HOLY ECSTASY DOES MAKE VISITS, EVEN TO THE PART-TIME CONTEMPLATIVE

Le Cantique des Cantiques I, 1960 Huile sur papier marouflé sur toile musée national Message Biblique Marc Chagall

On Wednesday morning Oct, 19, 2011

Today I felt again, reflecting after communion {on my friend’s accident, Mom’s death, my wife and family, an end to war}, the warm loving hand of God on my shoulder—a pleasant gentle flutter about head and shoulders momentary brush of wings of Holy Spirit, a physical lifting with Jesus all around, a union like the deep sexual love that comes also at times with my forever beautiful Ande married one—an eternal moment of complete trust lasting only minutes promising everything.  These times, scattered through life, arrive as profound surprises whether in bedroom, church, mountaintop, at lake sunset, or from the handshake of an at first repulsive beggar giving back to you what you did not earn. 

Praying Hands  by Albrecht Durer

They rise from mundane acts of kindness, or just in perseverance without rancor to necessary tasks.  They are prayers initiated by God, when you are open, that capture you.  You must know the feeling of which I speak.  They shake you body and soul more like levitation than down to the toes as in lovemaking.  Centered on face and shoulders, more gentle, like a kiss from God.  Knowing that you are in the right place the present moment, and that you are loved and cared for even when you’re not experiencing it.  Union with God, my wife, family, friends, enemies, the earth, and all the community of the faithful at once.  Mindful right now of Eucharist.  Thank you God.

It’s like a shudder sudden takes your breath away for a minute while all creation breathes for you.  Complete assurance that All is well and will be well and the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

If you commune often enough, God does come, in all glory body and soul, while transfigured only for a brief moment in your time.  Those times God chooses to knock your socks off—sometimes tragic and humbling, often the incomprehensible pleasure of divine assurance.

From scripture scholar John Pilch's webpage dedicated to Jean Peters Pilch---Song of Solomon 6-3, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine"-- Illustration by Raban-1930

IN POLITICS--POT ALWAYS CALLS KETTLE BLACK

Headline of most recent Candice Miller E-Newsletter--

"Rep. Miller: October 16th - Marks 900 Days Since U.S. Senate has Passed a Budget." She follows with a biting critique of how the other body of Congress blocks all attempts at "fiscal sanity." * Her outrage is almost always directed at the other guys, while her group went on a spending rampage of {rightly named in the Wall St. Journal} "big government conservatism" the past decade. Now they put on the costume of debt crusaders, and hold the rest of the country hostage, vetoing every piece of legislation designed to correct the problem--by requiring Wall Street to be more at the service of Main Street. Here is my letter of response sent yesterday.

[And yes, far too many of us have been pigs in hoarding debt-wealth for ourselves. Today's daily mass Gospel is instructive for all of us rich, poor & in-between. Lk 12: 13-21 -- Verse 15 has, "Then Jesus said to the crowd, 'Avoid greed in all its forms.  A man may be wealthy, but his possessions do not guarantee him life.'"  There follows the parable of the rich man's double barn mistake.]

Dear Representative Candice Miller,

You and so many of your colleagues, Republicans & Democrats, are responsible for this debt debacle--ten years & more of irresponsible war-debt-based economy. Please consider moving towards the non-partisan good of the country, and introduce and support the American Jobs Act in the House. If we don't invest in American jobs, we relegate ourselves to second class citizenship, instead of world leadership. Maintaining the power of the 1% richest in this country is no way to create jobs. Most of them have proven they just keep the cash for themselves.

You could do so much to turn our nation back to creative, productive equality of opportunity and education. The people you represent in Michigan desperately need this kind of leadership. The American Jobs Act. So what if its Obama's legislation? Break the party politics mold! It’s good for Michigan and the country.

The national debt we will always have with us, for many generations, no matter what Congress does. Ronald Reagan voted up the national debt ceiling 17 times during his presidency. Continuing to give first fruits to the military/security industry is certain to only put us deeper in debt, and concentrate money in the hands of the few. Lead us instead to a more creative equitable distribution of wealth--put everyone to work, using responsible self-sacrifice for the common good. This is the true conservative trickle down morality we need from the top. Thanks for your consideration.

