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Fr. Mark-David Janus Thought for the Day December 31, 2004 I am going to be spending the next week with my mother who remains in hospital. Please pray for her. So there will be no new updates on my homepage until January 10, 2005. But I would like to leave you with this New Year prayer from Karl Barth: Oh Lord our Loving God, we thank thee that thou remainest the same and thy years have no end; that it is thy will and thy gift to grant us to remain; that thy Word remains, in which thy heart is manifest to us and which speaks to our hearts. Give us the freedom, where all else decays to hold on to it and it alone. And no grant that in this freedom we may take today our final steps in the old year and tomorrow our first in the new, and then all future steps in that future which is granted to us, whether it be long or short. Awaken to this same freedom and enlighten in very place more and more men and women, old and young, high and low, wise and foolish that they too may become witnesses of that which abides forever. Let a little, or even at times much, of that dawn of eternity shine into prisons in all lands, into the clinics and schools, the council halls and editorial rooms, into all places where humankind suffers and achieves, speaks and makes decisions and so easily forgets that Thou art the sovereign ruler and that they must answer to Thee. And let such dawn shine too into the hearts and lives of our families at home, and of those many known and unknown to us who are poor, forsaken, confused, hungering, sick and dying. And do not withhold it from us when our hour shall strike. Mighty God, we praise Thy name. In Thee alone we hope, O let us not be lost. Amen. December 29, 2004 In today's readings for Mass, St. John in his first letter says this about our relationship with Jesus: "This is the way we may know we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked." To walk as Jesus walked, that is quite an ambition. But the more I think on it, it ought not be an ambition or a goal, it ought to be my heart's desire. I have some praying to do so that that the Holy Spirit enflames my heart with that desire. December 28, 2004 Today is the feast of the slaughter of the innocents. On the front page of the New York Times was a picture of an Indian woman in a room covered with the dead children who are victims of the terrible floods in India. The slaughter of the innocents reminds us that although Mary and Joseph rejoiced at the birth of their child, he needed to be protected from forces of evil. That is still true today, no matter how we rejoice in the the birth of the Christ Child, children, here and abroad, still need to be protected. The opening prayer for the Mass of this day says, "May our lives bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips." In times of calamity and in the everyday routine of our lives, our children depend on that prayer bearing fruit. For information on the needs of children in this country, you can check here at the Children's Defense Fund. To contribute to the relief of children who are the victims of the Earthquake and Tidal Waves, you can donate to the Red Cross here.
December 26, 2004 Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. The opening prayer strikes me as poignant: Let us pray as the family of God who shares in his divine life: Father in heaven and creator of us all, you ordered the earth to bring forth life and crowned its goodness by creating the human family. In history's moment, when all was ready, You sent your Son to dwell in time, obedient to the laws of life in our world. Teach us the sanctity of human love, show us the value of family life, and help us to live in peace with all that we may share in your life forever. Amen. A verse of today's gospel also struck me: "The angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, with the command: "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you otherwise. Herod is searching for the child to destroy him." (Mt 2: 13) While we are used to seeing the serene image of the nativity, this presents quite another image, that of Joseph and Mary having to uproot themselves to keep the child safe. Parents frequently have to go to great lengths and much personal discomfort to keep their children safe. This day is much about the need to keep children safe. Actually, I was surprised to find that many artists have created images of the Flight into Egypt. I have a few of them them here, but you can surely find more on your own in the web.
