AN OLD MAN’S COUNSEL --

This is a poem which has been shared with me by a long time friend, George Woodworth.  It is not my friend who wrote it but a long past relative of his, his grandfather, George W. Woodworth.  This man's writings were published often in the Milwaukee newspaper of the time as is noted at the end of the composition.  Most of the poems are not of a religious or spiritual tone, but there are some, like this one, with a powerful religious message.  In this singular instance the author echoes my sentiments about "No Crying at my Funeral."  I hope you enjoy this profound reflection about a righteous life, a song, never sung but by the church of the soul of the writer and in the hearts of his readers.
Paul Dion, STL, ParishWorld.net Theology Editor

Let not Despair usurp the throne, where Hope should reign supreme;
And be not guided in your course by phantoms of a dream;
Not blindly wander here and there, a follower of chance;
But rather tread a beaten path, though slowly you advance.

For wisdom seek, and friendship prize above the state of wealth;
And venture not, for paltry gain, the treasure of your health.
Let manhood be your study, and improvement be your aim;
Inertness may be peace, but I would not remain the same.

‘Tis knowledge sways the minds of men, and holds the world in awe;
All nature is prepared to serve the one, who knows her law;
And who would be a sordid slave, a stupid, brutal clod,
When, if he chose, he might approach the glory of our God?

Ambition, it may be a curse, if justice guides it not;
But honor to the soul that strives, and would not be forgot!
And highest honor be to him, the impulse of whose mind
Is only to succeed, that he may bless his fellow kind.

Then let us all, within our sphere, for better prospects try,
Respecting, helping those we meet, and stifling ev’ry sigh;
So onward, upward, every day, in pleasure or in pain,
Our lives shall be a proof that we have lived them not in vain;

Our labor shall be happiness, and, when our eyelids close,
Contented thoughts shall fill our dreams and sweeten our repose;
And when above our pallid brow, the angel Death shall wave
His sable pinions, we shall not be frightened by the grave;
But calmly looking o’er the race, which we below have run,
Shall hope to hear our Father say, “Well done, my son, well done.”

Reward complete of perfect joy, and everlasting rest,
Shall be our own, when we shall reach the haven of the Blest;
And well can we afford to scorn our earthly load of care,
Supported by the thought that we shall have no burdens there.

Our lamp of life has brightly burned to cheer our fellow-kind;
Our memory shall linger still in ev’ry loving mind;
Thus death shall have for us no sting, no victory the grave;
But all triumphant shall we pass across the Jordan’s wave.

Date of composition:  February 17, 1891
Copied from:
· “Select Poems” by George W. Woodworth
· Newspaper clipping by George W. Woodworth

REAL DISCIPLES -- SEE PREVIOUS POST

⁵Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

   '⁶Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:  ⁷And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.   ⁸Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

   '⁹And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.   ¹⁰Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

   '¹¹Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate..." (Isaiah, 6)

I promised you some examples of real, live, everyday people who are economically comfortable and are living lives outside their country, away from their kindred and outside of their fathers' house.  Just like Abraham.

The 40+ year old parish secretary

The 80 year old factotum (general gopher)

The 72 year old Internet epistolier

The 40 year old secretary

A widow with three children.  Very pretty lady.  Was given a clerical job at the church when she was really at her wits, and dollars ends some 9 or 10 years ago.  Has gone for continuing and polishing education.  Has taken some serious Canon Law courses at the diocesan headquarters.  Has had a chance to get more lucrative work but has opted to serve God.  She discovered that she can help people by participating in the county's "alternative sentencing" program.  She screens people who are referred by the court to work off light sentences by doing social service work.  Those who fit the profile, she accepts by writing to the court and offers them general labor work in and around the church for the duration of their sentence.  I wish I could get her to talk in public about her "ministry."  The stories that she has would make a stone cry.  She tells me that she is not ready for marriage.  She likes being married to God and His community.

The 80 year old factotum

Truly away from his country, far away.  Retired military.  Loving wife also a "send me" disciple.  Always present.  Always moving.  Always self-effacing while being gently assertive.  Respected by all, including the inhabitants of the rectory.  Has done it all, and is still doing it all.  He is the living proof that God has a sense of humor.  He is a person who has been able to perform no matter who the pastor has been.  He serves God, not the pastor.  There are pastors who could take lessons from him.  He is the John the Baptist of the place.  Fortunately for us, he hasn't met his Herod yet.  Nor his Salome.

