The Israelites celebrate their first Passover in the Promised Land
The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.’
The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening in the plain of Jericho. On the morrow of the Passover, they tasted the produce of that country, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn, that same day. From that time, from their first eating of the produce of that country, the manna stopped falling. And having manna no longer, the Israelites fed from that year onwards on what the land of Canaan yielded.
Today I read about the Israelites arriving at the Promised Land, the Plains of Jericho. The forty-year long journey from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. Forty years of toil and sweat and flies and heat and sand and more sand with no place that they could call their own. Forty years of being faithful to God and also testing Him and complaining to Him. Forty years where they were fed with mana in the morning and quail in the evening, all of this has come to an end. Forty years they have carried the law with them on the stone tablets and at times they carried them also in their hearts. Forty years where once the rock was struck and water flowed so the people would stop grumbling against God. Forty years of walking and becoming one people and learning to trust the God that led them out of Egypt. Of the people that left Egypt as slaves, not one of them crossed over into the Promised Land because of their disobedience to God. Even Moses only was able to look at the Land of Promise but he never set foot on it but rather dying within sight of it.
I hate the thought of being in this desert for forty days and I would go stark raving mad if I had to be on it for forty years. It was an amazing journey that the Israelites took. The distance, in a straight line, between Ramses and Canan is estimated to be about two hundred and fifty miles, more or less, but that was in a straight line and the Israelites traveled in anything but a straight line. Had they traveled in a straight line from Ramses to Canan they could have completed the journey in as little as eleven days! Had they done that, we would not have the Ten Commandments, the Arc of the Covenant would not have been built and more than that, the bonds that formed over the years in the desert that made them a particular people would not have formed and the world would be quite different today.
We are all on a journey through the desert. For me, it is both an actual desert filled with all the delights that the Israelites experienced but not the mana and quail that they had. Our life on this earth mirrors the desert wanderings of the Israelites. We go through life and we experience afflictions, disappointments, love, relationships, pain, ecstasy, turmoil, and serenity just as our band of intrepid Israelites did. We too can expect a reward for our faith because God has promised us. At the end of our lives, we will enter the Promised Land of the Saints and we will be with those we love even if we did not know them when they were alive. The Israelites entered a land filled with milk and honey and on that first day, they ate food that was found on their land and drank water from the springs found there. They laid their burden down and began to take possession of the land that they had been promised. For us, it will be the same except we will not have to fight to enter God's heaven. No, He will be there and He will say to us, "Come enter the kingdom prepared for you by the Father from the foundation of the world." We will enter, we will rejoice, we will love.
The tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified.
Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’
It is hard for me to put into words just how hot the desert can be. The sun is unrelenting in its attention to you. You do not really sweat because as soon as your body forms the sweat it evaporates without effect. The sand gets into everything. If you have the slightest hole in a sack at the end of the day besides what you yourself placed in the sack you will find sand. We use the sand to clean our dishes - it does that very well. It is a little known fact that Saudi Arabia imports camels and sand from Australia. I know, its like the Eskimos importing ice cubes. But it is true. Don't tell Benjamin, my camel but camel meat is a staple in Saudi Arabia and the world's largest herd of wild camels happens to be in Australia. As far as importing sand, the sand from down under possesses special qualities that the Saharan sand does not have and it is used for sandblasting. Again I have to see if you want beachfront property but do not like the noise of the ocean, this horrible but beautiful desert is the place to come. Here you find your place in the scheme of things. Spending hours in the hot sun with your only view being the ass of the camel in front of you gives you time to reflect on who you are. The Master said it best. First, he read the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. Then he went on and said:
"So, brothers, we have two men in the temple. Being in the temple is a good thing, a laudable thing. It is an action that pleases the Father. But in our case, one of the men is filled with pride and tells the Father just how much he does for Him and how he cannot be compared to the miserable sinner behind him. The Pharisee made a good beginning in coming to the temple but the lost it when he spoke with such pride of all the things he had quote, done for God unquote."
"What made him think that God had any need of his fasting or tithing or refraining from unseemly conduct? Fasting and other works of self-mortification are not for God. He takes no pleasure in the suffering of His people, but He does commend them for their efforts to subjugate their bodies and minds to God's will. The actions of the Pharisee were useless because of the pride he took in completing it. He thought that the mere actions made him better than others while that was far from the truth. Mind you, the Father still loved the Pharisee but the Pharisee loved himself and admired himself more than he loved and admired the Father."
"The tax collector, now what can we say about him? He had a more humble view of himself and knew his life needed many changes to become a whole man, that is to say, "Holy." He entered the temple for some reason. Tax collectors did not spend a whole lot of time in the temple. They spent their time collecting money and going to parties. So, our man, for some reason, felt compelled to come to the temple. Perhaps he had a change of heart and was wanting to repent. We don't know what inspired him to come on this day but when he came he knew his place. He remained far off, in the back of the temple and he would not even raise his eyes. He poured out his soul to the Father with the simple words, "God be merciful to me a sinner.""
