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.