Monastic Mumblings, a Friar's Journey

Dad - With the Spirits of the Righteous

One year ago today my Dad entered the nearer Presence of God.  I miss him a lot, and it turns out that my Mom had to have minor surgery in the very same hospital Dad died in, today of all days.  She is fine, but it was so hard for her to be there.

I miss Dad, but he is with those who have gone before. I will join him, someday but for now, I will pray for the repose of his soul.

With the spirits of the righteous made perfect in faith,
Give rest, O Lord, to the soul of Your servant
And preserve him in that life of blessedness
That is lived with You, O Friend of man.

In the place of Your rest, O Lord, Where all Your saints repose,
Give rest also to the soul of Your servant
For You alone are immortal.

† Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit

Bede the Venerable, Priest, Monk, Scholar 25 May 735

Bede was a monk at the English monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow, in Northumbria. From the age of seven, he spent all his life at that monastery except for a few brief visits to nearby sites. He says of himself: "I have devoted my energies to a study of the Scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily services in church; study, teaching, and writing have always been my delight."

He was the first person to write scholarly works in the English language, although unfortunately only fragments of his English writings have survived. He translated the Gospel of John into Old English, completing the work on the very day of his death. He also wrote extensively in Latin. He wrote commentaries on the Pentateuch and other portions of Holy Scripture.

His best-known work is his History of The English Church and People, a classic which has frequently been translated and is available in Penguin Paperbacks. It gives a history of Britain up to 729, speaking of the Celtic peoples who were converted to Christianity during the first three centuries of the Christian era, and the invasion of the Anglo-Saxon pagans in the fifth and sixth centuries, and their subsequent conversion by Celtic missionaries from the north and west, and Roman missionaries from the south and east. His work is our chief source for the history of the British Isles during this period. Fortunately, Bede was careful to sort fact from hearsay, and to tell us the sources of his information.

He also wrote hymns and other verse, the first martyrology with historical notes, letters and homilies, works on grammar, on chronology and astronomy -- he was aware that the earth is a sphere, and he is the first historian to date events Anno Domini, and the earliest known writer to state that the solar year is not exactly 365 and a quarter days long, so that the Julian calendar (one leap year every four years) requires some adjusting if the months are not to get out of step with the seasons.

written by James Kiefer

Heavenly Father, Who called Your servant Bede, while still a child, to devote his life to Your service in the disciplines of religion and scholarship: Grant that as he labored in the Spirit to bring the riches of Your truth to his generation, so we, in our various vocations, may strive to make You known in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ascensio Domini

Here we are, some 6 weeks, but more especially 40 days after Easter. Our Lord has walked among us all this time, but today what can only be referred to as unexpected happens.  As the ancient Creed tells us, He ascends into heaven to sit on the right hand of God the Father.   Can you imagine the shock among the gathered disciples? Remember no one was used to planes, hot air balloons or any human defying gravity.

Are these only dry words written on fading parchments or do they have meaning in our lives today? The texts tell us that it was this day that Jesus ended His earthly ministry and left  this world.  For me, the Ascension is a Glorious Mystery. I know perfectly well that Jesus did not go into orbit around the planet, shoot into interstellar space or go behind some cloud to peek around the corner. I understand He Ascended into Heaven, wherever and whatever that may be, I do know that from there He continues His ministry of reconciling the world to His Father. I know that He will come again someday, but far more importantly I know that from the Throne in glory He enables me to begin bringing the Kingdom into this world, every day.

Almighty God, Whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that He might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to His promise, He abides with His Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

The Early Abbots of Cluny 30 April 909

One of the exciting things about living in the times we do, is to see all the renewal that is surging through the Church. Sure a lot of people give in to the sensation that our culture and Church is going to 'hell in a handbasket', but if you have eyes to see, there are marvelous things happening all about us.  One, I feel, is the emergent tribe, and all the excitement that comes with it. If you have the time, take a look at our Anglican branch of that tribe at Anglimergent.

Of course, this isn't the first time something of this sort has happened, and today the Church remembers the early Abbots of Cluny, a Benedictine house in France. If you have time today, read this compilation of their work, especially, St. Odo, and how they brought revival to a Church sorely needing it.

  O God, by Whose grace Your servants the Holy Abbots of Cluny, kindled with the flame of Your love, became burning and shining lights in Your Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before You as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Tax season - we all Render unto Caesar...

in any reality, in ALL Empires...

Our Easter Faith

Easter Blessings! Christ our Lord is risen!

The shadows of Lent are past, and the shining Light of Easter is upon us! This Easter Sunday morning as the beams of the rising Sun stream through the clouds of incense over the beautifully flowered Altar during Mass, I once again, I will realize this is but a shadow of the Glory those we love but see no longer now behold.  Resurrection has come!

So, during this Easter Season, dawning today, I want to invite my readers to ponder and appropriate the mystery of Resurrection in both its obvious and not so obvious forms. Such as:

What does Resurrection mean to me?

I mean really, how has Jesus' rising again changed me, or has it?

In what ways have I been and am I being overtaken by its reality?

I am still learning what Resurrection means. Perhaps this excerpt from an essay at Busted Halo can illume our path a little. It opened my eyes a lot.

Father Mychal Judge, Franciscan Friar, who served as chaplain to New York City Fire Department and died in service on September 11, 2001. On his death certificate, Father Judge was listed as “0001”—the first victim of 9/11.

