They never got to the New York thruway.  They were stuck in a traffic jam for half a day when they heard that the New York thruway was closed, so they turned around and came home.  Their mood matched the weather; it was raining in sheets of water like the rain in the tropics.  At first we hoped that the event would be washed out and have to be rescheduled.  That proved to be wishful thinking.  Woodstock carried on in spite of the rain, heat, mud and humidity.  And we missed it.

Prayer as a Foundation for Mercy

Peter Schmidt, ocso

The Cistercian monk, Father Peter Schmidt gave a talk today at Fatima Shrine, on prayer.  For the year of Mercy, that Pope France proclaimed, the Xaverians who minister at the shrine, are offering monthly presentations.  Today's was "Prayer as a foundation for Mercy."

Father Peter began by referencing the beatitude, "Blessed are the pure of heart."  We had a hard time pinning down exactly who would qualify as "pure of heart."  The best definition boiled down to "deep humility."

The questions were mostly about distractions during prayer.  And I learned something new in this particular discussion.  I knew that when distractions came, you ignore them.  I also knew that sometimes you can use the distractions in your prayer.  But I never thought that maybe God was trying to tell me something in the distraction.  I will have to discern my distractions.  They just may be important and not just nonsense.  

We discussed centering prayer, the difference between meditation and contemplation.  We did a Lectio Divina on Mark 10: 46-52 and we surprised Father Peter with our choices of Meditatio.  We learned that prayer leads to compassionate mercy.  Prayer is the foundation for mercy.