Working with the public, while it has its problems, for the most part it is a good experience. I find it humbling to talk to our retreatants. They come here seeking different things. Some just need rest, others because of some deep wound that needs care, or those who come to simply pray and to deepen their relationship with God. People consider this place holy but they often misunderstand what makes it holy here. It is not because of the monks, it is a holy place because our guest come here
Those we meet on the way
(the most important part of the NDE)
It is often true that some of the favors or mercies, shown to us by others, those most remembered, are the small instances that may make the biggest impact. Perhaps this is so because it can be done in such a spontaneous manner, done freely and without any thought of getting anything in return.
There was an instance I guess more than a few years ago, when a plane crashed landed, in France (?), I believe. The worst of course
They are everywhere, looking at us, asking, begging perhaps,
homeless, those without jobs; yes the mentally ill,
an unending flood of those less fortunate, isolated, outside.
Some survive by manipulation, con men or women, using others,
the generosity of others abused, used, so that they may not have to work.
Many more suffer the burden of begging because they have fallen far,
perhaps due to drugs, or some other addiction, perhaps just a lost job,
living from pay check to pay check
Those others in our lives
His name is Marc, one of those people who come into a life and one knows that he is there for a reason. Perhaps we are all there for reasons in each others lives. In some we are in others lives so that they can help us, love us and heal us. Then again perhaps we are in their lives so they can challenge us, make us angry, fight them, and perhaps in some way to learn……yeah it sucks I know….but reality is what it is.
Those we love and those we hate, the ones that
Those before us
People are mirrors not always pleasant,
we can only interrupt them
by what we have inside,
our past also we carry with us,
allowing misinformation to be the norm,
long bridges hard to navigate,
though we should not give up the struggle
to see,
listen,
and to understand
those before us.
The more we understand ourselves,
we will see more deeply
into the hearts of others.
This -day
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.
Martin Buber
Life can make no sense whatsoever. I have met people here in the retreat house whose lives have been one disaster after another. The have to endure of loved ones, serious health problems and financial situations that are very dour and without any respite whatsoever. Even those whose lives are ‘normal’ have their share of events that can take away all meaning from their lives.
What is our dest
This New Year
I pray the New Year for you will be blessed,
that new beginnings will bring deeper hope,
and a desire to grow in spirit;
To love more deeply and to fear less,
to face your inner demons
with love and compassion,
Never giving up no matter the failures,
to get up for our greatest enemy
is to despair,
to sink,
so easy to do,
sinking under the waves.
Swim broadly and with strength,
if tired, to learn to float a bit,
to smile in the face of inner turmoil
and outer chao
This moment so much like the one before,
Yet unique as all moments are,
My blindness keeps me from the newness of this instant,
Which leads to a flatness,
A sameness,
Something that leads to despair.
Pregnant is what each moment is.
Expectant,
If I cannot see that,
Then I am asleep,
Missing the invitation to deeper life,
A transforming relationship beyond all time.
Moments converge,
On the Moment,
The eternal,
In which all time is contained,
It is
Oh light infinite,
Love unfathomable,
Let this moment this brief instant,
Be for me a time of total abandonment,
Bringing my all,
My body,
Mind,
And Sprit,
United in its desire to be truly present
Bringing all that I am,
All that is in my life.
Creation with all its forms,
All sentient beings,
Their joys and sufferings
Into your loving embrace,
Encompassing all time and places,
Where all is truly united as one,
In the simplicity of your true nature
Of which w
This moment
Each moment is precious lord. I often squander it. A moment once past will never return again. To embrace each
moment is to embrace life. To embrace your quiet, hidden presence that upholds all.-Br.MD
This might be a rant, not sure, let me know
I was having a conversation with a man who called himself a ‘freethinker’. It is a funny term; seeming to imply that they are the only ones who think for themselves and that everyone else is I guess a ‘un-free-thinker’. Sort of like being a un-cola drink; were-in something important is missing, like intelligence. We all follow a certain thread in our lives that deal with our beliefs. Or to use a current popular word…we follow a narrative.
W
This life is so dream like
Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
Carl Jung
On Thursday we had an older man check in, his name is Ed. He was a chemist before he retired and from what I hear he was a very good one. He is now 77 and does have some health problems. He is a very childlike man, with a very simple down to earth faith in God. As he was checking in he starting telling me that this life is so dream like. It goes by so fast. I believe that sta
Quite a few years ago, I can remember reading an article, which cost about 1.5 million dollars for the study, stating that adolescents was the most difficult time of life. I laughed when reading this and thought, what is new about that, what a waste of money. I think most people when looking back on their teen age years would agree, though, those years have many happy events also. Children, becoming adults, sometimes both present at the same time, hence the extremes that many pre-twenties are
This emptiness
Ignorance has infinite depth,
though those of us who are just that,
(I know I have my share of this emptiness)
are only windy barrels with no real substance
just screaming on soap boxes, or in bars,
and of the nothingness of their inner lives
……don’t know it after all.
