◊ Saints Jonah and Berikjesus, pray for us
You have to wonder what kind of reflection it is on a man’s life if on the way to the cemetery his hearse gets a flat tire?
Coincidence? Maybe. Perhaps we should focus not on the incident itself, but on how his family and friends react? That is where the choice is, where grace happens, be it accepted or rejected. It is not for the dead man, but for his family and friends. How do they choose?
I also wonder where they store the jack and spare tire in a hearse? Is it under the coffin?
◊ Saint Turibius of Mogroveio, pray for us
To paraphrase a quote from Flannery O’Connor:
Life has, for all its horror, been found by God to be worth dying for.
What more can one add?!
◊ Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, pray for us
Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busyand very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistlesfor a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the airas they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mineand not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude—
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thingjust to be alive
on this fresh morning
in this broken world.
I beg of you,do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.— Mary Oliver, from Red Bird, 2008
◊ Saint Matilda, pray for us
The power of a good metaphor. Two stories and a poem about water.
From a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace:
There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then one of them looks over at the other and says, “What the hell is water?”
Anthony de Mello tells a similar story about a fish who is slightly more aware but blinded by expectations:
A little fish went looking for the ocean. He swims up to a big fish and asks, “Where can I find the ocean?”
The big fish replied, “Why little one, you are in the ocean.”
“This?” replied the little fish. “This is just water. Where can I find the ocean?”
The big fish repeated his answer.
Disappointed, the little fish swam off to look for the ocean.
And now a poem (by me):
As flowing water falls to seek the lowest point,
At gives all its energy away until none remains,
And then returns to its source to fall again.
What does the water gain from this falling?
What does life gain?
◊ Saint Forty Martyrs of Armenia, pray for us
From Fr. Boyer’s homily on Sunday on the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-10):
If Peter, James, and John no longer saw a man from Nazareth but the glory of his exaltation, then we no longer see bread on this altar; but what it becomes for us.
If Peter, James and John no longer saw the man they followed up that mountain
but saw the glory of divine life in him, then we no longer see each other just a neighbor or a stranger for by grace that same glory shines in each of us.If Peter, James, and John heard a voice that said: “Listen to him.” So have we.
If Peter, James, and John can take the risk of following Jesus even when they did not understand where he would lead them and what it would mean, so can we.