Beyond the woods...

Beyond the woods, there is an open field where the sun shines and your weary heart may run free.

February 6, 2023. Needy, though we are…

Early Christians showed mercy, caring for the poor and vulnerable, and enacted a multitude of other virtues that were uncommon at the time, but that many of us take for granted today as being right, just, and good. But apart from the One who taught that everyone is your neighbor, and that you should forgive your brother “seventy times seven times…” we forget just how important these works of mercy are, and without His grace, we fail in our own weak attempts to apply the virtues in our lives. 

Accounts from circa the second century describe how startling and different were the lives of the early Christians who were living their Faith as it had been taught and demonstrated to them by Jesus. One such account, from a philosopher named Aristides includes this detail of the charity Christians extended to others:

“…they love one another, and from widows they do not turn away their esteem; and they deliver the orphan from him who treats him harshly. And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the spirit and in God. And whenever one of their poor passes from the world, each one of them according to his ability gives heed to him and carefully sees to his burial. And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted on account of the name of their Messiah, all of them anxiously minister to his necessity, and if it is possible to redeem him they set him free. And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food…”

So may we live. 

I know I need this reminder to “look not to [my] own interests, but also to the interests of others…” (Phil 2:4). It’s essential to help the poor, feed the hungry, protect the vulnerable and weak, and care for the sick and dying. It’s not just good medicine for them, but necessary for our spiritual health. 

"When people are empty of Christ, a thousand and one other things come and fill them up: jealousies, hatreds, boredom, melancholy, resentment, a worldly outlook, worldly pleasures. Try to fill your soul with Christ so that it's not empty."

- St. Porphyrios 

Come Holy Spirit. 

Photo February 4, 2023. Christ the King Catholic Church. 

Color All Around

Four years ago we attended a performance in the Fox Theatre in Detroit. It was built in the 1920s and is the largest remaining of the old movie palaces of that time period. The architect was C. Howard Crane. The theatre renovation was completed in 1988. It now is the venue for all sorts of performances. The environment overwhelms the senses with colors, textures, and images typical of the style.

Here are a few of the photos from that day.

The entrance:



The lobby:





One of two carved cats with ruby colored eyes:





The performance auditorium:






Ornate details cover the walls:




And figures fill niches around the auditorium:



The organ is a work of art!






Even the smaller details are fun to see.



...and the lights!!!









The light fixture and dome over the auditorium:

Bleak House

Looking back at some reflections I had in August 2009 but never published.



"Hearts are worn in these dark ages... Night has fallen among the living and the dying..."
    lyric from Words on Fire, Sarah McLachlan
"Cast me gently into morning, for the night has been unkind."
   lyric from Answer, by Sarah McLachlan


Things are tough all over. And I really have no idea. People caught up in themselves. Distracted by the unimportant and petty. The downright trivial. We surround ourselves with sounds, noise to shut out the sound of our own conscience. We look for others to confirm us in our self-centered, self-gratifying pursuits. Denial and self-sacrifice are foolish concepts, with little meaning for those who wish to find their way to the top of something they don't understand.

Behind all the clamoring is pain. Painful isolation. Painful misgivings. Painful, mournful, loneliness. Painful guilt.

It could be ruinous to pause, to stop, to be quiet, to listen, to listen again.

Today I saw several people who have undergone a difficult treatment for cancer. They can't work because they are not healthy enough to be in a workplace around other people. I saw a man and his wife who were frustrated that, although they woke early and drove several miles to an appointment, part of their appointment was cancelled because they got stuck in traffic, and his blood counts aren't healthy enough to have the treatment that might make him better. He had to hear from 3 different sources that if he had arrived on time, things might have been different. The implication was that he should have gotten here on time. And I suppose he should have. But maybe fatigue, fear, and a lack of confidence that it would do any good, kept him from meeting our expectations. So he heard about his failure to be on time from those who are supposed to care, and supposed to heal.

I saw a woman who has pain in her eyes that she described as shards of metal scratching every time she blinks. She is taking strong pain medicines that do not make the pain go away and only help a little.

I saw a woman who has lost 10 more pounds in a short period of time despite her efforts to eat. She was so fatigued and is feeling really badly.

I saw a woman who has new symptoms, and is worried that after breast cancer followed by leukemia she may have yet another serious medical problem. She has children that she is trying to get ready for school this fall. She is trying to get children ready not just for school, but possibly for life without her...

I saw a 26 year old man whose leukemia has resisted all our treatments and is progressing despite our best efforts. There are areas all over on his most recent tests that light up with cancer: in his liver, abdomen, leg, arm, neck, head, and eye. He began having new pain last night in his shoulder. Pain that is much worse than any he's had recently... a bad sign. He weighs 45kg and is 5'10". He has graft versus host disease in his skin causing areas of inflammation, along with severely dry and flaky areas that increase his risk for infection.  The soles of his feet are so tender he can't walk on them. He can't get comfortable because his shoulder is hurting him. A heated flannel blanket helps a little. We review things, the very few options that he has, and the risks they pose to his already very fragile state. He is a nice kid. A really nice kid. His mother is with him. She is quiet. He has been very independent, managing his treatment and appointments like a real man. She is with him because he can't drive now.

So when you ask me how I am, I may be a little tired. But I am fine. I am better than fine. I am fantastic. I have every reason to believe I will be fantastic tomorrow, too. And so is my family.

So let me ask you. How are *you*?

Lenten Journey

"Come away by yourselves to a quiet place, and rest." (Mark 6:31)

Forty days are provided to us in the liturgical year to withdraw a short distance into the quiet and reflect on our dependence on God and His providence, and to turn away from distractions that fill our lives with things that are superficial.  This reflection teaches us about our smallness and the importance of doing good to others.

God bless you. God bless us. God be with all who seek him with a pure heart, who seek to do good.

Good light transforms the ordinary. It reveals inherent qualities, and highlights unseen potentials. We all see so imperfectly, but we know when we have those blessed moments of clarity that something truer and better than ordinary is afoot. Strive for those visions.

This morning I walked through poison ivy to get closer to something beautiful. It was a small risk, and worth any potential harm, to be able to see the light better.

The milkweed is spreading its wings in the fields.

October 10, 2014.

Blue Moon

My most recent super moon tinted with a touch of blue, to match my mood, and the mood of many of us who grieve over oh so many things…

What troubling stories fill our news, and what great suffering is happening at the hands of radical militant factions in Iraq and the Middle East, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

I keep thinking of Psalm 120:6-7 "Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war."

It appears that things as powerfully disordered as our current worldly threats may not be changed except through prayer and fasting.

The moon shines silently above us as a beacon in the night, and in our darkness, we surely need a light to guide our way.

Photo taken August 10, 2014.