"Every person has dignity. Every person from the Queen of England to an untouchable privy cleaner in New Delhi is dignified by the fact that the Father loves him with an unquenchable love that cannot be described with human language. But the one truth that all of us have to learn is that the sum total of a man is what God sees him as, nothing more or nothing less. God's vision of you is true and He sees all down to the depths of the farthest reaches of your soul. So, remember that God can say "I AM" and only He has the right to say "You are."
One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that, no one dared to question him anymore.
I noticed tonight that there was a thin crescent moon visible in the desert sky. It is hard to believe that when the moon takes on its noble full circle shape that we will be in Jerusalem and our journey will be over. What will happen in Jerusalem has not been told to us. The Master pushes us ever forward. He is still cheerful and attentive to each of us but his eyes betray him sometimes, He is concerned and I believe each step closer to our destination is getting harder for Him to take.
Today after we made camp and ate our rations we were sitting around the fire as was our custom. The Master stood and spoke to us about God. He went over the story of the Hebrews in the desert making a golden calf as their god. He told us that the Hebrews were not fools. They knew that the calf cast from the gold and silver of the people was not God. They were harkening back to the old days in Egypt and placing back on themselves the shackles of slavery as they remembered their life of "ease." How soon they forgot the taskmaster's whip and the hard labor and it was funny how they only remembered the fragrant food made of bitter vegetables that were their mainstay. They did not remember the food God provided for them. Manna in the morning and quail in the evening. The Master said it was similar to how modern man sees things. I stood up and questioned Him about this. His face lit up and he bid me sit down.
"Brothers, this world knows not the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit and yet they are at work today as they are every day that has been and will be keeping the universe in motion. They forget not even one of you not for a split second! Should they forget you, you would not disappear, it would be as if you were never here. All this is true, but modern man has lost sight of the fact that he is dependant on God. God shows no partiality, He makes no attempt to interfere with a person's free will but as a light bulb shines brightly when electric current flows through it, so it is with mankind that when he receives and utilizes the grace that is constantly sent to him by God. The grace can be used or it can be allowed to evaporate and do the recipient no good at all. This generation worships many strange gods. Walk in any city and you will see many people walking with their nose buried in the artificial world of the internet and not seeing the beautiful sky nor hearing the birds joyful prayer to the God that made them. Modern man is as far away from God as he can get at times. He bows down to the neon lights and electronic wonders designed to keep your mind on things of this earth. He gives little thought to God and yet he sings songs asking God to bless his country, not recognizing that the country he lives in is blessed every moment of every day and night as evidenced by the fact that it exists. The man will camp in front of a store and spend many days wages on a technological device designed to draw him deeper into an electronic coma."
"Brothers, don't let it be like this for you. We have walked many miles so far and you have seen signs and wonders. You have heard me speak, you have eaten the special bread and have fortified yourself with the cup of salvation so do not lose yourself in the whiles of modern society. Oh, live with it but remember to use the tools and not let the tools use you. Remember that the first commandment is the most important one and that you should love your God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your will. If you do that, the things of this world will assume their rightful place in your life and you will be their master. "
I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’
Once again, my journaling fell by the wayside yesterday but the way was long and hot. The camels were moody and we made little progress towards our goal of Jerusalem. The Master was not too perturbed about our lack of progress, as a matter of fact, he seemed to welcome it.
Disaster struck us today and I am still upset by it. Jack was an older member of our team and he was a retired policeman. He had always wanted to go up to Jerusalem and over the objections of wife and kids, he joined us knowing full well what he was getting into. He was a slim man, very bright, he had been promoted to a detective during his stint as a cop, and for a man of his age and what he had been through, he looked like he was pretty fit. He never complained and I learned that he had beaten cancer three times! He did his share of the work and was assigned one of the smaller camels to tend whose name was Sandy. Uriah stormed into our tent well before the sun had even thought of rising and kindly and gently asked us to get up. Actually, he spoke to the camels with more love, but we were used to it and took it all with good humor. Everyone was up and doing the needful except John. He was still abed and Uriah, an evil gleam in his eye approached the supine figure bent down and was going to yell in his ear when he noticed something and told Matthew to get the satellite phone and call for an air ambulance. John was alive but it appeared that some cataclysm had claimed him during the night and he needed help. We all stopped while Uriah made the patient comfortable. Matthew came by about twenty minutes later and reported that the Life Flight helicopter was about thirty minutes out and he had activated the distress beacon that Uriah carried to guide the pilot. John was a pasty white and there was a tinge of blue about his lips. He was not responsive and Uriah said while there was a pulse, it was hard to find and it was kind of weak. Water was brought and Uriah tenderly mopped the brow of the stricken pilgrim with water to keep him cool. The Master came by and was concerned about John. He knelt next to the man, place His hand on John's forehead and John's body seemed to relax. He was no longer quivering. He was still unresponsive but his pulse was stronger. A tear appeared on the Master's face and he walked slowly away from John. The helicopter eventually arrived and the paramedics took John away, Later that day we were informed by radio that John had passed away. It shook us a bit because this could have been any one of us.
