Man on the radio talking about forgetfulness makes me remember: remember.
Remembering that this is my Father’s world; He has sculpted the landscape I inhabit and He loves the people I encounter.
Remembering that the Kingdom is here, and I am part of this. This means joy, redemption, and community — not despair, decay, or isolation.
Socks via Korea. Thanks Bethany! Who is this? A pop star? a president? A sports hero?
I must remove all this:
evening chill, an impression of transparency, your
presence—remove it all, without
letting anything go.
_____________________________________________
What remains of
ancient rites? Grammar. I
would never give up anything I have, in
return for more certainty.
_____________________________________________
Keep well in mind that it is strangely possible
for us to oppose ourselves. An illustration: competing
visual fields. The projection room dark. The blue of the
sky would not move us, were it a foot or so above
our heads. Fear drives the body, looking for itself.
_____________________________________________
I am myself, but I develop.
_____________________________________________
Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy
From Ronald Rolheiser’s The Holy Longing:
Because God Calls Me There
“The Holy Spirit is not a piece of private property, neither is God’s call. The Judeo-Christian God is clear. Spirituality is not a private search for what is highest in oneself but a communal search for the face of God. The call of God is double: Worship divinity and link yourself to humanity. There are two great, equal commandments: Love God and love your neighbor. There can be no real Christian spirituality divorced from ecclesiology. To deal with Christ is to deal with church.”
To Dispel My Fantasies About Myself
“Away from actual, historical church community, whatever its faults, we have an open field to live the unconfronted life, to make religion a private fantasy that we can selectively share with a few like-minded individuals who will never confront us where we most need challenge. The churcdhes are compromised, dirty, and sinful, but, just like our blood families, they are also real. In the prsence of people who share life with us regularly, we cannot lie, especially to ourselve,s and delude ourselves into thinkiing we are generous and noble Inc ommunity the truth emerges and fantasies are dispelled. Not being involved with church because of the church’s faults is often a great rationalization. What is too painful to deal with is not the church’s imprerfeciton but my own fatasies about my own goodness, which, in the grind of real community, will become painfully obvious. Nobody deflates us more than does our won family. The same is true of the church. Not all of this is bad.”
To Help Others Carry Their Pathologies and to Have Them Help Me Carry Mine
“Anthropologists tell us that one of the primary functions of any family is to carry the pathologies of its members” … “To go to church is to seek the therapy of a public life and to be part of that therapy for others. Simply put, I go to church so that other people might help me carry what is unhealthy inside of me and so that I might help them carry what is unhealthy inside of them. If this is true, and it is, then we should also not be surprised to find every kind of sickness within our churches. But the presence of those pathologies should then not deflect us from going to church but, instead, positively beckon us there.”
To Dream With Others
“I go to church because I realize the impotence of my individuality, the limits of my private self. Alone, standing apart from community, I am no more powerful than my own personality and charisma, which, in a world of six billion people, will not make much of a difference.” … “The first thing I should do, if I hope to help bring about some justice and peace on this planet, is to begin to dream with others within a worldwide body of persons committed to the same dream. If I hope to do that I should go to church.”
To Practice for Heaven
“Heaven, the scriptures assure us, will be enjoyed within the communal embrace of billions of persons of every temperament, race, background, and ideology imaginable. Few things stretch the heart as painfully as does church community. Conversely, when we avoid the pain and mess of ecclesial encounter to walk a less painful private road or to gather with only persons of our own kind, the heart need not and generally does not stretch.”
Serves 4-6
1 box whole wheat mostaccioli or penne
2 jars pasta sauce - mushroom & garlic is good
1 pound italian sausage, crumbled; or ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 can sliced black olives, drained
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Heat sausage and onion in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 7 to 10 minutes or until meat is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in pasta sauce and olives. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer 5 minutes.
• Cook mostaccioli according to package directions; drain and return to pot.
• Add sauce mixture and parmesan cheese to hot mostaccioli; toss. Pour into greased 13x9-inch baking dish; cover.
• Bake 20 minutes; uncover. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pasta; continue baking uncovered 5 to 7 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Key excerpts from the President’s address, “A New Beginning”:
- I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and the Muslim world based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.
- Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.
- I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of the story of America. Since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States.
- We must act with the understanding that the challenges faced by people around the world are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.
- We reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men women, and children.
- America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
- No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.
- Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it.
- The United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls.
- The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth.
Together, we can make this vision a reality. What did you think of President Obama’s speech? And what are you doing to help the people of the world live together in peace?
