on the Feast of St. Lawrence

Serving Church and the poor of his neighbourhood, Lawrence was tortured to death by the State. Barbequed. Think about it. Dare to, at least. Pick up a newspaper and recognise modern torture: killings, war, famine victims left to fend for themselves, violence everywhere. My eyes water and i know people are worse than animals, for animals simply hunt and kill to eat, they mate and run from enemies. This particularly human desire to inflict methodical, senseless pain proves to me that there is Evil, not in nature, but in the darkest hearts of tormented men, where hate rules and fear abides.

Nevertheless, we are asked to forgive and endure, to embrace and love.

To follow the Christ, we are asked to be like Him.

No easy task. Perhaps the greatest task that shall be asked of me. Pass on it? Turn away and ignore insanity? Busy myself with distractions such as greed, gluttony and lust? No easy task to follow Christ and his apostles.  But then, do i have something better to do?

on the Feast of St. Dominic

Sainted for his unwavering dedication to the preservation of the Church in a time of heresy and fear from abroad, what i read too, is that this verysame Church in the 1100's tortured and killed accused fellow humans willy nilly. A qualifying note reminds us too, that this was normal at the time. Of the saint, we are reminded to be strong and dedicated, to persevere not for this life of flesh and blood, but for the glory of eternal Life.

Then i am reminded of my journey to mass. A thousand years later and the streets are alive with fellow humans. Cultures vary, but here they are remarkably all enveloped in their own private worlds. Me, Me, Me. A generation or two of liberals. The Self supreme, I am doing it my way! After all these years living among them, this explicitly robust individualism still balks me. Free spirits? Egoists, me thinks! The indifferent sea splashes up against me, eroding, corrupting, threatening. People just doing whatever, whenever, however, "Watch out, 'cause here i am" seems to be the national cry. They run lights. Pedestrians cross without a sideward glance. Buses expect all to stop, as do the taxis, and everyone else for that matter.

Notice the bad, contemplate one's own motives, do the right thing.

I can fall into old habits of noticing only that which annoys me. Lost in anger, i poison my own mind and become blind and deaf to the glory which is life, this very moment, each breath and every opportunity to give thanks.

Persevere. Anger does not help me. I notice everyone on my way home, but don't judge and get caught up in my own emotional blackmail for that would be just as ego-centric, me thinks.

on the feast of the transfiguration of the Lord

"And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light"

Mat 17:3

If God charged Peter, James and John to listen to his son ... and the Son is One with God ... and both God and the Son and mankind share in the Holy Spirit ... then listening to family should be easy. Funny, but deep listening is rarely easy, as most people are already thinking of what to say next.

God was before us, is with us now and shall be long after we are gone, the alpha and omega, the creater of all that is and shall ever be, et cetera. Listen.

The noise i hear, the jabbering in my head, the ideas, the impulses, the moods, the endless stream of distractions are of the material world, this world of flesh and blood. And while it may all seem important, yea, even of life and death, it's all still an illusion ... because this is not our true nature. We are beings made in the image of God. True Reality is a face that shines like the sun. Light. Love. Endless grace. Forgiveness again and again and again. Though the noise in my head distracts me from this Truth, may i still my relentless and fearful ego and in the quiet of my mind, hear the words of God. And perhaps know an epiphany.

Peace. Patience. Hope. Faith practised through Love. May your face too, shine like the sun.