The Master addressed us after dinner.
"Brothers, one of our number has left us because the Father has called him home. Be of good cheer in spite of our loss for our loss is John's gain. We will no longer be able to see him or talk with him and in the years that follow we may even forget what he looked like or forget his sense of duty or humor. This is as it is for the human being looks after self before others. John, when he departed, did so in peace. I believe that dozens upon dozens of the people that John helped came to escort him to heaven. With so many friends pleading his case how can the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit keep him out of heaven? But it is more than that. You will find in your last hour that you are called upon to trust God and to let go. Your love for God will make this easy. On the other hand, if you despise God, hate the thought of being with Him forever, then you will go into eternity kicking and screaming, but you will go at a time and place of the Father's choosing. As for John, you can be assured that this day because of his selfless life, his giving attitude, his humor, his thoughtfulness and the fact that he never held a grudge, that he beholds the Father, not through a glass but face to face!"
This was a lot to digest and most of us went to our beds early and spent time in prayer and remembering John and praying to build up all of the qualities that will make the transition from earth to heaven easy. My last thought was, "Imagine, inhaling on earth with your eyes closed and exhaling in heaven in the sight of Jesus and the Saints."
May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the Mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Amen.
This post is dedicated to the Memory of Jack Needham
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
We were lucky today. Before dawn today a great wind came up and one of the things even seasoned desert travelers fear came up a sandstorm! My first thought was of Benjamin, I rose and began to dress quickly so I could do something to help the camel that I was in charge of. I was just getting ready to leave when Uriah, our leader, stopped me and asked where I thought I was going. I told him that I was going to help Benjamin and find a safe place for him to weather the storm. Uriah almost died laughing when he heard this. He said. "You idiot, the camel is happier than you are right now. If we had to we could load up and march on. The camel is perfectly adapted to whatever this cursed desert can throw at him. His hooves are large so he has no trouble walking in the soft sand and his eyes are protected by his eyelashes. If you go out there, you will take the chance of breathing in the sand into your lungs and perhaps somewhere down the line get an infection. No, sit and meditate and enjoy this brief respite. It will be over soon and I will be all over you to get that stinking camel loaded so we can make up the time we are wasting because of this ha-boob, which is a word that means sandstorm." He walked away still laughing over my ignorance. It gave me pause though to think about how the camel received everything he could need from God to live in the space allotted to him. He was perfectly adapted. Today is the Feast of the Annunciation when God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young girl named Mary and with her consent, the Savior was sent on His way to become a man and to save us from our sins. May Mary, the Mother of God forgive me, but she like the camel is perfectly adapted to her role in the story of salvation. She, by a favor granted by God, was born without original sin. This was a necessary thing that God did because the mother of God could have no connection with evil, not even the stain of original sin. So, while we were drawn out of the pit of sin by the work of Jesus, God, drawing on the benefits of the sacrificial death of Jesus beforehand, He caused Mary to be carried over the pit of sin that the rest of us all fell into. So God saved Mary and was her needed savior. While the winds were howling I broke out my Bible and read the account of the Annunciation. I was struck by one phrase and that was "Hail Mary, full of grace." The angel did not bring a supply of grace to Mary, he recognized that her soul was filled with it. When something is filled, you cannot fit in anymore. The angel Gabriel simply was greeting the woman and saying what was in his view. How do we know that Mary was full of grace? That is simple, she was humble and selfless and immediately took on the work that God had asked her to do. She could have refused without any consequences what-so-ever but she didn't because her whole heart was turned to God and refusing God anything would not be something she would want to do. She was, like the camel, forgive me gentle mother, adapted to her role. Today, I believe her to be physically in heaven and always beside her Son. I pity those who take little notice of her because they miss the opportunity to receive graces from Jesus through her. Jesus loves His mother so much that He cannot refuse her anything. For her part, her eyes are on the hands of her master, her Son, and the spiritual mother of us all. The haboob came to an end and Uriah was as good as his word. He was all over us to get the camp struck and us on the move. I could imagine John Wayne playing his part if this were a movie because one of his favorite sayings in the morning was, "Let's get a move on. We're burning daylight." And so I put my back into breaking camp and loading the camels, breakfast will happen at lunchtime today. Another day which would pass like so many others. Funny, isn't it? I now have a greater love for the Blessed Mother because of a camel named Benjamin.
Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this, he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’
He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig around it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’
Another Sunday and another day off from the drudgery of making countless miles disappear beneath our feet. Before prayer, he noticed one of the brothers refusing all nourishment and even water. Refusing to drink water while in the desert is not a smart thing to do. The Master observed this strange behavior and went and spoke to the man, Benjamin, who came to us from a little town in Illinois in the United States of America. The Master spoke to him for a moment or two and the Benjamin drank and drank some more. It appears that he had not had a drop of food or water for two days! The Master called us together for Sunday worship. We spent time in communal prayer this morning, the Master, of course, joined. As usual, we sang a song to get things rolling and then we had a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a reading from the Letters of Paul, and then the Master stood up and read from one of the Gospels. Today he read from Luke the story if the fig tree. When He was done, he had us sit around in a circle and he began to speak to us. "Brothers, I observe that many of you are practicing various forms of penance as we go along. The Father has also noticed and is pleased that you realize the necessity for doing these things. But I have to tell you something about repentance and penance that you may not have considered. " "I said that the Father was pleased with your actions. But you are not doing these things to impress the Father, nor are you doing them so that He attains a better opinion of you. The Father loves you just as you are. Nothing you say or do can ever change the fact that He loves you. Why then is repentance a thing that is good to do if it does not change how the Father feels about you? After all, repenting of something is hard. We have to look at ourselves and be critical of things that we have done or what we have failed to do. It is hard work and if it does not help change the way the Father thinks about us than why do it at all. The Father's attitude about us cannot be changed, His love is the one constant in the universe that does not change. Even the speed of light can slow when going through some substances bit the love of God for you never lessens and never changes even if you walk away from Him. So, why? We are more than bodies of flesh. We are a creature created from the beginning with a body and a soul. It is our body and our soul that reaps the consequences of our actions." "Repentance is an action we should take upon ourselves in joy. I hear you saying that why should we rejoice when we are like Job sitting amongst the ashes wearing sackcloth? It is because we must remember that repentance will bring much joy to the soul. Fasting, giving alms, doing good works, all of these things will not change God, they will change us. The sin of Adam and Eve brought to us myopic spiritual eyesight. We are so spiritually blind that our sight is mostly turned inside ourselves and our actions in life are directed to cause us to make ourselves feel good. The snake in the garden knew this tendency of humans and he used it against us and in doing so made this quest for self-appeasement a thing that is almost hard-wired in one's soul." "When we repent, God sees this and He sends graces to help us overcome our tendency to self-indulgence. Our soul receives those graces and it puts them to work and we little bit by little bit we begin to turn outward from ourselves and we begin to see what the needs of those around us are. We then take action to help where we can. So that is why repenting of sin should be taken not with a heavy heart but with great joy. For by leaving sinful things behind we begin to take on the life that the Father has in mind for us. We begin to build a world where hunger, poverty, and ignorance begin to fade. Oh, don't be dismayed if you don't see changes right away, but then again, don't be dismayed if you do see sweeping changes in people right away either. Your actions are amplified by the grace that the Father sends." "So, finally, do not be glum when doing acts of sacrifice as you train your body to listen to your soul. Be of good cheer because what you are doing is a joyful thing, you are casting off the chains of slavery forged so long ago in the Garden of Eden and you are claiming the freedom that the Father has always wanted for you from the beginning. " With that, the Master gave us the unleavened bread that he gives us each Sunday and once again I could feel my soul almost burst with the graces that this holy meal gives us. I and all of the brothers gathered together and we sang songs of worship and we felt united in the one bread and one cup that the Master had given to us. I love Sunday.
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’
I wasn't able to write in my journal yesterday so let me recap what has gone on yesterday and today. Yesterday was a lost day. We were at a small oasis and the Master said he needed to be alone for a while to pray so we did not break camp, we stayed in oasis the whole day while the Master was by himself. He sat under the coolness of a palm tree near the waters of the oasis. Uriah, our team leader, used some of this time to have us make needed repairs to the saddles we use to load our camels down. But by lunchtime, all of the work he could think of was done and he told us to rest for the rest of the day. The Master was still in his place by the water. None of us dared to interrupt Him while He was in prayer. He neither ate nor drank that day and He sat there all night. Around the campfire, we spoke only softly because we did not want to disturb the Master. When bedtime came we all silently departed and took to our beds in silence. I had a hard time sleeping that night so I spent time in prayer. My soul needed this time more than my body needed rest I guess. I audited carefully my life to date and I found myself lacking in many ways. It jolted my soul to realize that the person I thought I was, actually was an airbrushed caricature of what I really was. I glossed over my many mistakes and sins and yet held others strictly accountable for them. My vision was clear and could detect other's errors at a thousand yards, yet I could not see how I had failed my family, my friends, and my Church so blatantly and with no remorse. Tears began to fall from my eyes and it was in this state that sleep claimed me. I awoke it seemed only moments later to the call from the leather lungs of Uriah getting us out of bed to start another day. The Master, looking well and rested even though he did not come to His tent at all, took breakfast with us and He made the meal memorable with His wit and charm.
