Reconnecting With Friends

Thank goodness for Facebook!  In the past week I had the opportunity to reconnect with several longtime friends from high school and college.

Actually I had to be reminded that I only knew them both for really only one year.  Jim had transferred in his senior year, and to be honest I don’t remember how I ultimately met Steve.  But several times per week we would get together and play several games religiously for a year:  Risk, and Dungeons & Dragons.  Then there was the weekend gaming marathons, breaking the bread of our lives in the fellowship of the ring, so to speak.  I’ve thought of these two friends countless times over the past 20 years, wondering how their lives turned out, wishing we could talk about old times.  And so, this week, I finally got my wish and reconnected with them both, all because of Facebook.  We caught up on each other’s lives, and it was almost like time hadn’t passed at all.

The other friends were Chris and Shelly.  They were practically my idols when I was a freshman at Viterbo.  We were all trumpet majors with Dr. Gregory our band director.  I remember a trip we took from La Crosse to Winona to try out some fancy new rotary trumpets at some music store—we got a polishing cloth each out of it.   It was a magical time of my life.  Anyway, Shelly added me as a friend on FB and we emailed back and forth reminiscing.  Then I asked her if she had kept in contact with Chris; next thing I knew Chris added me as a friend, and we will probably get together sometime next week for coffee, as he will be up in the cities over Holy Week.

I don’t believe in coincidences.  I think there is a reason these four people came back into my life, and I’m sure it is a good one.  So if any of the four of you are reading this blog, thank you for sharing your life with me.  I look forward to many more years of reminiscing!

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Confession.  The thought brings up chills in so many people’s minds and hearts.  Whether because of a negative incident as a child or by feeling inadequate to seek out the sacrament because of unworthiness.  In any of these cases, it doesn’t matter.  Consider the following…

Isaac had his first reconciliation this past weekend. I participated with him for several reasons; 1. because I wanted to put forth a positive image of the sacrament for him; 2. Believe it or not, I wanted to go. I never get a chance because I’m always playing music during our penance services. Although I firmly believe in form C, general absolution, it still felt good to go. One of the songs we sang was called “Loving and Forgiving” by Scott Soper (OCP Breaking Bread #672). I have prayed this psalm perhaps 50 times and it hit me just at the right moment. Verse three says: “Good and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger, rich in love. God remembers not our sins; forgiving and loving is God.” God remembers not our sins. Very powerful stuff! Just think about it: if we are forgiven, God’s mercy is so great that our sin isn’t even remembered. It is us that get in the way of true forgiveness because we have minds that remember our past hurts. God is the only one who can forgive and forget. Truly. Anyway, I felt much better afterwards, which is the point of the sacrament.

The Economy

OK, I’m a Franciscan; non-traditional, but a Franciscan none the less.  Although I like my gadgets, I try to live a simple lifestyle, not being concerned about my status, what I wear, etc.  As a matter of fact I have only a couple sets of dress clothes which I mix and match, and a couple hoodies that I wear with my Tau cross. 

However here’s the kicker…there will be 1 or possibly 2 of us who will lose our jobs at Annunciation.   I guess there is no one who is safe in this economy, not even in the church.

Perhaps I’m paying off some kind of karmic debt.  This isn’t the first time this situation has happened to me in my life.  Actually it’s happened at almost every place I’ve worked, with the exception of St. Patrick’s.  If one believes in past lives perhaps I was an obnoxious boss who didn’t care about his/her workers.  Or maybe I worked for the church and actually enjoyed being treated well.  The possibilities are endless!

Now, with regard to my Franciscan ideals, but I just don’t want to go through the whole process again. I’m starting to feel more at ease about having to find a new job, but I have just a little anxiety of not knowing how this will all turn out . I always end up finding something, and it is usually a good move for me. 

One of my favorite passages is from Matthew 6, very Franciscan in nature:

Do Not Worry
  ²⁵ "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
  ²⁷Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
  ²⁸"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
  ³¹"Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?' ³²For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I sure love this…do not worry about these things but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…This is how I try to live my life.  Sometimes it is easier than other times, but it goes back to what I said yesterday:  When I feel like I am not free and God isn’t listening to me, it is at this point—a point in the heart—that I try to make a clear choice for God.

Free Will

The fact that I desire the Creator and feel nothing back leads me to the most important act of free will, to CHOOSE to turn to the Light despite any feelings of presence.  "How much easier would life be if the Creator were not concealed from human beings, but were clearly perceived and seen by each and every one of us!" (Rav Laitman)

I didn’t find Kabbalah; Kabbalah found me.

Kabbalah notes

I attend an ongoing online class in Kabbalah.  Yesterday we were invited to attend a global class from Israel.  I was interested in asking a question, and it happened to be asked online:

"As a beginning student, how do I introduce concepts that I understand already to friends/relatives that might be interested?"

My teacher, Michael Laitman's answers to these questions...