Yours truly,

Michael McCarthy PA-C
Faith Perspective on War & Peace

Find Candice Miller E-Newletter at--
http://candicemiller.house.gov/media-center.shtml

Temptation of Christ by Duccio

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”  Mt  4: 8-10

OCCUPY WALL STREET--WITH SEVEN STEPS TOWARDS A SOCIETY BASED ON THE COMMON GOOD

Dante poised between city of Florence and Purgatory [a seven story mountain in his Divine Comedy]--painting by Domenico di Michelino

When Bankers Rule

Modern society has made the bank account
the standard of values.
When the bank account
becomes the standard of values
the banker has the power.
When the banker has the power
the technician has to supervise
the making of profits.
When the banker has the power the politician
has to assure law and order
in the profit-making system.

When the banker has the power
the educator trains students
in the technique of profit making.
When the banker has the power
the clergyman is expected
to bless the profit-making system
or to join the unemployed.
When the banker has the power
the Sermon on the Mount
is declared unpractical.
When the banker has the power
we have an acquisitive, not a functional society. – Peter Maurin, The Catholic Worker, ~1932

 “Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed - but hate these things in yourself, not in another.”
― Thomas Merton

We will take these steps to Wall Street and to the Occupy Wall Street movement in NYC, in hopes of practical personal conversions leading to deep societal change.

What does America want and need for a peace that reaches even unto Wall Street, and a prosperity that dwells in every hometown?  

·         We need a surplus of creative jobs.  Congress should immediately pass the American Jobs Act, and Wall Street needs to embrace Socially Responsible Investment.    Having a moral code for investment keeps many more jobs at home, and less exploitation of the poor abroad.

·         Recent excessive profits {by the few at the expense of the many} require a system of taxation and philanthropy that redirects money for the common good.  This is complicated.  But capitalism has a proven capacity for unlimited greed wherein money does become the root of all evil.   Corporations are not people—they have no soul.  We need a balance which protects the over-avaricious from themselves, promoting investment in real long-term community needs, and drastically reduces speculation for momentary maximized profits.   Start with a return to pre Bush administration tax rates for those making more than $250,000 per year, and remove the Social Security cap that limits the contributions to the system by the wealthy.   The “Buffett rule” moves in this direction, and the responsible rich see benefit to the whole society from such measures.  “Clawbacks”, or better “paybacks,” should be implemented for those making excessive market gains over this past decade, while so many lost retirement fund investments.  Perhaps a special 15% flat tax IRS assessment on speculative investments for all who made more than one million per yr.   The devil is in these details, but we must struggle for more fairness--noblese oblige.

 ·         Specifically for young people we need to re-establish hope, service, and opportunity.  The Peace Corps should be brought quickly up to the 100,000 members envisioned in the early 1960’s [languishing since at 7000 or less]   This program has to have full staff and logistic support to equal the military’s.  AmeriCorps has to be similarly expanded.  National service in these, military, or competent community or faith-based  organizations needs to be a requirement of citizenship, for at least 2 years, for everyone at some point between 18 to 30 years old, and encouraged for older ages as well.   Then those so serving should receive full support for college education, as in the post WWII GI bill.  Forgiveness of student loans for those serving after  college also applies.

 ·         Teachers should become among the most competent, inspired, well-paid, honored members of our work force.   Standards should be high.  They should have been leaders in the above national service, and then receive the utmost encouragement from local, state, and national government.  There should be interchange between their teaching career, and creative business, research & development endeavors.

·         Re-establish the fairness doctrine for all large media corporations.  Both sides of each issue should be guaranteed a fair hearing.  In addition, the connection between politics and democracy has to be protected.  The first step among many, all national elections should be completely publicly financed.