Twelve hours later we stopped again for the night. It was kind of an odd place, a windswept dusty plain that had the look of utter devastation and loneliness. The only thing good about it was there was a supply of dead wood from the scorched plants about so making the fire tonight was easier than usual. The Master recounted to us the story of the Prodigal Son. We, being Christians, know that story well. The young son abandons his family, loses all he has and comes back with his tail between his legs ready to beg for forgiveness. He decides he will offer his father his services as a slave for his food. The father for his part had spent the time since his youngest departed from home watching for his return, he saw him while he was far off. The father abandoning his dignity ran to the son and immediately treated him once again as the son that he was. He threw a party, it was a good day for all, except for the fatted calf of course who fulfilled his destiny at the dinner that day. Meanwhile, the elder son, who had stayed with his father, came in from a hard days work in the fields. He heard that his stupid younger brother was home again and that dad was throwing him a party. He was outraged. He refused to go in. Once again, leaving his dignity behind, the father came out and pleaded with his son to come in. The elder son, who momentarily forgot his place, vented his spleen against the father and pointed out that he had worked like a slave and yet there was no party for him. The father reminds him of his love and tells him that everything he has belongs to the elder son. But he as the father has to rejoice because the younger son, after being lost to the family has returned. He was dead and now lives again.
As I said the story is a familiar one. The master talked at some length about it. He gave us an insight into the story that I had never considered before. He pointed out that both sons, each in his own way, were disobedient to the Father. The younger son told his father, "The heck with you, I want to go out and see the world while I am still young enough to enjoy it." The father, of course, could have refused, but he did not stand in his son's way. But the question then comes how did the elder son sin against his father? Did he not stay and work his fingers to the bone to make his father even more wealthy than he already was? Didn't he do this without complaint and did he not serve loyally all those years while his sibling was consorting with lewd women and drinking cheap wine? The answer was, of course, he did all these things but what he said to his father showed that his appearance to others did not match what was in his soul. In his own way, he showed he was working not for the father but in fact for himself by making the farm a success he was doing so to preserve his future and to necessarily please his father.
So one son left and came back willing to be called a slave and the other son stayed and worked and felt like a slave. The father loved his sons without measure and he forgave them each their respective sins which were sins of disrespect due to him because he was the Father. And the father showed himself to be righteous because he did not stand on ceremony. He did not wait for the boys to appear before him. He surrendered all dignity he was due and went out to them. He forgave them. They were lost and now they were found. But the question remains, did the elder son join the party?
Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’
Sticks and stones will break your bones...says the old saying. But sometimes the words hurt worse. On the night before we began our journey to Jerusalem with the Master, we were in a small desert town and I observed just how mean one human being could be to another and how loving another person could be. This little town was a typical desert border town. It was anything but serene. Every other storefront was a saloon or a bawdy house and both of these institutions stayed open all day and all night so there was no peace. We were on the west side of town, near the trailhead and all of the work for the day had been done and we went off to explore the town, such as it was. There was a little old man, his features baked by a lifetime on the desert, so skinny that if he turned sideways he wasn't there! He was outside of one of the seedier restaurants in the town on the ground. He had been thrown out because he had no money and had not eaten in a couple of days and was begging for some scraps from the kitchen. The owner, a big muscular man flung this man out of the restaurant into the dust of the street and spat on him for good measure and then went back into the Che Tomaine. The Master, who had been standing behind me went to the man's side, picked him up and brushed him off. Then he walked the man to a supply store where he bought him a working man's outfit then he escorted him to the best restaurant in town where he bought and paid for all of the food the man could eat. The beggar was mystified. He was more familiar with feeling the dust of the street on his face and today he was fed like a king and dressed properly. The Master made to leave and the beggar said, "Thank you, but why?" The Master looked with love at the beggar. He did not see a man down on his luck and he told him that he was loved by God the Father, God the Son, and under the protection of God the Holy Spirit and as such he deserved to be in good dress and accommodations. The Master went on to say, that the love that bears for any man makes each man, woman, and child special and they should be treated that way.
Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way, he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and on the third day he will rise again.’
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’
When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
One of number, Uriah by name, came from Nairobi Kenya. He was short of stature and was appointed our leader. It was he that got us out of bed in the morning. He also saw to it that we were not slow in eating breakfast and then, except for the days the Master wanted to speak after breakfast, was the one who got us to break camp and load the burdens onto the camels. I will be charitable and tell you only that he was not a kindly man. The only one he spoke to with respect was the Master. As far as his fellow walkers, we were the slobs that would eat up every moment of daylight asleep in our beds so it was with a heavy hand that he daily got things organized. Once we were moving, he calmed down and tried his best to be "one of the boys." The boys treated him like camel spit.
