A Positively Poetic Priest

"So make up your minds NOT to prepare your defense in advance;  for I will give you words and a wisdom  that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict."  (Luke 21:5-19) I'll let you into one of my nightmares, because that is exactly what you want right this minute. I am an introvert  and the idea of getting up before a crowd, a judge, even standing here now, without anything prepared to say, is terrifying to me. Down right terrifying. When I was in high school I was terrified of public speaking.  I remember my first public speaking class,  when I wasn't able to complete a short speech  because I thought I was going to throw up.  At the time I knew I wanted to become a priest  and I knew from watching the priests of the church I went to,  that I was going to have to speak in public someday  and that I needed to work on it.  I asked God for help  and God pro...

"I saw Eternity the other night,   Like a great ring of pure and endless light,   All calm, as it was bright;   And round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years,   Driv’n by the spheres   Like a vast shadow mov’d; in which the world   And all her train were hurl’d.   The doting lover in his quaintest strain   Did there complain;   Near him, his lute, his fancy, and his flights,   Wit’s sour delights,   With gloves, and knots, the silly snares of pleasure,   Yet his dear treasure   All scatter’d lay, while he his eyes did pour   Upon a flow’r.   The darksome statesman hung with weights and woe,   Like a thick midnight-fog mov’d there so slow,   He did not stay, nor go;   Condemning thoughts (like sad eclipses) scowl   Upon his soul,   And clouds of crying witnesses without   Pursued him with one shout.   Yet digg’d the mole, and ...

"So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." (Acts 1:6-9) Jesus tells his disciples that they are going to be his witnesses, to the ends of the earth. We have talked about being a witness this year. Being a witness requires seeing and sharing. The disciples had seen a lot of things when it came to Jesus and his ministry. They had seen God very handily at work in the world and now was the time for them to go out and share their stories with others. Being a witness means not only talking about Jesus, but sharing, through words and...

Today I was witness to: people partying people escaping reality the backs of my eyelids Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania Truckers smoking cigarettes an abundance of food shared a father and a boyfriend working together a beautiful sunset a blue heron take flight a mother being cold family sitting around enjoying being together Today I was witness to: humanity and profound love always hand in hand 6/24/17