. . . Welcome! . . . feel free to browse and make comments . . .

Friday, May 03, 2019

The Thomas Merton Prayer ~



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 that 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 I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
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.

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

America First ~

And the world, as I have known it for the past 70 years, continues to be torn apart and destroyed . . .

Monday, April 22, 2019

America Crumbling ~



Two major American sports teams have announced that they will stop playing Kate Smith's rendition of the Irving Berlin patriotic classic God Bless America because of racist views she supposedly had.

Friday, April 19, 2019

Easter 2019 ~

And Daniel Barenboim would rather not perform Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion with the Berlin Philhormoniker because of the antisemitic passages in it.

Tuesday, April 09, 2019

Protestant Theologian ~

After being tortured Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by hanging on 9 April 1945 at a Nazi concentration camp.

Friday, April 05, 2019

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Final Exam for the Graduates ~

I had taught them for years and they were obviously frightened. Written and oral exams tomorrow. I told them to relax now and forget the books. They had learned a lot of German in four years. . . Go downtown this evening and go for a quiet walk. No drinking, no horsing around. Turn in early for a good night's sleep. Come in tomorrow alert and looking sharp: boys in jacket, shirt and tie, the girls wearing their neat dresses. Have happy thoughts and be confident. If you let it, everything will meld and fall into place, but you must be calm and receptive.

Monday, February 04, 2019

Burial ~

The childen stood at the gravesite and heard them lower the coffin,  but they refused to lean over and look in. Then they broke into tears.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Hate ~

" . . . this ability he has to sense our darkest instincts and call to them, coax them out of hiding, when we'd prefer not to see them at all."
Nancy Gibbs    Time

Monday, December 24, 2018

Going to Midnight Mass?

And then this at Christmas time:
More than 500 priests accused of sexual abuse . . . public list of Chicago-area priests with credible allegation of abuse to grow . . .
Chicago Tribune

Monday, December 10, 2018

Lost Here ~

In the search for God one is always alone. And we hardly know who we are looking for, or where to look.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Laudation ~


Hail, Stalwart Souls who stand up against the Powers That Be to stop it from eating into the fabric of our lives.

Monday, November 12, 2018

Thursday, November 08, 2018

From Whence Cometh Our Strength? ~

What disturbs the monk is the fact that it is the Church People who lend such massive support.

Thursday, November 01, 2018

Memories ~

All the mistakes you made in your lifetime come back, with clarity, to haunt you.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Monday, October 01, 2018

Daylight Savings Time Debate ~

We can turn back the clocks, but we can't stop the months from coming on . . . October, November . . .

Sunday, September 30, 2018

An Autumn Morning ~

This morning at 7:30 there was a congregation of birds on the highest branches of the trees looking out over the hill to catch the magnificent red sunrise.

Sunday, September 02, 2018

Sacred Spaces ~

As a child I had my holy places where it was quiet and filled with meaning: the church on McKean Street, the Capuchin monastery not far from town . . . It was the feeling of being enveloped in a mysterious, meaningful space.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947

12
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.


Tuesday, August 28, 2018

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

 

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Thomas Merton ~


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

Thursday, July 12, 2018

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?

Sunday, July 01, 2018

                                                   

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.


Thursday, June 28, 2018

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?

Tuesday, June 05, 2018

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?

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Words Written on a Dilapidated House ~

Yipee! Wir sind am Ziel unserer Träume.
Translation:
Yipee! We have reached the goal of our dreams.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Reacting ~

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

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

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.

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Revving Up~

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

Monday, February 05, 2018

A Measure of Power ~

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

Sunday, January 28, 2018

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.

Friday, January 12, 2018

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.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

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.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Climate Change ~

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

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Wednesday, December 06, 2017

American Future? ~

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

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving 2017 ~

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

Monday, November 13, 2017

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".

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

An Offhand Remark ~

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

Monday, October 09, 2017

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.

Sunday, October 01, 2017

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

Monday, September 25, 2017

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.

Sunday, September 03, 2017

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.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Seasons Don't Wait ~

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

Monday, July 31, 2017

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."

Saturday, July 01, 2017

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.