One day the Master came and watched how the work was going. He saw Uriah at work and did not stop him directing the work but when it was all over he called us together. He often did this before we broke camp for the day to pray with us. This time He decided to share His wisdom. He said that He appreciated how hard we worked in getting the camp broken down and how quickly and efficiently he did it. He thanked Uriah who was beaming with pride and then the Master went on to say, "A man who has authority over another should exercise it with respect for the man and a deep abiding love for him. He should be ready to help in any way possible and treat those under him as brothers and not as slaves for each of them are beloved of the Father and the Father serves the people on earth. The Father has gone so far as to send His only Son to die for them. And those of you who are workers, work as if God is watching you. Be charitable and helpful to all of your mates and spread good cheer and teamwork and your Father in heaven will see and be pleased."
We then got going for the day and twelve hours later we ended our trek for the day and it was a new Uriah that went out of his way to be helpful, working with the weaker members of our team and no longer treating them as stubborn beasts of burden but as brothers. The work went faster and the feeling towards Uriah changed and he was accepted as one of the gang. We all respected him but now he and we understood what his job was supposed to be.
Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’
‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.
He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
Lost
It was one of those days where the work seemed lighter than usual. It was the same thing that we had been doing for the last couple of weeks, that is walking in the desert dragging stinking ornery camels behind us only to end up in a place that looked like the place we were in twelve hours ago. But today the sun, although brutally hot seemed to step back a bit and did not weigh so heavily on our backs and the camels, except for Goliath, seemed cheerful in their own way. Goliath, of course, was not happy with his load and I had to help my brother adjust it to Goliath's liking before the spit would stop flying. Our walk was easier and the brothers were all in a good mood. We stopped for the night in yet another nameless, featureless place where we set up camp and the cook got busy preparing the daily dinner. It was about this time that I found that I had a problem. It pulled my canteen out of its place in my belt and found that the cap, which had been held on by a stout chain, was nowhere to be seen. A canteen without a cap is useless and in a race would be beaten by useless by less than half a step. I could not imagine what had happened to it. Perhaps it was a manufacturing defect coupled with a bit of carelessness on my part that has placed me in a dilemma. If I had lost it outside, well, there would be no hope because the desert is a vast place with no point of reference to guide one to follow his path back. Besides, the sand eventually swallowed everything and it would not have remained uncovered long. I was beside myself. I did not have a spare canteen so while I could fill it in the morning, walking would cause it to empty by our noon break. I went to my space and tore through my belongings without luck. I went mournfully to my cushion and sat down. I jumped right back up because I sat down upon something and in the desert that something would deliver a powerful and potentially deadly sting. I jumped up ready to stomp on the desert creature that dared to invade my bed. What I saw was the dark black cap to my canteen sans the chain which somehow had fallen off. I was relieved that I had found it.
The Master told the story about the Boy Jesus who when twelve years old, went up to the Temple with His parents. They all worshipped in accordance with The Law and as was custom the caravan reformed with the men in one group and women and children in another and they began the journey back to their home. Joseph thought Jesus was with Mary and Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph. They discovered he was not with either and not among their friends and acquaintances. The two of them broke camp and spent the next three days searching for Jesus. They finally decided to go to the Temple and pray to God for the return of their son. They entered the courtyard and what did they see? A group of elders engaged in lively discussion with their boy. This should have been a proud moment for the Holy Family but they had just spent three days searching for Him and they fretted over the penalties that they would merit had the lost the very Messiah over whom they had been placed in charge. Mary asked the Boy why He had done this. Jesus gave what sounds like a "smart" reply to His parents and said that didn't they realize that He had work to do for His Father? Then without further delay, he left the elders and went with Joseph and Mary and lived under their authority.
It is good to live under authority. People who live by themselves and have no one to answer to can develop squirrelly tendencies. They have to answer to nobody except themselves so that they develop a misguided sense of importance. That is why it is not good for man to live alone. We all benefit when we place ourselves under authority of some kind. We are meant to be a social animal and without the hints that being among our kind provides we lose our way. Sometimes it is not possible for a person to live with others and be comfortable. It is rare, but it happens. These people are the most vulnerable to become dislodged from the corporate behavior pattern. This too, is why it is important for us to come together to worship so that we can see our fellow Christians and talk with them, be with them and refresh our spirits by engaging in social congress with them. It is why the Eucharist binds us together into one local church that extends ever outward until we are united to all Christians who receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist. This unity brings us strength and reminds us that as good at is to have an "It's just Jesus and me relationship" that such a relationship is only one part of the Christian experience.
