Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947

13
You said things to us
in silence
that fell into deep furrows
of understanding.
So changed were we
that only on reading
about Francis
did we begin to fathom
what had happened to us

 

Thomas Merton ~

This is the church at the Abbey of Gethsemani that Thomas Merton knew when he entered the monastery in 1941. 

Poem about the Abbey church.
Who was Thomas Merton?

Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947

39
Who ever counted 

our myriad passages

through silent confines

of corridors and halls

in ordered rhythmic traffic

on porous yellow tiles?

                                                   

45

And all during those years

minutes were being measured

diligently

by the onlooking clock

in low swinging arcs

there on that wall

where all our corridors met.

Weighty Distractions ~

American monks cannot keep their thoughts on things spiritual nowadays because their minds are distracted by the plaguing question so many are asking: What kind of a country are we becoming?

Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947

85

We had all the order

of the Parthenon

within those walls,

for You hewed

into our dimensions

the pillars

of Your presence.

How could we have ever seen

that our poor yellow bricks

were crumbling?

Words Written on a Dilapidated House ~

Yipee! Wir sind am Ziel unserer Träume.
Translation:

Yipee! We have reached the goal of our dreams.

Reacting ~

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students in Parkland.
We thank you.

Art Exhibition in Baden-Baden, Germany ~

William N. Copley

Imaginary Flag for U.S.A.

1972 

Cardinal Karl Lehmann ~ Bishop of Mainz, Germany

† March 11, 2017

In an interview with SWRadio this extraordinary, fearless bishop stated that when all is said and done he would believe neither in the Church nor in Christianity, but in God alone. For God will always exist -- the Church, on the other hand, perhaps not.

Revving Up~

When will he be advocating that pastors and priests start toting a pistol?

A Measure of Power ~

. . . and none of the players kneeled or remained on the bench during the National Anthem at the Super Bowl . . .

Winter Morning at Sunrise ~

I look out over the wide field covered with snow and imagine it will one day be green with grass, or brown with wheat swaying in the breeze. Ah--I must be dreaming.

A Measure of Power ~

. . . when in the presence of six senators he could say "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" . . . and no one reacts.

They All Do It ~

Here in Germany the Volkswagen bosses are breathing a sigh of relief and gleefully clapping their hands on hearing that Ford USA has been caught cheating with diesel emissions.

Climate Change ~

It has warmed up so much that the snowman the grandchildren made sunk down on its knees and lost its carrot nose.

Alabama ~

Decency still counts in America.

American Future? ~

I am beginning to see States breaking away from the Union as a result of growing division due to viral political convictions.

Thanksgiving 2017 ~

What will the topic of conversation be today when families sit down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal?

Playing the Piano ~

I am beginning to feel something new going on with my hands when playing. It seems as if they are no longer two separate instruments. I can feel them as one, giving the feeling I am gently throwing balls, like a juggler, from one to the another.

St. Benedict ~

He was a genius to have made a rule under which men could live together in community and thrive. His key was the virtue of humility that he insisted on instilling in his members. A perfect Benedictine, following the Gospel dictate should always "take the last place".

An Offhand Remark ~

I heard someone say: "Fingers have memory." Ever since hearing that my piano playing has improved noticeably.

Local Beauty ~

The neighbors next-door cut down this stately red beech tree this morning. 

Leaf-raking was too much of a chore. . .

Just lost a friend.

Thomas Merton ~ Spiritual Mentor for a Young Seminarian ~

 

Choice of Words ~

"Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!"

                                              ~ President of the United States

Was Ist Los? ~

80-90 seats in the German Bundestag will now be filled by the new extreme right AfD party that won yesterday in the elections.

Cavalier's Delict ~

Here in Germany no one is really upset about VW and Audi cheating. No rage, no protests, no demonstrations. Cheating is all part of the game.

Seasons Don't Wait ~

Sadly, I see the first tinge of autumn today on the maple trees along my path.

Boy Scouts of America ~

It was reported that the chief executive of the Boy Scouts had apologized for the President's speech held at a national gathering of Boy Scouts because of his rousing political statements. The White House spokeswoman deftly sidestepped saying: "I saw nothing but roughly 40,000 to 45,000 Boy Scouts cheering the president on throughout his remarks and I think they were pretty excited that he was there."

Protectors ~

Two stately San Bernardino dogs out in front of a lady with their unneeded leashes would turn every thirty paces to see if she were coming along.

Newfound Energy ~

Five new windmills on a hill in the distance rotating day and night, counterclockwise.

 

Remembering with Gratitude ~

Today is VE-Day. 

I look out my window and think what it would be like had Hitler not been stopped.

Breaking the Heart ~

What happens when a child realizes this loss?

Yevgeny Yevtushenko ~

† April 1, 2017

BABI YAR

by Yevgeny Yevtushenko

No monument stands over Babi Yar.

A steep cliff only, like the rudest headstone.

I am afraid.

Today, I am as old

As the entire Jewish race itself . . .

At 7:45 in the Morning ~

The highway is buzzing with cars heading off at high speed to make it to the place of work with all the people who are helping to hold this world together.

Cosmic Reverberations ~

Today at a funeral while they played Mozart's Clarinet Concerto K 622 Adagio and the world stood still . . .

Seeing in Darkness ~

To look up into the sky late at night and see the radiant stars . . . and then orient myself in the deep cosmos.

Beacon Light ~

Americans, the President said: "make no concealment of the fact that we want wealth, but there are many other things we want more. We want peace and honor, and that charity which is so strong as element of all civilization. The chief ideal of the American people is idealism. I cannot repeat too often that America is a nation of idealists. That is the only motive to which they ever give any strong and lasting reaction."

                                            President Calvin Coolidge 1923-29

Farewell Address ~

He made me feel proud to be an American and taught me, more than any other, what it meant.

Progressing ~

Went back to my old seminary where four teenage years of intense living took place. There I found only a bare hill with grass going on it. The building has been torn down, deemed useless.

New Experience ~

It was a happy dream . . . I was standing in front of a grade-school class and a boy didn't know the German word for "page". "Oh, that was the very first word we leaned in Chapter One of our German book last year," I said. And all those little girls and boys lit up and smiled with such glowing faces, the likes of which I had never seen before.

God's Will Works ~

It is in silence, the old monk said, like when the sun rises, or in the silent chamber of the heart that God's will works.

Crucial Decisions ~

All the really important decisions in life-- I had no real knowledge what it was all about: Priesthood, Marriage, Children. All a blind leap.

Grief in Our Town ~

Not enough room in the church for all his friends, many stood outside. Lukas was 18 years old, had just acquired his driver's licence. He was driving to the train station to pick up a friend when he lost control . . .

Autumn Yearning ~

I see little birds flying south in clusters. It is raining and cold. How will they ever make it over the Alps?

Classroom ~

I taught her in the fifth grade. She wrote saying I made a great impression on her for the rest of her life, for I had told her once to brush her teeth every day. She had done that and has a set of teeth to this day that everyone admires.

Goings-on ~

I heard someone comparing the catastrophic political atmosphere with John of the Cross's Dark Night of the Soul. He saw it positively, as laying the ground for a spiritual recovery, once everything has been reduced to nothing . . .

De Diligendo Deo ~

God is Great— What do you do if your notion of God and Jesus conflict? The former seems for the most part confined by the latter.

 

Coming into Focus ~

With 80-plus finally coming to understand what a momentous, catastrophic event the First World War was.

Memory Fading ~

. . . Now I know why mother was irritated every time I wanted to play our do-you-remember game . . .