On that fateful day of 9/11, Mychal rushed to be down at the epicenter of the suffering and was offered safe passage by Mayor Giuliani to escape the chaos when all seemed, finally, lost. Mychal, however, refused the offer, saying the he needed to be with his men. He died there, praying with one of the fallen heroes of that day, protecting him with his own body.

This is essentially the Easter message. Our Easter faith teaches us that out of the depths of such great and excruciating suffering, some glimmer of hope shines. There is no darkness great enough that can engulf the light of the Risen Christ. 

This is not, of course, to say that there is any goodness in the suffering and violence itself: Jesus himself said to His Father: “If it be your will, take this cup from me!” We must take care never to glorify, romanticize or exalt suffering as its own end. But it is a great mystery—a paradox—that life can emerge where death abounds.

Easter is essentially this mystery. To say “Christ is Risen” is not simply to say that good will follow from bad. It is rather to say that precisely in and from the hard suffering of loss and diminishment, some measure of God’s consoling presence is found.

Almighty and everlasting God, Who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who are reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy Saturday

This is a somber day a day of Sabbath rest.  There is no  Eucharist - Christ has been taken away from them and from us, His Church. We are alone and in our prayers and thoughts.   However we know that He still was working for human salvation while His body lay entombed...

From an ancient homily for Holy Saturday

Something strange is happening -- there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the Flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the Flesh and hell trembles with fear.

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified Body of Your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the coming of the third day, and rise with Him to newness of life; Who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Good Friday - all is lost...

Here it is. Friday of Holy Week. For the disciples it is a time of ultimate disaster. Jesus was taken by force the night before, now an illegal show trial and he is condemned to die a  public, horrible death.

What went wrong? The profound shock and despair is beyond words. Wasn't God with this man? Yet, He sends no Legions of Angels to pull Him down from the Cross. Darkness covers the land, and all is lost.

Something that struck me one morning, as we consumed the last of the Reserved Sacrament after the Vigil of the night before, I was near the cold, outer walls of masonry, and pondered how cold the walls of the Tomb must have felt to those who hurriedly laid His broken body in the dark recesses of stone.  Cold   Damp  Dark

The horror is unimaginable, the grief and sadness is over whelming, but more than that, He did it for me... I and my own sin put Him there, on that Cross, in that Tomb.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray You to set Your passion, cross, and death between Your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to Your  Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit You live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Maundy Thursday

On Ash Wednesday we started a journey that will be competed tonight. The new journey we start tonight does not end until the Resurrection of Easter.

In ancient times this time was called the Triduum, "The Three Sacred Days," which lead us to Easter: Maundy Thursday (with it's all night Vigil of the Blessed Sacrament), Good Friday, and Holy Saturday to prepare us for the glorious celebration of the Resurrection.

Tonight as we are leaving Lent, and enter the Triduum, we will see the theme of love, our Savior's love for us. We will follow Him as He expressed that love in the washing of the disciples' feet, in giving Himself in bread and wine, in His dying upon the cross.

We will confess our sins, but unlike Ash Wednesday, the focus is on absolution. Forgiveness comes now "in the name and by the command of our Lord". In fact tonight we read of the new commandment, to "Love one another." On this, the very night of His betrayal, Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment: to love one another as He had loved them.

We say our prayers The Altar is made ready. The time of the Lord's Supper arrives, and our Lord is revealed in bread and wine as once He "revealed Himself to His disciples."  Jesus, fulfilling the promise of the Paschal Lamb, gives us the Eucharist, as He, like the Lamb, will be killed and eaten by His own people. As much as we would like we cannot linger at the Table, for His betrayal is upon us.

Before we know it, the dramatic scene of His betrayal is played out before our eyes. The symbol of Christ in our midst, the Altar, is stripped bare.  The Gospel banners are removed from the Nave, the last ornaments removed from the Sanctuary, and the Reserved Sacrament removed from the Tabernacle.  Christ is stripped of His power and glory. He is taken from us, we are destitute and despairing, Good Friday is inescapable. The powers of darkness are at work upon Him.

We leave our familiar parish in silence; this night there is no benediction, no blessings, only despair.  Like the disciples on that dark night long ago, we scatter in the darkness - at least we know that it is tonight that our Salvation is wrought.

Almighty Father, Whose dear Son, on the night before He suffered, instituted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, Who in these Holy Mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and Who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

12th Station

 Every year one of the Stations of the Cross speaks to me more than another.  Sometimes it is only once, sometimes it is all through Lent, as my Parish does Stations each Friday.

This year it is the 12^th Station, Jesus dying on the cross.  In my life I have been with three people who have died while I held their hands.  My beloved wife, my younger brother and just last June, my Dad. The awful finality of that penultimate moment is beyond description.  I have seen a human body just stop, (and He was fully human)  I know, deep down what it means.  The depth of grief and loss simply endless.

 To know that my Jesus also went there, that He, Who made this world, died … yes literally died as we all must, on that rough hewn cross... it is simply something that I am only truly connecting with this year.

 How did his family and disciples feel?  Did they know that depth of loss and the unalterable finality that we all feel when someone we love slips from this world?

 Tonight, as the gathered Christians kneel before the 12^th Station, and journey with Jesus in His death, I will be thinking about those gathered around the foot of that Cross, and I will be there with them.

 O God, Who for our redemption gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with Him in the joy of His resurrection; Who lives and reigns now and for ever. Amen.