The View Up Here

Lord, deliver me from all that robs me of freedom and interior peace. Freedom from enslavement to my fears - not being good enough - being poor - being abandoned Freedom from enslavement to my cravings - food beyond nourishment - comfort instead of fulfilling responsibilities - distraction instead of openness to God's will in my life Freedom from enslavement to the demands of the world - busy busy busy busy busy busy busy - money money money money money money money Freedom from enslavement to status and power - gotta look good for others to judge - can't let anyone get the drop on me - gotta be in control - can't be caught looking foolish The enemy plies each and every one of these fears against me. Lord, deliver me from evil. Grant me freedom to embrace you in my daily life, the life of moments. Freedom to do what I ought - righteousness in the sight of the Lord yah, not my own righteousness the righteousness of Jesus Christ who transforms me ...

A couple weekends ago, I went on a vocation discernment retreat with the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth, NJ. It was a beautiful weekend away, and I came home with a renewed intimacy with Jesus. I accept that as long as I am in the world serving in ministry, I need a monthly renewal retreat. That had been a long time coming after months of ministry with no time set aside for God alone outside the normal every day routines. I won't make that mistake again! I am still discerning my life path and listening. What is Jesus whispering to my heart? For now, I am in Elmira, praying and striving to be present as I help prepare young people for the Sacrament of Confirmation, hold a bi-weekly women's prayer group, and bring Holy Communion to the homebound. I am drawn to the woods, to quiet nature. I am drawn to water in any form - stream, brook, river, lake, ocean. I am drawn to silence and certainly to contemplative prayer. I am drawn to rhythms, seasons, pulses, not the unrelentin...

In the Gospel of John, Yeshua tenderly washes the apostles' feet, then sits down and asks them, "Do you know what I have done for you?" (Jn 13:12) At the time, Simon (Cephas/Peter) and the apostles didn't really catch on to what was  going  on. But eventually, they did. And so can we. Jesus (Yeshua)  has shown us that we are to be servant leaders; we are to serve our brothers and sisters in humility and love - just as He did. In Holy Thursday Mass, we have the "washing of the feet" to commemorate this act. But what does it really mean, and why did Jesus wash the disciples' feet, not  just  serve a meal or do some other act of service? We must do two things to unpack this gesture - one is the examine the physicality of it, and the other is to remember Jesus' time and place. Jesus took off his outer garment and wrapped a towel around his waist. Taking off an outer garment can symbolize getting ready to work (akin to "rolling up one'...

Over the past few months, I've had many interactions with friends of mine that go way back - 20, 25, even 35 years - and they have asked some very good questions about this whole "discerning a vocation" business. I also picked up that a few of them had some concerns, which is a natural reaction, I think, if the process and the spiritual life inherent in the process is unfamiliar to them. Not to mention the actual concept of monastic or religious life. And for some, me returning to the Catholic faith and wanting to live a life within that context has been troubling. With all this in mind, I figured it might be good to do an FAQ.  Please click on the links I've provided for more info on specific topics and experiences. If you have any other questions, please send me a comment. Thanks for reading! 1.   I have been discerning a religious vocation (to become a sister or a nun) for almost four years, now. In that time, I have met with several and very different re...

“Son of God,” produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett and directed by Christopher Spencer, was an enormous disappointment. Despite some strong performances, including Darwin Shaw (Peter) and Sebastian Knapp (John the Evangelist), it wasn’t even close to being the greatest Jesus movie of all time, and in fact, it wasn’t even a good movie. Not only was it shallow, disconnected, and self-important, it neglected to show a crucial aspect of Jesus’ saving ministry: relationship. Jesus had and has relationships with us, and with the Father, and he invites us into his intimate relationship with the Father. Nowhere did this crucial element of his life and teaching appear in this film.   The-who-what-where-in-the-what-now? (Trying to make sense of this movie) The episodes of Jesus’ ministry were never connected with who Jesus was as a person,  and characters were drawn with neither depth nor passion. They came and went with no explanation and with no real ...

All of a sudden, it’s February. How did that happen, I wonder? Something about the earth rotating every 24 hours and then revolving around the sun in a 365-day cycle, and the moon revolving around the earth once every 28 to 30 days, causing the tides to bulge, occasionally there are 29 days in February but not this time, and oh yeah, now that the Super Bowl is over, we can start talking about Spring Training… Happily, there are some updates for the beginning of February: I’m into the final copy edit for Black Doves . I’m taking extra time to do this because I’m a perfectionist. ‘Nuff said. The Spring semester at I.C.L.A. is off and running to a great start. We have 114 students this semester, which is a lot, in case you’re wondering. Normally we have 85 – 95 at the top end. This is the graduating class that was over-enrolled as freshmen, so that’s why there are so many of them. But they are a good group, and my 24 work study students have so far been very helpfu...