Irish Truth

Some of the stories about St. Patrick and St. Brigid, Irish Saints, seem to many people to be beyond fact as in, “That did not really happen.”  Such unfortunates are wandering in ignorance.  The Irish are great story tellers.  These stories are filled with truth, the really real, and the way they are passed on is to give them their power and their ability to be remembered.  The truth of any event, for the Irish, is found in the facts of the story.  Truth is meant to change our lives, challenge us to change.  The post modern world of STEM school thinking, is all about facts.  Facts are lots of pieces of information, knowledge that take up the space in our heads, but change nothing.  When we run out of space in the brain, we have to forget some stuff to make room for new stuff.  No one forgets a good Irish story.  I know people, sceptics, who say the stories a priest tells about his sister Maureen are untrue.  Well, may you people not find Brigid and Patrick at the Pearly Gates when you get there.  They might vote you out.  Irish, of course, get a free pass.

Give First

Someone said, "I have to give away what I want."  Say that you want to matter in the world, to be recognized, that what you do matters.  What many people do with this "want" is to spend useless energy whining and feeling lots of self-pity, and maybe resentment over not seeming to matter to the world around them.  They feel ignored, anonymous, devalued and the like.  Well, what if you felt like this?  Why not let another person know that they matter and what they do matters.  Call them up.  Write a letter (snail mail!), text or just talk to them about their value to you.  Praise someone for doing their job well.  I suspect this will diminish your whining and self-pity.  Anything that diminishes the power of resentment is a good thing for many people.  I am one of them.  Thank you for faithfully reading my blog.  There are precious few of you, so you are special and rare to me.

Monastery Winter White

I am back at the monastery after a difficult ride over the passes.  The heat appears to work in my room.  I had some coffee, but am beginning to get the altitude headache.  Otherwise, it is rather easy to just settle in.  The snow covers everything outside, but the sky is clear blue and there is no wind. It is a postcard winter mountain day.  I will try and make this my Advent Retreat and I will preach at the monastery for the Sunday mass.  Though it is 6 degrees outside when I arrived, I can still cover up and take walks.  Enjoy the sun now because after I get my face cut up next week I will have to hunker down a bit and keep blood pressure low to let the stitches do their thing.  That would be December 12.  Santa might avoid me along with my friends since I will be looking a bit like Frankenstein's monster for a while.  But I have six days here to just get into the stillness and the quiet.  No telephones.  No TV or video.  I will pray for you all in the middle of the night when I get up for Vigils.

Being You

I do a work that I think is me, my calling, if you will.  I teach about prayer of silence and stillness.  Few attend out here in San Francisco.  Am I a failure?  I make little money to pay my bills.  I have no fame.  If that is the criterion then I am a failure.  But what if I did something that is really not me, who I really am, but does make money and gives me fame?  Is that a success?  Think of the rock star who ODs on drugs or a unhealthy lifestyle of sexual promiscuity.  What is success?  I think it is doing what is you, the unique you.  All else is done out of fear disguised as being practical.  I can be practical and survive, as in grabbing onto a buoy because I am drowning.  But for most of us, to be practical is often the way that we avoid the rough edges of discovering and living out who God made us to be.  OK. You don’t believe in God.  Then think of a life choice as doing what makes you comfortable in your own skin, that gives you a sense of accomplishment, of using your gifts regardless of who will recognize or pay you for it.  There will come a time, I suspect, when health will decide what I do.  That may be the aging process.  That is a limitation I cannot escape if I live long enough.  But I”d rather not put my own limits on what I do.  I recognize fear each day, so I don’t trip over it and fall into being someone I am not.

AM And PM

Recently my new ex-friend, Deborah A and I were going to meet to go to her exercise club.  She had a guest pass and I wanted to see her club setup. Then we would go for coffee and treats.  She said she would “pick me up at 5 and we could do a Pilate’s class at 5:15.”  Ouch!  That is awful early, but Deborah travels a lot for work and I do some too, so this was a precious time to visit.  I dragged myself out of bed at 4+AM something and was at the door ready to go into the cold air at 5 AM.  No Deborah.  5:15 AM and no Deborah.  I texted.  5:20 AM no Deborah.  I thought, “She hates me.”  Then, “I am so inconsequential to her that she got up and went to the club and forgot all about me.”  Ex-friend file.  Then she texted me:  “I meant 5:00 PM!”  OMG.  I neve thought to ask, but being damaged goods, I could not blame my stupidity, so I blamed her for not being more clear.  Who works out at night anyway!  Then, I thought, why should I get upset.  I lose a chance for specialty coffee and treats, and some time with Deborah.  It is all about me, no?  So I took her off the Ex-Friend list.  We got together two days later and I had my coffee and treat.  Don’t be like me, and I don’t mean the self-centered part.  Ask questions and don’t assume.  Take responsibility for your life. And hold onto your friends.  Do as I say, not as I do.

Spiritually Cponditioned

Prayer is like going to the gym or outside for a run/walk on a daily basis.  We exercise the body for a while each day so that we will be fit enough to endure events the rest of the day, lifting, moving, bending and so on.  We don't want to hurt ourselves by being unfit.  Prayer is like going to the spiritual gym on a daily basis.  We do it each day as we fit it into our schedule, so that we can do right behavior and avoid wrong behavior the rest of the day.  Addicts can say "no" to an addictive impulse to drink, use or binge.  All of us can say no to other bad behaviors, and thoughts such as judging, lying, cheating, stealing, jealousy, and procrastination to name a few.  As you get used to the physical exercise when done daily, so it will be with prayer.

Urchins

Recently, I went on my first field trip with children, grades 3, 4, and 5.  I was to be the priest presence.  “Why am I doing this?” I asked myself when I woke up.  I was into isolation mode, mixed with low levels of caring for children.  I meditated, and then said OK lets do this.  I was trying to fake being a holy and caring priest as I walked over to meet everyone at the school.  Someone handed me a piece of paper that said I was in charge of five urchins, I mean children.  What!  This was not in the contract.  I could not complain and whine.  I was wearing my collar and clerical shirt.  I had to fake love and interest.  One of the women in the car I was in had a bad cold.  What next!  I will get the flu.  Why does God hate me?  But she got drugs from her doctor.  Great.  She was supposed to be my assistant with the children I had to watch.  Then everything changed.  A miracle!  It was a wonderful ride down and back.  The children were fascinating to watch what they enjoyed at this hands on museum and how they interacted with one another.  I don’t think any of them cared one way or the other that I was there, but it was an experience for me that widened my horizons.  I learned a lot...plus I got a chocolate treat and a cappuccino!  Sometimes it is best to shut up and let God play things out.  I had a wonderful day.  Better than isolation and self-implosion.  But I am glad I am a priest.  No kids.  Too much high maintenance.  I am high maintenance enough!