The 72 year old epistolier

This is a guy whom I know fairly well.  50 years married to the same woman.  I think about half that time he had his mother-in-law living in the same house.  He loved it, and not just because he had a handy-dandy baby-sitter at hand.  He and wife have five children, one with special needs.  The rule in their family is "don't hope for miracles, expect them."  Not only do they expect them, I have known them to make them happen for some of us who haven't learned God's ways as deeply as they have.  He left the seminary, physically, but never left the mission.  He never took back his "Send me!"  He has had more spiritually meaningful "gigs" (he's an actor!) than I can enumerate.  More than I have.  Over the last few years he has maintained a daily column of reflection and meditation for a fairly extensive online mailing list.  He's always writing, and he's always writing under the unblinking eye of the Word.

Last year, he was the God-sent sacrament of Divine Presence in our house, helping me to recuperate from a challenging illness.  He didn't take the pain away, he moved it from general agony to split sides and sore nostalgic muscles.  He hastened my ability to stand, yes stand again, like a real man, while using the ceramic depository for kidney waste.  After celebrating that great moment, he went back home, but not without leaving the Spirit of The One Who sent him in the house.

See, there are some of those around.  I could keep you here for a long time, but you get my drift.  It is not the money, it is knowing that love is for God and His people, not George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton ( I think I forgot one).  Remember what Jesus said to the emissaries of John the Baptist, "...the blind see, the lame walk and the deaf hear."  That's where it is to be found, Discipleship and You can't take it ($) with you.

YOU CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS -- $$$$, AND ???

A couple of thoughts about the effect of wealth on people.  Nothing serious, just some opining of two people who heard the same talk in church the other day.
We both noticed that with all the talk about wealth not being important in life, God sure knew how to pick the wealthy to help Him get established.  The Bible makes no bones about making the point that Abraham was a well heeled dude.  You can look it up.  This guy wasn't worried where his next air conditioned camel payment was coming from.  Abraham is not the only one of God's helpers who had a shekel or two to his name.  It is striking how often we are shown in the Bible that rich people are the instruments of God's work.  
Even Jesus picked people who were comfortable enough in life to be able to spare the time to help Him achieve His objective.  True, the apostles left everything, but I'm convinced that their wives and other relatives took care of the patrimony while they were walking all over Galilee with the Master.  After all, these people were fishermen.  They were far from hurting.  As Peter said, "We have left everything."  Right on.  You left it, but it continued in the hands of the extended family.  I'd bet on it.
So,what's the secret?  I'll tell you.  Two things:  Relationships first, plus, You can't take it with you.
Consider first what it took for the true followers of God to be considered righteous in His sight.  They had to leave their country (birthplace, most times), their kindred and their father's house.  They had to replace this with a sincere and loving intimate relationship with God.  Abraham is the first true example of this.  Through the ages there are many examples of exactly the same kind of heroic behavior in the name of God and for the sake of His Will.  The Judges did it; the Kings; the Prophets; the Apostles and the Post-Resurrection disciples of Jesus.  Some of them did it despite a rather high degree of economic comfort.  Jesus, it is true, left a lot behind.  Joseph was a craftsman.  He could support a family.  There do not seem to be any truly rich people in the Gospel Entourage, but there does not seem to be any real poverty either.  What there is, is a complete detachment from economic comfort and a total dedication to making life spiritually more comfortable for the members of the community.  When the emissaries of John ask Jesus, "Are you the One who is to come or should we await another?"  We hear Jesus say, "Go tell him who sent you that the deaf hear, the blind see and the lame walk."  
Yep, they were comfortable economically, but they were nervous about the well-being of their peers. Not so much for their own.  They left their comfort behind knowing full well that it was gone for the rest of their life.   So now we know what is expected of us.  Use the little cushion of comfort that God gives us to make our brothers and sisters in the communion of saints at least as comfortable as we are.  It starts with the recognition that we have to leave those three bold things behind to live in God's Country, with God as our Father, in God Our Father's house.
Tomorrow, some real life examples.

NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE TELLS YOU, HERE'S WHAT JESUS SAYS

Lately, I have had a lot of discussion about marriage and the Catholic "intransigence" regarding the eternal bond of the sacrament of Matrimony.  As it turns out, the "intransigence" is not as tough as Jesus would have it.  I invite you to the following study, shortened in order that you may stay awake all the way through.
Let me start by quoting two key passages from Matthew's Gospel.
Matthew 5:31-32
31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.' 32  But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Matthew 19:3 -11
4 Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" 5  He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6  So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate."  7  They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?"  8   He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9 I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery."  10 [His] disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
11 He answered, "Not all can accept [this] word, but only those to whom that is granted."

