November 28th

Today is my grandfather, Joseph Edward Flynn's, birthday. He would be one hundred and two years old. He died in 1984 when he was only 75. My grandmother, his wife, went on to live another 25 years. It is hard to imagine that he has been gone that long, and that he has not been alive during so much of her life and of mine. I was pregnant with our first baby when he died. It is hard for me to realize too that our boys don't know him at all. Didn't know him. He taught me how to play gin rummy, was one of the first adult males I knew, observed, loved. Although he was a distinguished military man who retired to become an academic professor, he was lovable. Wow, I'm getting old. Those early memories are so present to me... his eyes, his hair, his hands, the way he walked, the way he did dishes, the way he held the steering wheel when he drove the car. He certainly had a twinkle in his brown Irish eyes. My mother and my sister Peggy resemble and therefore remind me of him. Happy Birthday, Grandfather. I miss you.

gold

There are still yellow and red and even green leaves on the trees as of November 27. They are falling though as I sit here. Rain is coming and so many will be assisted in their falls. It feels like harvest to me.. even though we're not farmers. The boys are home, the leaves are falling, we planted winter vegetables yesterday and we're middle aged. Pete and I are both surprised how tired we seem to get after an evening of revelry or of a little yard work. We've vowed to get stronger. I think we have to up the ante. We joined the gym, but have managed about twice a week. We haven't managed even many walks lately. Today, we'll try to do it all... like New Years resolutions after a debauched New Years' Eve, I am bound to avoid the carbohydrates today after Thanksgiving dinner's carbo loading. It was SO GOOD though! So grateful .. for so many things. and when I feel this grateful, it's hard to simultaneously care about being penurious. Is that the word I'm looking for? Focus on the gold.

wednesday, the day before thanksgiving 2009

Let us pray. Hmm. That's what popped into my head as I started to begin writing.. The priest says that at points in the mass. "Let us pray." Then we all gather our selves to .. God. For me, this time at the keyboard is time to gather .. what the light seems to be shining upon. Today, Billy and Robbie are home. What a treat. Into the house comes their energy, each of them a force. Tommy and John will be home tonight too as will dear ole' Dad. Robbie and I are cookin' up a dinner so that we can sit down together and have a little family feast. I know that the dynamic is not altogether pleasing to everyone. Everyone gets on the nerves of somebody... but right now, I am overjoyed to have this little family of ours together, and the boys seem happy to be home. We all happened to eachother... and I am so grateful. Welcome home boys... always.

monday, november 23, 2009

the widow with the two coins. Today's gospel is about Jesus' observation of the poor widow who gave all she had to the temple offering. The wealthy gave from their excess. A commentary I read said that we might consider just surrendering a little bit, step by step, to a radical faith in God. What would that look like? I find this a little bit more approachable!! where in my life is there a "holding back"?

monday, november 22, 2009

Cristo Rey, November 21, 2009

From Luke's gospel: "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." So, you say your a king? Well, no, I didn't say I was a king. Jesus responds to questioning by the Roman caesar. The political power seeks to establish who is in power? Among the Jews, this Jesus is now powerful? He is certainly making waves, having caught the attention of the religious establishment now too. What courage he possesses to stake his claim and not back down. He remains steadfast in his knowledge of the truth and in his preaching of it. I remember being little and knowing something to be true and being told by the grown ups in my world that I was wrong. The sensation within my Core Self was like the energy trapped in an incipient atomic explosion. I remember coming to an awareness that there are people and places where the truth is not heard. Certainly within my own self, there is a resistance to the truth. I used to tell the boys to put on their armor when they were facing a tough day at school. I was saying it kind of in jest to help them feel empowered.. but I'm thinking it would be good, in a similar vein, to invite the King to reside within me and be that voice reminding me of the truth. I need to consult the King of the Universe to act as the king of my universe. What would Christ the King look like in my imagining? Maybe the Jesus who spoke to the adulteress. Maybe the Jesus who commissioned Peter? Maybe the Jesus who died on the cross.