December 25, 2004
Midnight Mass at St.Peter's in Rome begins with the singing of the Roman Martyrology: In the year 5199 since the creation of the world when God made heaven and earth; in the year 2957 since the flood; in the year 2015 since Abraham's birth; in the year 1510 since the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt under the guidance of Moses; in the year 1032 since David was anointed King; in the 65th week of years according to Daniel's prophecy; in the a94 Olympiad; in the year 752 after the building of Rome; in the 42cd year of the reign of Octavian Augustus, when there was peace in the whole world; in the 6th era of the world's history; Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desired to sanctify the world by his gracious coming. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now after nine months He is born in Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah as man from the Virgin Mary. The birth of our Lord Jesus in the flesh. December 24, 2004 Protect us, O God, as the season of thy festival; draws near. Give us the spirit of Peace and Joy and good will towards men. Send us to our homes with tidings of good cheer or send the spirit of home to us here with all its warmth and blessing. Let our rest be without dissipation, our Joy without noise, and from the riot and drunkenness about us, protect us Oh Lord. W.E.B. DuBois
December 23, 2004
Christ
climbed down from
his bare tree this
year and
raw away to where there
were no rootless Christmas trees hung
with candy canes and breakable stars Christ
climbed down From
his bare Tree This
year And
ran away to where There
were no gilded Christmas trees And
no tinsel Christmas trees And
no tinfoil Christmas trees And
no pink plastic Christmas trees And
no gold Christmas trees And
no black Christmas trees And
no powder blue Christmas trees Hung
with electric candles And
encircled by tin electric trains And
clever cornball relatives Christ
climbed down From
his bare Tree This
year And
ran away to where No
intrepid Bible salesman Covered
the territory In
two-toned Cadillacs And
where no Sears Roebuck crèches Complete
with plastic babe in manger Arrive
by parcel post The
babe by special delivery And
where no televisoned Wise Men Praised
the Lord Calvert Whiskey Christ
climbed down From
his bare Tree This
year And
ran away to where No
fat handshaking stranger In
a red flannel suit And
a fake white beard Went
around passing himself off As
some sort of North Pole saint Crossing
the desert to Bethlehem Pennsylvania In
a Volkswagen sled drawn
by rollicking Adirondack reindeer with
German names and
bearing sacks of Humble Gifts from
Saks Fifth Avenue for
everybody’s imagined Christ child Christ
climbed down From
his bare Tree This
year And
ran away to where No
Bing Crosby Carolers Groaned
of tight Christmas And
where no radio City angels Iceskated
wingless Thru
a winter wonderland Into
a jinglebell heaven Daily
at 8:30 With
Midnight Mass matinees Christ
climbed down From
his bare Tree This
year And
softly stole away into Some
anonymous soul He
waits again An
unimaginable And
impossibly Immaculate
Reconception The
very craziest Of
Second Comings. Lawrence Ferlinghetti December 21, 2004
The Peaceable kingdom where the lion lay down with the lamb and swords are beaten into plowshares is a basic Christmas message. Christmases come and go, and this continues to be a prayer and hope. Pope John Paul II speaks about peace and violence in his New Year's Day message calling for a rejection of violence on the part of all nations. Is the call for the rejection of violence going to fall on deaf ears once again? Is the Pope going to be considered once more well meaning but naive about world affairs? As a country are we going to continue to see violence as an acceptable and useful means to achieve peace? The Holy Father in his own words: The evils of a social and political nature which afflict the world, particularly those provoked by outbreaks of violence, are to be vigorously condemned. I think immediately of the beloved continent of Africa, where conflicts which have already claimed millions of victims are still continuing. Or the dangerous situation of Palestine, the Land of Jesus, where the fabric of mutual understanding, torn by a conflict which is fed daily by acts of violence and reprisal, cannot yet be mended in justice and truth. And what of the troubling phenomenon of terrorist violence, which appears to be driving the whole world towards a future of fear and anguish? Finally, how can we not think with profound regret of the drama unfolding in Iraq, which has given rise to tragic situations of uncertainty and insecurity for all? To attain the good of peace there must be a clear and conscious acknowledgment that violence is an unacceptable evil and that it never solves problems. "Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity. Violence destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life, the freedom of human beings". What is needed is a great effort to form consciences and to educate the younger generation to goodness by upholding that integral and fraternal humanism which the Church proclaims and promotes. This is the foundation for a social, economic and political order respectful of the dignity, freedom and fundamental rights of each person. December 18, 2004 This week the Holy Father released his World message of peace which he sends to every leader in the world on New Year's Day. The title is: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." This is a very stirring message, let me quote just part of it here: "From the beginning, humanity has known the tragedy of evil and has struggled to grasp its roots and to explain its causes. Evil is not some impersonal, deterministic force at work in the world. It is the result of human freedom. Freedom, which distinguishes human beings from every other creature on earth, is ever present at the heart of the drama of evil. Evil always has a name and a face: the name and face of those men and women who freely choose it... Each of these choices has an intrinsic moral dimension, involving specific individual responsibilities and the fundamental relationship of each person with God, with others and with all of creation." I'll present excerpts from this New Year's message throughout the week. But the entire message is available on the Vatican website here.
