Musings of a Recovering Human

Today the Church around the world celebrated it’s “birthday” and the end of the Easter Season.   In writing this today, I am reminded of my confirmation by Bishop John Nevins in Sarasota, FL where the holy spirit was invoked upon us and given to us that evening sacramentally in confirmation. The Spirit who was given to us is powerful, often symbolized by the images of wind and fire as depicted in our scriptures. That night, the spirit came into our hearts and healed all of our worries, concerns, hurts, and pains. Everything. The Holy Father reflects in his own homily today on how we are “being sent forth, to proclaim the Gospel to all.” He goes on to state “We are sent into the world not only geographically but also beyond the frontiers of race and religion, for a truly universal mission ( Redemptoris Missio). It is through the works of the Holy Spirit that we are able to do this through his power. The Prayer Over the People at confirmation is profound in stating, “May they (the co...

Bob Hurd’s prayerful piece has been on my mind most of this week. As we recall Luke’s Gospel, the two disciples were walking along the road and the risen Christ visited and walked with them, however, they did not recognize him. They were shocked to find out that he had no idea what had occurred in Jerusalem the past few days and were utterly confused. It wasn’t until they invited him to stay with them for supper that they recognized him in the breaking of the bread. Luke’s account of the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus is a demonstration of conversation of the spirit; in fact, the disciples after eating with the Lord return back to their village to announce his resurrection. Through the companionship, conversation, and Breaking of the Bread, the disciples were stirred to share their faith and proclaim Christ had risen.   Hurd writes in the third verse of his hymn,   When the road makes us weary, when our labor seems but loss When the fire of faith weakens and too high seem...

In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus appears to the two disciples from Emmaus. He shares the word of God with them and its importance. Following the crucifixion, like the apostles, many left and hid away from the city of Jerusalem for fear of persecution. Jesus, as the good shepherd, comes to gather the lost sheep in this gospel passage, just as he reaches out with open arms to those who have left the church for fear, anger, despair, and sadness. Christ later breaks bread with the two disciples and they recognize him finally. As they depart, Jesus tells them “ "Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,   would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” This gospel story helps us to retell the story of Jesus in our lives and our world. Like the two disciples on the road, let us invite Jesus to stay with us.    

This weekend we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Lent and throughout the world in every Diocese, candidates from the OCIA program participate with the faithful in the Rite of Election. A few years back, I attended at Epiphany Cathedral Parish in Venice, FL, and was struck by the entrance hymn used, “Write Your Blessed Name” by Bob Moore. Verse one of the hymn reads “Be to me a strong tower of defense, a comforter in tribulation, our deliverer in distress.” As we begin the Lenten season, we embrace the love and promise that the paschal mystery brings. Christ, our defender, our comforter, and our deliverer walks by our side each and every day as we journey with him to the triumph of the cross.  Our gospel reading encourages us to believe in the hope that the great feast of Easter brings, calling us to change our lives (repent) and to believe in the good news. Lori True’s “Turn to the Living God” is such an appropriate hymn for this weekend and next as we, along with our OCIA candidates “t...

With the season of Lent beginning on Wednesday, 2/14, Valentine’s Day, we start our journey towards the cross, the tomb, and ultimately the resurrection of Christ Jesus. As the preface for the Eucharistic Prayer states, For by your gracious gift each year your faithful await the sacred paschal feasts with the joy of minds made pure. Our task, or goal this Lenten season is to avoid sin. Each and every day of our lives, we are tempted by sin, but must avoid it at all costs so to rejoice and enjoy the glory of the resurrection at Easter.  This is my second favorite time of year, for many reasons, but, most importantly, for the reason that we get to rejoice in the resurrection of Christ from the dead; the ultimate sacrifice, of whose birth was proclaimed by the prophets and death forecasted by them as well. May God’s everlasting love be with you now and always.

 This entry will be a combination of a few thoughts collected together.  So I will venture on my journey to Florida today to see Mom and Dad. I’m a bit nervous because there’s a lot of alcohol in the airport and on the plane. My therapist says it’s probably good that I’m scared and nervous. I’ve worked so hard to get where I’ve gotten so I don’t need to throw it away over a quick way to relax and calm nerves when flying. Speaking of flying, I did at least get some nice seats for the plane ride to Florida, and a day pass to the American Airlines Admiral’s Club so that I can relax and enjoy some snacks before my flight. If anything annoys me about this trip, it’s the $60 Uber to LAX, but, in the grand scheme of things, that’s small stuff. I spent more money before on drinking so really it’s a drop in the bucket now to spend $60 on an Uber considering I won’t be spending it on alcohol. Ok, so now to the real meat and potatoes of my post…in these days of Lenten journey. 2/14, Vale...