Thanksgiving, in anticipation of the feast

We gather today, Lord of abundant life, as grateful children. Delighted and humbled by our bounty, we celebrate gifts of food and shelter, of colors that dance at dawn and dusk; we relish the scent of cooking foods, of burning leaves and summer's wet grass, of snowflake, of animal fur. We marvel at the intricacy of spiders' webs and fish bones, newborn babies and lines etched on faces of grandparents come for a visit today. All gifts from Your hand. When our meal is completed, leftovers stashed, and naps taken, we will leave replete, energized, and eager to go generously into the world and share our good fortune.

I did not write this. I found it on Belief.net. I think I will make it a point though, of writing my own prayer of thanks... which will be a long long list, and I know will bring me to tears.

all things done with love

four of us, Pete, Tommy, John and I were priveleged to attend the military memorial service for a downed C 130 pilot yesterday at the Presidio in San Francisco. The oldest brother of four boys, Che joined the Coast Guard with hopes of flying. That he did. and that is how he died, doing a search and rescue mission off the coast of San Diego. His plane struck a Marine helicopter flying in formation on exercises in the same air space. The brothers had lost their mother nine years ago to breast cancer, having separated from their father years before with the divorce of their parents. Dad had moved to France. So much of the ceremony honored the memory of Che and honored the gift of his life. One of the most moving elements of the military honors was the presentation of the flag. A young, African American "coastie" with very erect military bearing slowly marched up the center aisle holding the folded flag before him, placing it on the center table as proscribed by protocol. We heard several speeches, including one each given by the brothers. At the end of the ceremony, the honor guard took the flag, ceremoniously and painstakingly unfolded it, and then reverently and painstakingly folded it again. The most touching part of the day for me was when the African American guardsman held the three cornered flag while another guard smoothed the already smooth triangle and then squeezed any remaining air out of the "package". It reminded me, on reflection, of the way that the priest cleans the chalice and folds the purificator at the eucharist. I've witnessed a priest do that kind of domestic chore on the altar with such reverence and love, that it brought me to tears. The flag is what usually rests on the casket of the deceased. In the absence of the body, the military has created a ritual that infuses every inch of that flag with reverence and love, that it can humanly convey. The flag was then given to the commanding officer, who in turn, gave it to the family. It also reminds me of the love that those of us who love put into making the beds of our beloveds: our spouses, our children, our grandparents and parents, all those we love.

november 16, feast of st. elizabeth of hungary

From today's gospel of Luke reading: "So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, 'Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.' And he came down quickly and received him with joy." I love the dynamism of this story. Zacchaeus was short of stature, but he wanted to see Jesus. Jesus looked up! and found Zacchaeus! and invited him to "come down quickly". I imagine a part of me .. short of stature, but full of curiosity, stuck in an unsavory place (Z. was a tax collector, despised occupation).. .courageous enough to climb a tree to catch a glimpse of this man, Jesus. Ah! Not only am I noticed by Jesus, but he invites himself over to my house! I get to host ... this Jesus of Nazareth. What will we talk about? Zacchaeus sees that he must divest himself of his wealth for the sake of the poor. It is as clear as a perfect diamond. What possession am I liberated by giving away?

From Wikipedia, the stats on St. Elizabeth, whose image is one of a princess carrying roses:

Saint Elisabeth of Hungary (German: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen or Heilige Elisabeth von Ungarn, Hungarian: Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, July 7, 1207 – November 17, 1231)[1] is a Hungarian Catholic saint, princess of Hungary.[2] According to tradition, she was born in the castle of Sárospatak, Hungary, on July 7, 1207.[3][4][5] She was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Andechs-Merania, and at age four was brought to the court of the rulers of Thuringia in Central Germany, to become a future bride who would reinforce political alliances between the families. Elisabeth was married at the age of fourteen, widowed at twenty, relinquished her wealth to the poor, built hospitals, and became a symbol of Christian charity in Germany and elsewhere after her death at the age of twenty-four.

ahhhhhhhh!