So as the campfire dwindles and sleep invades my eyes I thank God for helping me find what I had lost and I thank Him too for restoring the cap to my canteen.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’
It was a cool day in the desert. I do not think that the temperature rose to above one hundred and two, ten degrees cooler than yesterday! Now I know what a round steak feels like in a slow cooker. Today the Master pointed out the fairness of God the Father. He showed that we will receive exactly what we give. In other words, if I hold a fault against you and offer you no forgiveness, then if I stand before God, my faults will receive the same attention as I gave to you, my brother. The Master seems to be emphasizing mercy in our walk through life. It kind of makes sense. We are all made of the same substance, we all have the same nature, we all have the same Father who will forgive us of any fault and in the same measure as we have forgiven others. The Master said, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven." He left the negative aspect of this statement unsaid but we all understood.
SUNDAY EDITION IS PUBLISHED WHEN I FEEL LIKE PUBLISHING IT. IT EXPRESSES MY OPINIONS ABOUT THE GOINGS ON IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO AGREE OR DISAGREE BUT DO SO IN A RESPECTFUL MANNER.
Texts from the third day of the Vatican summit on child protection emphasized transparency, including:
-- The church must be transparent and open in facing the sexual abuse crisis, and the first step in true transparency is to admit wrongdoing and how it was dealt with, says Sister Veronica Openibo, congregational leader of the Holy Name Sisters.
Sister Veronica hits the bullseye with what she says. For too long the management of the Church has lost sight of what their job is. Their job is not to "protect the church or her reputation" for that job is the job of the Holy Spirit. However, words are just words and I should know because I am a wordsmith and can manipulate words to emphasize any point of view. The words our bishops and cardinals speak now have to be followed up with action. This action must be taken without regard to the rank of the perpetrator. If they thought so little of their vows that they abused another vulnerable human being, well, then they must be rendered harmless and they must never be allowed into a position of trust in the Church again. We do not see much action right now, hopefully, the hand wringing and rhetoric will now stop and the scandal can be addressed with action. What do you say, Pope Francis?
-- German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising says counteracting sinful behavior requires traceability and transparency within the church.
Really Eminence? I can see why you are in the position that you are. You have a great grasp of the obvious. Could you do me a favor and perhaps mention this to the Holy Father when you see him next? He does not seem to have a clue at how to move on this issue.
-- If bishops are really serious about fighting clerical sex abuse, they must join forces with journalists, says Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki.
This would be a good idea but for one fact. The journalists from all media have a bias against the Catholic Church. Sexual abuse, as bad as it is in the Church is only the tip of the iceberg. Sexual abuse is a symptom of the miasma we find ourselves in. Little bit by little bit over the years our respect for life and for one another has sunk to new lows. We do not see ourselves as children of God but just as interchangeable pawns in the game of life. This is exacerbated by the press, TV, and all other forms of news sources who no longer just report the news but wordsmith the news to point to a value that they want to push. The point they want to push is usually the one that sells more papers or gains more viewers and generally, these are positions that are opposite of what the Church teaches and that is what makes it popular. In America beating up the Catholic Church is second only to baseball as a national pastime.
-- "Too often we have kept quiet, looked the other way, avoided conflicts" and been "too smug" to confront the "dark sides of our church," Archbishop Philip Naameh of Tamale, Ghana, tells fellow bishops.
Let the confronting begin! When a person has cancer develop in their body, in order for them to regain their health the cancer must be, in some way, be removed. The process of removing cancer can be painful and can cause scars but in the end, the person who has been cured lives a longer life and actually has more appreciation for the act of breathing in and breathing out while walking, talking and thinking.
For our Church, the time for surgery has arrived and we must excise the corrupted parts of our Church and we must cut deep and cut true. We have to be fair, we have to make sure that there is credible evidence against a malefactor but once it is proven the process should proceed immediately and the perpetrator should be laicized without delay so that the harm that this person has done is cut off and healing can thus begin.
PELL DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE ACCORDING TO THE JURY AND BILOCATES
Twenty Alibi Witnesses showing that reported abuse was impossible ignored by the jury.
Anti-Catholic bias suspected major factor in conviction because of Pell refusing communion to gay activists, also he was a major supporter of Right to Life - both offenses angered non-christian people.
EDITORIAL
What is the Church? One answer might be that it is the Pope and the Cardinals, the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Nuns, Sisters, Brothers and the people in the pews. This answer is not satisfactory. The Church consists of all of these people but all of these people form the People of God. No matter what title that they might have, no matter how much power they think they have, no matter whose ear they have, none of us are any greater than God. The Church is His. It does not belong to the clergy or even the pew-dwellers. it is His.
