paravanes:meditations

Like many, I watched video of family members of the Charleston Nine ( Emanuel AME Church members murdered in a mass shooting at the church this week) express forgiveness to the confessed shooter during a court hearing. It has been suggested it is too soon to forgive. What does that mean? Why does it matter? It is never too soon to affirm the intention to forgive. That's where forgiveness begins--with intent. From intent, we may move to the deep, emotional freedom that comes with true forgiveness. That true forgiveness frees us from the poison of an offender's words or actions. That's why Jesus taught his disciples to forgive. It all begins with intent. When I watched a sobbing woman lament the loss of a loved one in open court and heard her broken voice proclaim forgiveness, I knew I was watching a true disciple of Jesus Christ. This woman was not proclaiming damnation for the mass murder. No words were spoken about God's vengeance and hate, or Hell and sufferi...

In my Facebook feed, a news article about the closing of a large, nationally significant Catholic church building in a downtown central business district drew some noteworthy comments. One commenter lamented the "loss" of a beautiful building, stating members of "his church" relocated to suburban areas two decades ago. He went on to suggest Baptists or Lutherans --traditions of quite different origins and worship styles--would soon take over "his" old building. Another commenter wrote of the irony of the Archdiocesan Office shuttering the sanctuary, but leaving open the attached Senior Center which serves nearly 2,000 people per week, offering food assistance and a safe place to meet for socializing and fellowship. Was the Senior Center's work of placemaking and feeding the hungry more meaningful than the activities and rituals held on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings in the sanctuary? Jesus said "For where two or three come together...

National Association of Non Custodial Moms:   www.facebook.com/NANCM.org Parental Alienation Awareness Organization:   http://paawareness.org/ Have you heard of these groups? When you learn a woman does not have custody of her child, do you assume she is an addict of some type, or mentally ill, or  morally unfit to raise her child or children? If you make these assumptions, you are wrong. Many noncustodial moms lost a legal battle with a well funded or abusive ex husband or ex partner. Perhaps this mother trusted someone who promised to take care of her child during a crisis, but that someone was simply creating a pretext for taking custody of that child. Perhaps this mother fled an abusive situation (taking her children with her) and was unable to finance the legal battle to maintain custody. Yes, there are some women who are not ready or willing to raise their children. But, there are many who were not able to prevail in a court system that favors the well con...

From her book, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily : "To pray only when we feel like it is more to seek consolation than to risk conversion. To pray only when it suits us is to want God on our terms. To pray only when it is convenient is to make the God-life a very low priority in a list of better opportunities...The hard fact is that nobody finds time for prayer. The time must be taken." What time am I "taking" today for prayer?

Does faith ask questions? Does faith get answers? Are you "declaring" something (out of your own, limited understanding) in order to express your faith, or are you asking questions in order to have the "mind of Christ"? Do you fear the Devil will steal or twist the answers to your prayers that God sends? Who is in charge of you and your mind and your hearing and your understanding? Are you sure? Fear is to faith as a slow leak is to a tire. Are you riding on leaky tires? Are you sure?

Scripture tells us very little about what happened with Jesus and his disciples between the time of the Resurrection and the Ascension. He appeared to them, and to many others, after his return from the dead. For the disciples, he breathed the power of the Holy Spirit onto them and into them. He gave them a life altering commission, or charge, and then returned to the heavenly realm. He was not absent, but he was out of  physical view. As Charles Wesley put it in his hymn, Rejoice the Lord is King : "When He had purged our stains, He took His seat above." This doesn't mean Jesus sat back and watched history unfold with caring or participating. This means he returned to the heavenly realm of honor he had before coming to Earth. Jesus always cares. If you invite him, he always participates. Based on the accomplishments of the disciples after the Ascension, we can imagine a few things that must have happened for Jesus' followers. We can learn from their experiences,...

'An ancient homily for Holy Saturday" Read this work, attributed to Melito. fourth century bishop of Sardis, and you will have a glimpse of how it is possible for beauty and terror to mingle into an expression of God's perfect will. You will have a sense of the horrific spiritual roller coaster ride endured by  Jesus' disciples during that first Holy Week. Thrilled by the political triumph of Palm Sunday, the apostles' dreams of a changed world visibly crashed and burned in less than one week. Betrayal, denial, a sham trial, torture, and execution seemed to overtake their fearless and beloved leader--all within 48 hours. Afraid to be seen in public, the apostles spent the day we call Holy Saturday in hiding, probably expecting Jesus' fate to overtake them unless they remained secreted away. It appeared everything they invested themselves in for three years had been wiped away, with no fall back position. Terror ruled. Even though Jesus told them in advanc...