I begin this note to you by reminding you:
Never read the Bible verse by verse

When it comes to marriage, Jesus never contradicts himself, not even in Matthew.  Jesus repeatedly says that marriage is indissoluble.  It is forever and He reminds the Pharisees of the creation of woman in Genesis.
Since you are stuck on Matt. 19;9, read the whole thing and see that Jesus says "...marries another commits adultery."  He doesn't ever give the man the freedom to remarry, ever.  He gives him the right to "put his wife away" ["dismiss her"] but never gives the man the right to take another.  Never.
That is why if you continue reading and have the strength and courage to go all the way to Matt. 19;10 you hear the very disciples of Jesus make the comment, " "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  Gird your loins now, and go all the way to verse 11: ""Not all can accept [this] word, but only those to whom that is granted."
In other words, "many are called, but few are chosen." (Matt. 22;14)  Also, "Jesus then said to the Twelve, 'Do you also want to leave?'" (John 6;67)
In short, the "story" of Matthew 19 is that marriage can never be dissolved. The bed can be divided but the bond can never be broken.
That is the teaching of the Gospel.  That is the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Now this will take away any doubt that you have had about not crying at my funeral.

DYNAMIC, SPIRITUAL MEMORY, A SOURCE OF STRENGTH

Something happened today that is so human that it can only come from G0d.  For a long time now, the Voice from my Kitchen and I have been following Keith Olbermann, commentator featured on MSNBC.  For a long time now we have lived alongside him, through the protracted illness and eventual death of his father to the time when he announced his departure from the commentator's chair that he had held for eight years.  He did announce also that unlike some of the experiences that he had in the past when he had about thirty seconds to pack up and leave, this time he had been granted the time to bid the audience good-bye in proper form.
Since the death of his father, on every Friday, Keith had been reading, on air, short stories taken from James Thurber.  He would read a story at the end of the program just as he had done for his father through the last days of his agony.  The day of his departure from MSNBC was a Friday, so he announced that as part of his adieu, he would indeed read a final time from James Thurber.  He read  the story about the "Dog Who Knew Too Much."  Actually, a story that I am sure he chose because of the parable nature of it as applied to Keith's own personal situation.
That is but the introduction to the point of this reflection.  


The Voice from my Kitchen remembered the last times of her mother and compared what Keith had done with and for his father and she suffered a wave of guilt for not having been more present to her mother at a similar time.  She told me that she remembers her mother every single day.  She said that she doesn't feel well about the fact that she did not do enough for the suffering lady, just as Keith had done for his father.  I have tried to console her on a number of occasions, but I can see that my offerings have not hit the mark.
My experiences with death of parents and other "nexts" of kin is quite different. Except for one of my sisters, no one has had any need of my services.  Not one of them was around for more than a few seconds between life and death.  That doesn't leave much time to develop a lot of guilt.  But it does offer equal opportunity to experience and cultivate memories.  I have two favorites:  my maternal grandfather and my father.  I have lived my life experiencing daily mental and emotional encounters with these two people.  50 years for the one and 63 or so years for the other.   It's like yesterday, and I wouldn't give it up.  Now, believe it or not I actually had an inspiration about that tonight when after our night prayer, Voice from my Kitchen expressed  her sense of guilt again.  Without thinking I said, "Guilt is perhaps not the proper disposition to have about your mother's presence in your memory.  Your mother's presence to you is not meant to weaken you through guilt, but to strengthen you through memorialization.   It is like the mission of Jesus to His disciples to 'do this in memory of me.'  it is the strength that we get from God who keeps Himself in our minds and hearts every moment of every day.  The presence of your mother is God's message to you through her that the Grace of doing His Will is constantly with you.  Think about it."
I might be all wet, but its not from tears spilled at funerals.  My memories of my forebears, all of them, some great, some not so great, are God's light shining in my soul.  I have my weaknesses and my downright nasty side, close to the surface.  That's not God's fault and it's not from my forebears not having tried to make me right in every way.  I know, and He knows, and I believe that they know that they still have a lot of work to do on this particular clay pot.  Why else would I still be here?  He keeps trying to get me ready for the walk in the garden.  Why else would He give me the grace of His constant presence through these dearest of the dear God fearers in my life?  
I didn't say all of this to her.  I'll send her the link to this and let her turn it over in her own mind and heart.  Bottom line, this is a story about what we Catholics call the Communion of Saints.  It is the greatest assurance that we have that once life is given, it is never taken away.  God gives us the grace of memory to strengthen us along the earthly portion of the way.  Let us not weaken that great gift by burying ourselves in unrelenting guilt.


All of the above is just one more reason why I don't want to catch you crying at my funeral.  If I do, I won't let you remember me.