·         End our wars of choice in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, all troops and military hardware to be returned within one calendar year.   Stand down the standing army overseen by the military industrial complex.  Return our army to its duty of defending U.S. territory, and not the business of protecting international oil & other corporations.   A savings of 25% of our record military industry spending should be realized within 3 years [more later], and this re-invested in a creative local economy which provides for energy, education, health, food, clothing, housing, service, and national service needs with a new ecological focus.   Our improved self-sufficiency, yet recognized interdependence with the rest of the world, will lead to the best national security possible.

·         A pro-choice for war society will be a pro-choice for abortion and capital punishment society.  Violence becomes intrinsic and pervasive.  We are a much better people than this.  It’s difficult to work out in policy, but we must all begin to choose life, consistently, no matter what our backgrounds or political convictions.  God bless us, and grant us the grace to fully face our social issues, with the inspiration of God’s justice and mercy.

 “Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.”
― Thomas Merton

“By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet. ”
― Thomas Merton

THE DUNGEON OF DRONE MORALITY--TWO WRONGS DO NOT MAKE A RIGHT

Photo--Christopher Griffin, via Reuters---from “As the West Celebrates a Cleric’s Death, the Mideast Shrugs” NYT 10-1-11

Alleged terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, touted as the prime English-speaking Al Qaeda recruiter, is killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, and the media proclaims another War on Terrorism victory.  The spiritual reality is that the U.S. moral fiber has taken another body blow.

wlaki was a U.S. born radical Muslim cleric who did advocate violent jihad.  There is no proof any of his alleged plots against us ever resulted in murder of U.S. citizens.  He was never charged with any crime.  He was an avowed enemy.   But killing by drone is an extrajudicial killing, an assassination, against our own & international law, without benefit of even a hanging judge, done from hiding by a killing machine.  Even Ronald Reagan, in his Western movies persona, would have been disgusted by such shots-in-the-back.  The vast majority of the Middle East’s peoples, and most law abiding counties of the world are dismayed by these tactical murders.  These acts recruit more terrorists, by announcing that our righteous USA has adopted the methods of its most evil opponents.

Though some certain few of those who oppose us have done terrible deeds, my Republican father has always taught me, two wrongs do not make a right.  We are always left with the deeper abyss, of two wrongs.   As a Christian with a personal relationship with Jesus, I find only mercy and love of enemy in his person and message, conquering evil with good.   His kingdom is not of this world’s, which do so routinely kill to preserve survival, power, and privilege.

Jesus and Judas--The Taking of Christ, by Caravaggio

We are called to encounter the enemy, feet on the ground {not hovering above watching from remote death machines}, pursuing a practical path that comes to recognize their language and culture.  May we pray for the grace to follow the narrow way of Jesus---and not Caesar, Pilate, and Awlaki’s wide violent highway to perdition.

A footnote on the efficacy of our latest tactical” success” from “As the West Celebrates a Cleric’s Death, the Mideast Shrugs”  NYT 10-1-11

“I don’t think your average Middle Easterner knows who Anwar al-Awlaki is,” said Emad Shahin, a scholar of political Islam at Notre Dame University. …   [Arabs] don’t care about Awlaki. … many saw Mr. Awlaki’s death as an essentially American story: here was a man that American attention helped create, and its Hellfire missiles killed, in a campaign born out of American fears of homegrown militancy. 

Illumination by Kathy Brahney

IN MEMORIUM---MARY PATRICIA O’LEARY MCCARTHY---MY MOM

Mary “Pat” O’leary  McCarthy

(August 2, 1922 - September 19, 2011)

For those who missed them, these good words were written by my sister Jane.

Mary Patricia O’Leary McCarthy died peacefully at home on Monday, September 19 with her husband Joseph F. ("Joe") by her side. Pat was born in Manson, Iowa. She graduated summa cum laude from Iowa State University, where she and Joe met at Newman Center prayer service on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. They married on September 21, 1946. Wednesday would have been their 65th wedding anniversary. Pat is survived by Joe and their six children: Michael (Andrea) of Port Huron, Daniel of Washington, DC, David (Lydia) of Grand Rapids, Mary (James - deceased) Taylor of Charlotte, James of Jonesville, and Jane of Madison, Wisconsin, 12 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Matthew and Frances O'Leary, and her brother David.