1. The world is global--we are connected to everyone on the planet via globalization
   
2. The Kabbalists said the world really started to feel the Kabbalistic concepts from the early 1960's
3. So today we finally see the connection.
4. Nature needs to be in a state of balance.
5. The stories and facts are alright to share.

Probably the most important answer for society today is #1:  we are connected to everyone on the planet via world globalization; he was emphatic about this.  So he answered my question first by giving me the message that should be conveyed, then by saying that it's ok to share these ideas.  Until we reach a critical mass of people in the world who will subscribe to this idea, until we realize that the root of all problems in the world is the fact that we don't recognize that our egos get in the way of connecting with our neighbors we will not have peace.  This is so basic and so logical, but until all 7 billion people on the planet realize this we will NOT have global peace.  As a matter of fact, things will get worse before they get better.

I was on cloud nine when they announced my name for a question:  "And Jay from St. Paul MN, US Learning Center has a question."  I never thought my question would get through the hundreds of thousands that were being asked at the same time.  I don't believe in coincidences; I need to ponder the reason for my question being asked over everyone else's!

Elsewhere on the same pathetic page...

I get SO frustrated with the Catholic religious right wing.  There's something wrong with the church who says on one hand that we have a priest shortage, and on the other, we will not ordain women or married men.  Below is a quote from the same blog article as mentioned before.  I have spoken to Bridget Mary Meehan on the telephone, and find her to be a breath of fresh air, along the lines of Joan Chittister.  I hope she DOES get ordained...more power to her!

It has just come to my attention that one of the women to be "ordained" this July 31 in Pittsburgh isBridget Mary Meehan. 

Bridget Mary Meehan, D.Min., a Sister for Christian Community, will be ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 31. Dr. Meehan is currently Dean of the Doctor of Ministry Program for Global Ministries University, and is the author of 15 books, including "The Healing Power of Prayer" and "Praying with Visionary Women.". Dr. Meehan can be reached at SofiaBMM@aol.com. The website is Roman Catholic Womenpriests. (Source: The case for women priests, Guest Commentary By Bridget Mary Meehan,Global Ministries University)

I JUST CAN'T LET THIS ISSUE PASS...

Elsewhere on Blogger...Comments on Catholics for Obama

 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2008

News Updates, 11/5

Catholics Go For Obama (Rev. Thomas J. Reese)
Catholic voters ignored the instructions of a group of vocal bishops and delivered 54% of their vote for Barack Obama as president of the United States. These bishops, led by Archbishops Charles Chaput and Raymond Burke, argued that abortion was the most important issue in the election and that no other issues outweighed it. As a result, they argued, Catholics could not vote for a pro-choice candidate....
[Are these Obama "Catholics", in fact, Catholic at all? I think not.]

Not to Vote Pro-Life Is to Participate in the Culture of Death: Archbishop Burke
“A good citizen must support and vote for the candidate who most supports the inalienable dignity of innocent and defenseless life, and the integrity of marriage.” 
[Polls indicate that the Catholic vote was split, generally, among both McCain and Obama. It is deplorable and repugnant that any Christian, Catholic or otherwise, would vote for a candidate for the office of president who supports legislation which allows the destruction of innocent human life, the murder of babies in the womb or outside the womb. I am so sickened and saddened that we, as a once God-fearing people, have failed miserably in the sight of Almighty God and his precious little ones by electing leaders who have no regard for life. We now reap what we have sown - especially if 'The One' follows through on his promises to undue the years and years of arduous work over the past 35 years in trying to right a monstrous and wicked wrong. Let us pray for Divine Intervention and mercy and ask our Blessed Mother and all of the Saints to pray for us as well. God suely knows that we need help!]

Repugnant???  

I think it is "deplorable and repugnant" that for the past 8 years we have been in a war that has gone nowhere, and that we have consistently used might before diplomacy.  I think it is "deplorable and repugnant" that Poverty in the United States is cyclical in nature with roughly 12% to 17% living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% falling below the poverty line at some point within a 10 year time span. In terms of pre-transfer absolute poverty rates, in 2000 the United States ranked tenth among sixteen developed countries;  In 2006, the poverty rate for minors in the United States was the highest in the industrialized world, with 21.9% of all minors and 30% of African American minors living below the poverty threshold (Wikipedia). WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS??  AGHHHHH!!!

I think it is "deplorable and repugnant" that more than 19 million women are uninsured in this country, and women are more likely than men to delay or not get medical care because of high costs; one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime--family violence accounted for 11 percent of all violence between 1998 and 2002. That the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last twenty years.  My God in heaven, the list can go on and on--and ON.

I agree...in my Catholic worldview, abortion is a sin.  But "not to vote pro-life is to participate in the culture of death?"  Come ON Bishop Burke.  I did vote pro life in the last election.  I voted for Obama who addresses ALL of these issues, not just one.  I am not a single issue voter!