Today we are facing (again) a scandal that will not go away. Common ordinary Catholics are starting to look outside the Catholic Church and running away to receive their spiritual nourishment. Without a doubt, each of them will be welcomed with open arms by any Protestant denomination that they fall victim to. There they will receive the word that the Church, the Bride of Christ is nothing more than the Whore of Babylon. It is a sad fact that some will actually believe this and turn away from the True Church and accept something less than they are entitled to. They will become Christians of the Book and begin to believe in strange doctrines such as sola scriptura - where if it is not in the Bible, it has no place in your faith life. Sadly Sola Scriptura is not found in the Bible. They might be taught that once they accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior that they cannot lose that salvation. They will also be taught that works are not needed in spite of the fact that in the Gospel of Mark we are told that the goats who did nothing went to one place and the sheep that took care of their brothers went another. They will also be taught that the letter of James doesn't really mean what it says. Four times a year they will participate in a memorial of the last supper, crackers and grape juice will be distributed and the remnants will be fed to the birds because after all, they are just crackers.
Pray for those who are suffering because of the small percentage of renegade clergy that has sullied the name of the Roman Catholic Church. Remember as well that our Church enjoys the fullness of the Treasury of Faith and that includes the greatest gift we have ever received, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes Christ to transfigure us
My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the savior we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe. So then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends; you are my joy and my crown.
This morning we almost had a tragedy and it was just the luck of the Irish that kept it from happening. One of the brothers whose turn it was to make breakfast started the fire which had gone out during the night. He went over to the bag which held the cooking utensils and noticed that it had not been sealed properly the night before. He opened it and reached in and got the coffee pot and the pot used for making cereal. As was his custom he grabbed a towel and was going to dust the inside of the pot but something made him look inside it first. Inside was one of the deserts most fearsome creatures, a deathstalker scorpion had taken up residence there during the night my companion was just inches away from getting what could be a lethal injection of the neurotoxin that this delightful desert creature uses to kill its prey.
The tiny beast was ready and willing to dispense a jolt of his special elixir but to his credit, the man holding the pot did not panic. Instead, he went to the edge of camp and catapulted the creature out of the pot as hard as he could. The little guy had an experience most deathstalkers do not receive, the experience of flight! Now, in spite of the colorful name of this creature, death to a healthy human, while not unheard of, is unlikely if they are stung by this scorpion. From what victims say it is not an act of mercy to survive the sting as the potent venom causes great pain. Children and the elderly are most vulnerable but it is considered a medical emergency if you are stung by one of these and in our present situation, medical help and the antivenom that is required is so far away that any dying that the victim would be doing would be done by the time any help could arrive.
So it was on this cheery note that our day began and in our morning prayers, we thanked God that our friend was spared the agony of a sting from this scorpion. After breakfast, as usual, we broke camp but it took a bit longer because we were carefully checking to make sure that the little fella hadn't brought any friends of his own. No other examples of this miniature death machine were found and as the sun rose above the horizon, we began our trek.
While walking today, I began thinking of death but not death itself with all of the pains that might be attached to it but rather what happens after death. Physically, once the blood stops pumping your body begins it's the journey back into the elements that it is made of. Tissues break down and in no time the only thing left of bodies that are not specially embalmed such as the Egyptians of old will be our bones. And years from now, even those bones will return to dust. All that was "me" will be gone. The flesh that I work so hard to keep animated, the brain that fuels my thoughts and emotions will be no more. Yet, through this all, I survive not as a memory on a tombstone with a date of birth and date of death and if I were rich enough some clever saying to mark my time on earth. What will remain of me is any of the good that I accomplished. My mark will not be a long obituary story nor a small death notice. My mark will be the seeds of love I planted while I, a body and a soul, walked and talked on this earth. My soul will be in heaven. I will be next to those I love and those that love me and we will glorify God together in songs of worship and praise.
This reward, this new life after death is as certain as gravity and as we are counter-culture people, our ways will receive persecution for "forward thinking" men and women who only can see what is in front of them and who take no notice of God, His laws, and His rewards. They will be furious when we point out that their way of life is contrary to the Word of God. They will tell us to follow our God in our own way and to leave them alone. If that was only possible. They do not live and let live as they want us to do, they pursue through the rule of law to make their rights to sinful things the law of the land. They will do all that they can to enforce their rights while limiting ours. But these people who are the most pitiful creature on earth are the enemies of Christ and the Cross. They existed at the time of Christ, at the time of the early Church, at the time of the great revolt of the Protestants, and exist until today. Our Church is built on rock and in spite of the scandals of the moment it will survive and thrive because Jesus said so.
Paul tells us that our real homeland is in heaven. We cannot keep silent about this because God wants a bountiful harvest and wants as many as possible to join Him in the never-ending feast. So, stir up your spirit, gird your loins and announce the Good News by the way you live and by the people you love.
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