Pat was an active parishioner at Queen of the Miraculous Medal Catholic Church for over fifty years. She put in many hours over many years volunteering at church, and also benefitted her community by delivering Meals on Wheels, volunteering at Foote Hospital, tutoring children in reading, and volunteering at Lumen Christi high school library. An avid reader {Jane Austin her favorite author}, Pat was also devoted to music and the arts. She was a Tigers and Cub fan with an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball. In her sixties, she learned French in order to be able to understand Canadian radio hockey broadcasts, and she loved watching the Red Wings.

Pat was extremely bright, devout, and compassionate. She used her time and energy in this world to make it a better place. A fine friend and neighbor, loving wife, caring mother and grandmother, Pat is greatly missed.

"Besides restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul." Psalm 23

Mom & Dad on date at Iowa State University Union ~ 1941

ARMAMENTS INDUSTRY POLITICS--WE ARE NAILED TO A CROSS OF IRON

Sen. John Kyl, one of the members of the special congressional committee set up to create a $1.5 trillion budget-reduction plan, said Thursday those cuts should come out of programs like Medicare and Social Security - not defense.   Washington (CNN report) Sept. 9, 2011

Listen to this not so long ago Republican president who’d learned from his close contact with the war industry---

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.  This world in arms in not spending money alone.  It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children….This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense.  Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.”  [for whole speech, http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9743.htm]
--Dwight D. Eisenhower,  1953

 What does our faith teach us---

“The arms race is one of the greatest curses on the human race, an act of aggression against the poor and a folly which does not provide the security it promises.” (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, No. 81, 1965)
 “The armaments race is to be condemned unreservedly.  It is a n act of aggression which amounts to a crime, for even when they are not used, by their cost alone, armaments kill the poor by causing them to starve” --Vatican statement to the U.N., 1976

By pursuing the arms race we continue to kill the poor, and all hopes and dreams for a better world still hang on a cross of iron.  We are no longer arms racing with our enemies, but only chase our own tails, while stuffing our leaderships’ profits pouches.     Our country spends nearly as much on its military, as do all the rest of the world’s countries combined.  Yet our social safety net is shredded, jobs slashed, and cuts to our children’s education are embraced as a national priority.

ongress is embattled in special budget reduction committees.  People’s needs are being sacrificed on the altar of Wall Street and national security industry.  Those who should represent us are in danger of becoming the Greedy Old Party and the Dust Encrusted Moribunds.  The “class warfare” the Republicans warn of, is already upon us [not the rich], and has been declared by all the predominant politicians with their well-heeled handlers.  This class warfare is against the regular citizen and the common good.  The gated wall between Dives and Lazarus is being built up to a dizzying height [see gospel of Luke 16: 19-31], as it becomes the ever-wide terrible-depth gap between heaven and hell.   Heaven cannot be attained unless super-rich and poor meet hand in hand on the plane of justice.  America, it’s time to tear down this wall.

Dives and Lazarus, by Serrata Pozzo

“Let the little children come to me.  Do not shut them off.  The reign of God belongs to such as these.  Trust me when I tell you that whoever does not accept the kingdom of God as a child will not enter into it.”  Lk 18: 16-17

Jesus Blesses the Children

Dives and Lazarus

John Pilch, biblical scholar, has this to say.  "The gate by which Lazarus posts himself performs two functions.  It keeps Lazarus outside and the rich man inside; but it can also be the rich man's entry into the world where he can give alms or become a patron to needy clients.  This creates a gap between the two, which only grows larger as the story progresses."  The gap between damnation and salvation.

 Illumination by Kathy Brahney

THREE PRAYERS ON 911 THAT MERGE IN A PERSISTENT CALL FOR MERCY

We are moving away from a time of reactive war response to the 9/11 hurt to our nation.   Praise the Lord, but don’t pass any more ammunition.  In war we’ve found only further hurt to ourselves, and inestimable damage to friend & foe alike in the theaters of war.