It is finished! The seniors lost their final game of college water polo but you might not know it by looking at this picture. Daniel, David, Andrew, David Lee, Jason and Robbie are downright giddy. Wow! Life is full at this age. Countless hours of the past four years have been spent in the Pomona-Pitzer swimming pool and weight room. I know 4 of them spent a semester abroad; Nepal, Germany, Italy, Scotland. These six are very blessed young men. The parents? we've been pulling for them all along the way. So, for us? this chapter is finished too... I am so grateful that Robbie had these fellow pilgrims and we, their parents, for this piece of the journey, and vice versa.

feast of st. leo, pope and doctor of the church

Tuesday, November 10th, Feast of St. Leo. My father in law is Thomas Leo Hayes, likely named for this famous pope of the 5th century. He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun outside Rome in 452, persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Western Europe. He is also credited with the dogma of the Incarnation... that Jesus was both man and God. Atleast that is what the bishop of Dallas, who I heard speak about Pope Leo, said. AND he centralized the church in Rome.. he may have had words with a Cyril of the Eastern Church and they decided to go their separate ways. The politics of Rome is too adult for me. Evidently, the latest detente with the Anglican church... welcoming married priests into the ranks of Catholic priests is being interpreted to be a political move. It is one way to answer the problem of a dwindling priesthood. I'm going to try to avoid being distracted by what "they" are doing in Rome and try harder to be a faithful servant myself. God help me!

happy sunday!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoaTl7IcFs8 hat tip to Peggy, my sister... 21 years ago we were waiting for Robbie to be born... yahooooooooooooooooo!

Pete Appreciation Day

Today, is the official (as of last night) Pete Appreciation Day. We're only gonna do what Pete wants to do, including buy him some new shoes, visit a used bookstore, visit the Cheeseboard and get pizza for lunch, go for a walk in the redwoods and ? We went to 24 hr. fitness this a.m. and it's a beautiful morning. So we're gonna be out and about. Here's to PETE!

btw:

the face of a woman in the Yahoo ad for some face cream (that no doubt takes decades off one's face) looks like an icon. It's really a different effect that the ads that show cellulite and belly fat, that I usually see when I check my e-mail. Refreshing...

women and world religions

Some months ago, former president Jimmy Carter withdrew his membership in the Southern Baptist Church. His reason: he could no longer support an institution that treated women as second class citizens. As a member of another group, which calls itself "The Elders", retired statesmen from around the world, he has discovered that the status of women in the world is, in part, the result of religious leadership that deems females as less than males. His hope is that raising the issue will prompt a close look at what the world's churches promulgate in their theologies about the worth of women. Members of every major world religion constitute this group. One is Nelson Mandela. Herewith, Jimmy Carter, 85, speaking about his concern.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JcpNBiRcM&feature=player_embedded

I had a funny thought: is it possible that the Vatican sent some detectives over to check on American religious sisters because they really do wonder: what Spirit is living and breathing in these communities of holy women? Do the men in Rome have any conversations with women? Do they tap into the fecund spirit of this sorority? I remember in college how the girls wanted to be where the boys were... and vice versa. There's a lot to be said for cross pollenization. I hope they are clear sighted enough to see the profound insight women have to share with the wider church. Maybe an actual conversation will result.

feast of all souls

I made my own altar of the dead, a la Dios de los Muertos. I even gathered marigolds from our garden, but they were not the gold variety, but maroon and gold, so a different effect. I gathered pictures of my grandparents and lit a pillar candle and put some roses in a vase and created my own prayer time. I sat with them, and it was lovely. In fact, what happened was I recalled their presences from my memories of them and what came showering down was this almost overwhelming sense of love. This awareness: What good people they were and how they were guided by a desire to be good and to love well. In their different stations in life, teachers, engineers, homemakers, writers, I knew them as family. They were dedicated to their spouses and to their children. They were human and for some reason it is so easy to recall how, while they had tempers, attachments to ideas and things, and were sometimes selfish, all those human things, they also were deeply and profoundly good. They tried to the best of their ability to do the right thing and to love generously. I thank God for them and for this opportunity to remember them.