OFF-CAMERA THOUGHTS ...
" Walking in Jesus' footsteps:
/// That's how Christians describe a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I've
been to that Land several times now, and must admit that some of those
trips did not seem quite as prayerful an experience as others. However,
this past June, 29 of us traveled together to Israel and to Rome.
This was surely the most God-filled pilgrimage of all that I've enjoyed.
The major reason? The pilgrims themselves.
The men and women on this trip
all seemed to look out for, to truly care for one another ... even though
many of them had been strangers to each other before this journey.
Very few people complained about anything and none "got bent out of shape"
because someone might have received better treatment than themselves.
Highly unusual for such a trip.
We prayed together more
during this pilgrimage than on any other I've don. Daily Mass, the
Rosary, Scriptures proclaimed aloud at each holy site, praise songs during
bus rides ... all of it became the cohesive force among us. Grace,
the Spirit of God, was often palpable to us pilgrims, so that sometimes
in some of the places we could actually sense Jesus Christ's own presence.
Galilee remains my favorite over-all location in the Holy Land. It's still quite pastoral in setting. One truly can feel that little has changed (though I am sure this is not quite true) since He Himself lived most of His life there 2,000 years ago. The Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River into which we all waded and renewed our baptismal vows, Cana where some repeated their marriage vows, the quiet majesty of Mt. Tabor ... all of it helped us to understand the land that shaped the human personality of the Son of God.
Jerusalem, too, was good for me this year ... and for others whom I accompanied. Perhaps our most remarkable experience was the celebration of the Eucharist in the tomb of Christ the very morning we departed Israel. It would be difficult to explain in writing. Suffice to say, many tears of joy and of receiving "grace upon grace" were shared by all of us.
One day we shall do the pilgrimage again. Let nothing stand in the way of an opportunity you might have to join us.
Love in Him,
Fr. Jim
UP COMING EVENTS
Saturday, Sept. 18th, 8:30a.m to 1:30p.m. Day of Retreat with Fr. Jim. Location: St. Barnabas, 10 Mile/Phlox, Eastpoint Mi. Mass begins the retreat at 8:30a.m. Lunch will be served. A love offering will be taken. all ae welcome. Call Dolores at (810) 778-9623 for reservations or information.
Thursday evening, Sept 9th and 16th: Life in the Spirit seminar with Fr. Jim and Fr. Joe Horn. Call Ann at (248) 689-4261 for reservations.
Monday, Sept. 27th, 9:00a.m.: Mass with Fr. Jim at Holy Spirit Church in Highland. A talk will follow. All are welcome.
Saturday, December 4th, 6:30p.m. Third Annual "Candled Advent Evening" at Sacred Heart, Auburn Hills, Mi Hors d'oeuvrs and deserts, music and fellowship. A love offering will be taken. Limited seating so reserve early. Call Kathy at (810)739-2689
LIVING OUR FAITH: The Spirituality of "Ordinary Life"
A child is born. The wonder of this tiny new life, so fresh from the hand of God, brings us to our knees before the Divine Mystery. A loved one dies. And as we walk him or her to the door that opens unto eternal life, we know that here, too, we must tread reverently; we are in the realm of the sacred.
Birth and death; at these moments, the veil seems to lift and we see more clearly into the spiritual dimension of our experience.
But
what of the millions of "ordinary moments" in between? Surely everyday
life is permeated with the active presence of God, suffused with the sacred.
Yet our awareness of the spirituality of everyday life is often elusive,
and moments of insight are brief and fleeting at best. It is so for
all of us, a friend assures me. But why? Are we often not "awake"
enough to see it? Or is it perhaps more easily seen from the outside
looking in?
This "outside" perspective
came to me as an unexpected gift one day this summer. Our family
was spending the day at Cedar Point/ Late in the day, my husband
and the children scampered off to ride the "Power Tower," while I
opted for relative safety and a moment of quiet. As I sat down on
a bench to wait, I was joined by three young children with their mother
and grandparents. What I saw unfold in the next 30 minutes was so
beautiful that I still ponder it with reverence. Grandpa ran after
the little ones, laughing and playing, while Grandma cuddled whatever child
was crawling into her lap. And then it began to rain, lightly at
first, and then harder. Grandpa spoke a quick word to Grandma and
off he went, returning a few minutes later with the last four rain ponchos
he could find at the gift shop. I cannot quite describe the tender
way he he called each of the three children to him and lovingly dressed
each one in a rain poncho. And then, rain-drenched but smiling, he
called his wife to him. "come here, honey. This last one's
for you." She protested and gestured toward her daughter-in-law.
"She's okay," he assured her. "She's got and umbrella. But
you're getting wet." And with that great tenderness, the rain dripping
from his face and clothing, he dressed his wife in the last rain poncho.
His eyes shone with love as he did it, and she loved him back with her
eyes. My soul stirred as I watched. How holy, I thought.
He's washing their feet. So like Jesus.
It was a moment of inbreaking of the Kingdom of God - and I was graced to see it. Would Grandpa have seen the spiritual dimension of what he did? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I should have told him how I felt as I watched it. Perhaps we should tell each other these things. Certainly we should be grateful for the moments when we do see. For me, it is a matter of learning to see - seeing my husband's tenderness as the very tenderness of God coming to me, understanding co-creation with God as I watch my now 6-foot son serving at the altar and remember him as a hyperactive toddler who spent all of Mass trying to escape, seeing the greatness of heart of my daughter who astounds me nightly with her long litany of prayers for the sad or hurting ... seeing what Elizabeth Barrett Browning once saw: That "Earth's crammed with heaven ... and every common bush afire with God ... but only he who sees takes off his shoes ..."
O Lord, help us to see!
****
It is planned for a new editon of the Because He Lives Newsletter to be
posted on this site quarterly
through out the year. So bee looking for our next Newsletter after
the beginning of year 2000! ****
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