Our local Gannett paper today invites some soul searching on whether the world, or our community, is any better for our massive “war on terror.”  I sense the winds of real change, a break in the the cloud cover of war that's enveloped us.  But so much work lies ahead to end barriers that divide and hobble our nation.

ur pastor read this first prayer below and played taps on his trumpet, at the parish peace pole today, after a very moving liturgy in which the theme of scripture and music was--God demands forgiveness and mercy of His people.  No matter how humanly difficult--for our own good.  How much forgiveness?  From the scripture, seven times seventy.  There followed the parable of the wicked servant, forgiven an immense amount, who then goes and extracts full debt punishment from the next one he meets.  [today’s gospel, Mt 18:21-35]

Parable Of The Wicked Servant By Fetti Domenico

What forgiveness has to do directly with any given war is difficult to discern, but war does derive from our multiple failures to replicate God’s forgiveness and mercy.

he victims of 9/11 families now call us to a positive response of national community service [see link-http://www.familiesofseptember11.org/news.aspx?s=5#3375 ].   The local United Way led a Tribute Walk at our community’s peace poles this morning to encourage this movement.  I saw many respectful groups walking, hopefully taking these steps towards converting from a war on terror, into a campaign forgiving each others’ debts and serving each others’ needs.

The prayers that follow merge to form a plea that we will all learn mercy, turn back the tides of terrible war that have added countless more victims, to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.

PRAYER OF POPE JOHN-PAUL II
FOR THE VICTIMS OF 9/11.

Almighty Father,

we commend the victims of this shocking tragedy

to Your eternal love.

We implore Your comfort upon the injured,

the families and friends involved,

and all who are doing their utmost to rescue survivors

and help those affected.

We ask You, Father,

to grant the American people

the strength and courage they need at this time of sorrow and trial.

We beg you, Jesus,

to send Your legions of heavenly Angels,

led by Saint Michael the Archangel,

to protect the United States

from additional attempts of destruction.

If supernatural means are required to foil these plots,

we humbly implore you to suspend natural laws

to save innocent lives and souls.

Holy Spirit, we are a sinful nation,

and we beg you to send us Your authentic spirit of repentance.

We are also a nation capable of great charity and justice,

so look not on our sins,

Heavenly Spirit of Mercy,

but upon our sorrow and resolve to turn from evil,

to fight evil, and procure victory over evil.

Illuminate the minds and souls of our citizens

and especially our leaders

so we can see the error of our ways,

and give us the sweet grace required to turn to God with pure hearts.

Immaculate Mary, Humble Virgin,

Mother of our Church,

and protectress of our nation,

we ask you to go before the Throne of the Holy Trinity

and intercede for the United States

at this critical juncture in our history.

Gently place your mantle upon our land,

upon our people,

upon our allies,

upon our fighting men and women,

as you once wrapped our Savior in swaddling clothes in a manger.

We have no words that rightly express what we on earth

cannot understand or ever truly fathom,

the Love of God,

so we turn with childlike faith

to the words that Jesus Himself taught us to pray:

"Our Father, Who art in heaven,

hallowed by Thy Name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen!"

Prayer in a Time of Contrived Fear

God of peace, we live in a culture

that seeks to manipulate us through fear:

Headlines scream: “Be afraid!”  Advertisements

prod our deepest insecurities and anxieties.

Our political and corporate leaders

know that if we fear, then they can do

whatever they want and we will follow.

But over and over again in scripture,

You call to us: “Be not afraid!”

Your words penetrate, us past the noise,

over the tumult: “Do not fear…”

From Your Word we regain

our freedom.  No longer afraid, we speak

the truth, we live the truth,

and we become that peace which we seek.

In Your peace, we pray: Amen.

By Tom Cordaro

Pax Christi USA

Thomas Merton's Prayer

of Abandonment

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.

And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever

with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Amen.

Flower image and illuminations by Kathy Brahney