Bigots have 20/20 vision
screaming their ‘truth’
till blood comes out of their eyes,
ears and other orifices,
yet………
it is blood from their souls after all,
bleeding out in public for all to see,
hu
This crisis can deepen our faith
The author of this piece has given permission for me to use this and to pass it on. It is a good read for Christians, for those who believe in the Eucharist espiecally.--Br.MD
Sr. Anne Marie of Jesus
It’s hard to overstate the crushing trauma and demoralization, the numbing shock, and the paralyzing fear the apostles experienced as they watched the sufferings and death of Jesus unfold before them in a quick succession of sudden and violent events. Onc
This Child of God
We are called to be childlike, not childish. It is about saying ‘no’ to the power of the past, about learning to let go, to forgive, to unbind the chains that have been
put on us. It is about grace, God’s love for us, God’s compassion. The ‘death-to-self’ is reality a rebirth.
So in order to lovingly confront ourselves does not take being a strong adult, but an open malleable childlike, trusting attitude. T
o be rooted in Christ is to be truly growing towards being t
This beloved old building
Sometimes I think that buildings are alive and their life comes from the energy that people bring with them and leave. So this old retreat house does have a ‘feel’ about it that is warm, accepting and healing. If it was to close down, and human life and energy were to leave it, it would become just cold concrete and empty dead rooms… just a lot of air with no one to breathe it in. That saddens me a bit. I would be like loosing a good and dear friend. Many retr
Thirty-six just men and women
(People on the outer fringe)
One of the gifts of working with the public is that I get to meet some very interesting people. Most of those who I meet are normal within a certain range that the majority of the populace falls into. Then there are retreatants who while normal, fall either to the left or right on the outer-fringe. They live in society, get along with others, but are still alone and often avoided by the mainstream. Not out of cruelty but becau
Thirst, water and life
When I was young, I was petty much thirsty all of the time. Running and playing and yes fighting and sweating makes for a thirsty boy. When I was a young monk and used to work in the garden at the hottest times of the day, I would always be thirsty no matter how much I drank. There used to be a water spicket in the middle of the garden and I would often lie under it and take in a great deal of water. I did not mind, for the quenching of thirst is one of the great
Thirst
I think that in my own life I spend an awful lot of time ‘seeking’ this center in things that in the end do not hold. Finitude cannot fill the void that seeks infinity. I dance around that inner calling and attraction and there are times when I don’t understand why. It is like being filled with thirst, yet unwilling to drink from the pure spring and going after Coca Cola instead, in the end the thirst remains, after a quick burst of pleasure that is ephemeral.
Thinking of God
I can think of God as merely being some kind of super human being, more loving, and forgiving, but in the long run really not much different than I am. In other words I tend to make God into my image and likeness, which again can be hurtful to my prayer life, and my intimacy with God. When I
do this I take away from the “otherness” of God, from the infinite nature of His love, and then God can also take on my dark side. When this happens, the love of God is not experie
Thinking about being a pilgrim
(Journey at the end of life retreat 11/17-11/20/2015)
I remember when I was around 10 or 11, watching a movie with my mother way past my bed time. In the movie one of the actors greeted a friend by saying “hello pilgrim”. It was an old film from the 30’s. I thought about that word ‘pilgrim’ and when the movie was over I asked my mom what the word meant. I had some idea about the word but needed further clarification. So my mom thought about it for a mi
There is a lot to think about when reading some of the sayings of Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew he tells of the last judgment. In it he has those on his left (goats) and the rest on his right (lambs). Each goes to the place that seems suited for them. One is a place of union and the other of separation and isolation from the source of all life. What decides is something that is found in the depths of the soul, a place that perhaps only God can see, hence the ability to know where each bel
Things not always what they seem
In the end Christ was killed, he lost, his disciples scattered. So where is the power of this love? A seed has been planted, it grows on its own, and how this happens I do not know, yet Christ kingdom is growing, slowly and at times it may seem hidden. Yet “Christ lives” is still proclaimed, his love in the end did triumph, for he forgave all before he died. Things are not always what they seem and in the end there is a choice... to believe which is often th