December 17, 2004 The
Church asks us to understand that
Christ, who came once in the flesh, is
prepared to come again. When we remove
all obstacles to his presence, he will
come, at any hour and moment, to dwell
spiritually in our hearts, bringing with
him the richness of his grace. St. Charles Borromeo  December 16, 2004 I found this in some writing about Christmas by W.E.B. DuBois. I thought I would share it with you: Blessed are the poor folks for they shall go to heaven. Blessed are the sad folks for someone will bring them joy. Blessed are they that submit to hurts for they shall sometime own the world. Blessed are they that do right for they shall get their wish. Blessed are those who do not seek revenge for vengeance shall not seek them. Blessed are the pure for they shall see God. Blessed are those who will not fight for they are God's children. Blessed are those whom people like to injure for they shall sometime be happy. Blessed are you, black folk, when men make fun of you and mob you and lie about you. Never mind and be glad for your day will surely come. Always the world has ridiculed its better souls.
Nativity by Edward B. Webster December 12, 2004 Okay, so this has nothing to do with the Christmas season, but a member of CIC found this great web page from NPR that speaks about the Eucharist from both a Catholic and Protestant perspective. It is so well done I thought I would pass it on to you. It is called At Table: The Meaning of Communion. Go to the main website, which you can find here. and from there go to their archives. It will be well worth your while. December 9, 2004 I have been off line for quite a while now. My mother, Pearl, has had several serious setbacks in her health and I have had to go to her home in Rochester, New York to be with her. She remains seriously ill, but in a more stable condition than before. This gives me a chance to come back to Grand Rapids for the time being. I am grateful for all the prayers people have offered on her behalf, please keep them coming. She is no where near out of the wood yet. I am also grateful to the staff of the CIC who have covered for me while I have been gone. Their work actually allowed me to be with my mother, so you can imagine how grateful I am to them. November 14, 2004 We are called, people of the book. The book is the bible. God's word spoken to us as we have come to know it. Often, it is said that our Protestant brothers and sisters are more knowledgeable about the bible than are Catholics, and there may may be some truth to this. Here at the CIC, we have a group of people who study the bible year after year, the Little Rock Scripture study group. (You can join them whenever you wish). Every Sunday, we hear four scripture readings: usually and Old Testament reading, joined by a Psalm, then one of the letters from the New Testament and finally a gospel reading. Some of the best scripture scholars in the world are Catholics, and this week, one of them, Fr. Lawrence Boadt, C.S.P. is in town. One of the world authorities on the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly the book of Ezekiel, Fr. Boadt is also the President of Paulist Press. He is going to be talking to the pastoral minister and priests in the diocese, and on this Monday evening, at 7:00pm will be giving a talk here, entitled "Great Hero's of the Bible Who Happen to be Women." This is a good opportunity for all of us to deepen our knowledge of and relationship to the scriptures, another chance for us to stop, listen and let God speak to us. Below are some books you might want to think about adding to your personal collection of books on the Bible.
November 13, 2004 This is the 40th anniversary of the The 2cd Vatican II document on Ecumenism. If you have not read it, click on the link and be sure you do. The Holy Spirit acts in a mighty way in this document, and we have a long way to go before we as Christians let the message the Spirit has for us fully permeate our hearts. We have done much in the last 40 years, but we have much to do. I was consoled to see that on the anniversary, ecumenical leaders from around the world gathered for a meeting in Rome. You can find out more about that meeting here. The real challenge for us is what we are doing here, in Western Michigan, in our own local church, in our own neighborhood, and in our own hearts. November 12, 2004 "I saw that God never began to love mankind. For just as man is destined to endless joy, and so crown God's delight in his work, so man, in God's thoughts has always been known and loved." From him we come, in him we are enfolded, to him we return. We shall find in him our whole heaven in everlasting joy-and this by the foreseeing purpose of the blessed Trinity since before time was. In this endless love man's soul is kept safe as these revelations set out to show. In this endless love we are led and looked after by God and never shall be lost. For he wills that we should know our soul o be alive, and that this life, through his goodness and grace-shall continue in heaven without end: loving him, thanking him, and praising him." Lady Julian of Norwich October 19 The Church was packed last night to hear Fr. Bruce speak about the Holy Spirit and the individual soul's response. It was hard not to feel the energy from Fr. Bruce, but I could also feel the energy of the Spirit in the congregation. Afterwards people were buzzing, sharing their reactions, sharing their faith with one another. The Spirit was alive and active in the Center last night. I have high hopes that during this mission the Holy Spirit will continue to move among us and inspire us to live out the Mission Direction of Evangelization, Reconciliation and Ecumenism. Let me close with a prayer to the Holy Spirit from Hildegard Von Bingen O
Holy Spirit, Fiery Comforter Spirit, Life
of the Life of all creatures Holy
are you, You that give existence to all
form. Holy
are You, You that are balm for the
mortally wounded. Holy
are you, you that cleanse deep hurt. Fire
of love, breath of all holiness, You
are so delicious to our hearts! Bulwark
of life, You are the hope of oneness
October 15 Today is the feast of a patron of the Paulist Fathers and the only woman to be named a Doctor of the Church, Teresa of Avila. Frs. Joe and John tell me that in the old days, when they were seminarians, on the feast days of community patrons they got a special treat-an extra cookie for dessert! Let me leave you with this saying from Teresa and some Paulist Press references for her in the future. You have to get your own cookie. "Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion looks out at the world, yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now."
October 14, 2004
This ancient looking fellow is Callistus I, who was Pope from 22-227 ad. He actually is a lot more interesting than he looks. He was the slave of a fellow Christian in Rome. An enterprising slave, he was allowed by his master to start a bank, which, was then frequented by other Christians. Sadly, the bank he managed failed, and he ran away from the angry and now defrauded Christian customers.. Eventually he slunk back into Rome, but his luck did not change. He was arrested for starting a fight in a synagogue. So far we have bank fraud and fisticuffs, which leads me to think the young Callistus was a bit of a rogue. The fight in the synagogue was the last straw however-and the local Roman authorities sent him to spend the rest of his days in the salt mines in Sardinia. Not too many people were sad to see him go. The story goes on though. The Roman Emperor had a Christian mistress, named Marcia. She "convinced" the Emperor to release all Christian slaves in the Sardinian mines, and give them their freedom. The bishop of Rome, Pope Victor I, gave the Emperor a list of all known Christian slaves, but purposely excluded the name of that trouble maker Callistus. As I said, people were happy to see the back of him! Clever as ever, Callistus talked his jailers into releasing him with the others and to Pope Victor's consternation, Callistus returned with the others. Pope Victor pensioned him off to a remote village to get him out of town. But that is not the end of the story. Pope Victor died and was succeeded by Zephrynus I (and actually only Pope Zyphrynus). More of a simple saint that scholar or politician, Pope Zyphrynus decided that ever too clever former slave Callistus, could take care of the temporal side of the church while he tended to the spiritual side of things, and for 17 long years, that was the arrangement. A man of the world, who had learned a few things from bank fraud and slavery in the salt mines, Callistus managed things to such a degree that when Zephrynus died, he was elected the next Pope. But that is not the end of the story. People were riled at his election, so much so that a group of them got together and elected another Pope, Hippolytus. So Rome has two bishops, Callistus, and Hippolytus, who spent the next five years accusing Callistus of one heresy after another. Now comes the important part of the story, one that has relevance for us. One of the theological disputes of the time was who deserved to be a Christian? There was a devout faction in the Church who thought that, if after Baptism, people failed, they should be excluded from the Church evermore. The Church was no place for people who said they were Christians and then who sinned over and over again. Callistus had a different point of view. Perhaps, because of his own rough history, Callistus said that the Church was a place for saints and sinners. Judgment was to be left to a merciful God when each soul goes to God after death. Until then, Callistus held, the Church would offer forgiveness to any Christian who asked for it. The tendency we see in our current day, to weed out the sinners from the saints in the Church, goes back to the 3rd Century if not to Jesus' own time. Yes, as Christians we should live in our lives the faith we profess so I understand the instinct to purify the Church. But I stand with the instincts of this bank frauding, brawling, prisoner who became Pope, who encouraged us to leave the business of judgment day to God, and to make the Church a place where sinners and saints alike stand at the altar-aware that we all need the mercy of God. October 12, 2004 "Grandfather, Great Spirit, you have been always, and before You nothing had been. There is no one to pray to but you. The star nations over the heavens are Yours, and Yours are the grasses of the earth. You are older than all need, older than all pain and prayer. Grandfather, Great Spirit, all over the world the faces of living ones are like. With tenderness they have come up out of the ground. Look upon Your children, with children in their arms, that they might face the winds and walk the good road into the day of quiet. Grandfather, Great Spirit, fill us with the light. Give us strength to understand and the eyes to see. teach us to walk the soft earth as relative to all that live. Help us for without You we are nothing." Prayer from the The Sioux Indians October 4, 2004 This is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. He is a saint for the entire world, so I think he deserves a bit of a mention. He is embraced by all as a saint of peace, and his peace prayer is legend. He is known for his love of animals, and his ability to see God present in all of creation has made him a patron saint of ecology. Having lived as a young man of the world, he rejected materialism as a means of happiness, and developed a spirituality based on joy and simplicity. He had a long standing friendship with St. Clare, and their dialogues provided an early model of how men and women can benefit from each other's spirituality. To know more about this saint, you can read his biography from Paulist Press, or you can see the movie: "Brother Sun, Sister Moon." Paulist Press also has some children's books available to introduce young people to this remarkable man. For children 4-8, we have St. Francis and San Francisco; for children 5-7 there is Boston and St. Francis, and there is even a Marvel Comic Book edition of his life available. :His peace prayer is very well known, less well known is his rendition of the Our Father: O Most Holy Our Father: Creator, Hallowed
be Thy Name: Thy
Kingdom come: Thy
will be done on earth as it is in
Heaven: Give
us this day, Thy beloved Son, As we forgive our debtors:
October 3, 2004 I have been off line for a few days, my mother underwent emergency heart surgery in Rochester, New York and I went home to be with her. The surgery itself was successful. It is now a matter of whether her body can recover. Many thanks for all of your prayers. While I was gone I noticed that Fall has moved into Western Michigan. September 24, 2004 Tonight at Sundown, Yom Kipppur is observed by Jews throughout the world. This sacred day of atonement has even made the sports pages, because Shawn Green, the first baseman for the LA Dodgers has said that in honor of this day, playoffs or no playoffs, he will not play baseball. To my mind, that is a pretty impressive witness about how important his faith is to him. There is another interesting fact about Yom Kippur, "since Yom Kippur is the day to ask forgiveness for promises broken to God, the day before is reserved for asking forgiveness for broken promises between people, as God cannot forgive broken promises between people." Interesting isn't it, before we ask forgiveness of God, we have to ask forgiveness of each other. That custom drives home the importance of living faith in our lives. Let us wish our Jewish brothers and sisters well during these sacred days, and join them in prayer. "Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in love of his name, and in faithfulness to his covenant." Prayers from the Catholic Good Friday Service.
September 23, 2004
"God, our Father, maker and lover of Peace, to know you is to live, and to serve you is to reign. All our faith is in your saving help; protect us from men of violence and keep us safe from weapons of hate." Amen. From the Mass in Time of War. September 22, 2004 Iraq is always on our minds and it should be, war should never be a casual thing, especially when there are so many casualties. My heart goes out to the men who have been beheaded and their families. It is a vicious and painful way to die and for no good purpose. Evil is alive and well in the world. Iraq was discussed at the United Nations yesterday, but it was not the only thing discussed. The growing disparity between the rich and the poor, which underlies so many conflicts throughout the world, was also a major topic for discussion. I am sharing with you reports from Associated Press on what the Presidents of other nations said at the UN yesterday: "President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella of Costa Rica called for a fairer world economic system, noting that in 2003, the world reached a new record by devoting $956 billion to military expenditure. That is 17 times the amount of resources devoted to development assistance and more than the sum of the foreign debt of the 64 countries with the lowest GDP, he said. "These numbers show that mankind has not understood yet that security does not result from a multiplication of the weapons but from a multiplication of the loaves of bread," Pacheco said. Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva appealed for economic and social justice in a world where the disparity in per capita income between the richest and poorest nations is now 16 times greater than it was nearly two decades ago. As one example of the human cost, he said, a lack of basic sanitation has killed more children in the past decade than all military conflicts since the end of World War II. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. September 21, 2004 In the seminary we used to say: The only trouble with the Jesuits is that they think they know everything...and they are right." Well, as much as I hate to admit it they have done it again. The Jesuits at the Center for Liturgy at St. Louis University have a great web page designed to help people prepare for the Sunday readings. In this page they have multiple scripture studies helping people understand the setting of each scripture reading, prayers based on each reading, prayers of the faithful, music and reflections on the meaning of the readings. As soon as I saw it I wished I had thought of the idea myself. But those Jesuits beat me to it again. Anyway, I am encouraging you all to check it out here. September 20, 2005 The Jewish high holydays are here, Rosh Hashanah and Yom |
elcome to my
homepage entries from 2004, where you will find my thoughts for the day, quotations from spiritual writers I like, sometimes my own reflections on those quotations, past homilies of mine, books I find interesting, news photographs and art that touches me, and links to other web pages I enjoy. I am very new at this technology, but I plan to update this weekly, eventually when I get the hang of it-a little more if I can find the time. Perhaps some part of this might be useful to you
in your spiritual journey. Thanks for visiting, and don’t forget to visit our CIC forum. God Love You, Fr.
Mark-David.
