Due to lack of interest, I have decided to discontinue this blog series.  It was a good excursion! Blessed sailing on the Isle of View.  The Skipper

The Isle of View- Living in a Home

Isle of View- Living Safely at Home

 

It’s more difficult to prepare reflection on this blog than it is to prepare a homily. I’m not sure if it’s  because I am more used to preaching than I am writing. I believe another factor is that in writing this blog I have to start from scratch. In preparing a homily I am given the readings from Scripture from which to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. I do pray before I write this blog. Then I stare at the blank Word document page. I ask myself why I am doing this and what do I write. I know I started this series of Isle of View because I had slowed down tremendously after my surgery in December. I had time and ideas to work from in writing this blog. Now I am back in the frenzy of church ministry. And I find I have little time and fewer ideas.

However, I know God speaks to us through our everyday experiences just as much as he speaks to us to the Scriptures. In listening to what is happening in the world today, I’m struck, again, by the violence in the world. And the violence that seems most prominent in my consciousness right now is the violence that is called domestic.(“Domestic” comes from the word which means home. To me, home is a place where one can feel safe.) I am not sure why it’s called domestic other than that it happens usually within a house between people who usually live in that house. I just can’t imagine what it would be like to live in the place and never feel safe, respected, and loved.

There is much discussion about the causes of this kind of violence. Most would agree that there is an issue of power within a sense of insecurity that is manifest in this use of violence. This wanting power over someone comes from a lack of personal identity and self-empowerment. Because this violence is more often expressed in men, there is some discussion about what is devoid in the development of these men. I have heard and personally agree with the idea that men need to be affirmed as they grow through adolescence into adulthood. This affirmation needs to be expressed in some ritual/initiation that helps a male know and believe that he, indeed, is developing into mature man. Father Richard Rohr speaks to a father- wound where there is lack of other men guiding, affirming, and validating the male’s development, dignity, and identity.

The other side of this domestic violence is the victim’s world. This world, as with the perpetrator’s world, probably started out, in their childhood, by learning from and watching adults behave in violent manners. The lessons that were learned in being exposed to this violence, was that it’s okay to treat one another this way and that the victim deserves to be treated with less respect than what human dignity demands. Oftentimes, the victims believe that in some way they’re helping and even expressing love for the perpetrators by allowing themselves to be beaten and abused. There can be a belief that the victim can actually help and change the perpetrator from this violent behavior. The victim can gain a sense of being needed by the perpetrator in the dynamic of being abused and then being asked by the perpetrator to be the forgiver. There can be a sense of importance gained by dispensing mercy and forgiveness. However, this is a very unhealthy and destructive way to gain personal dignity, sense of well-being.

Obviously, dealing with this type of violence needs to be addressed in the development of children. Men and women need to teach their children how to treat each other with dignity and respect. Conflict will always be a part of life. We also need to teach children how to manage, confront, and even utilize conflict to work out our everyday living together. Disagreement is the arena for these personal voids of human development to be expressed. However, disagreement need not, nor should it ever be, the cause or the reason for violence to be displayed. The daily manifestations of violence and killing within home situations, only point to the urgent and drastic need for adults to support, train, and encourage children to manage conflict and even use conflict to get in touch with the significance of personal values in the engagement of love with other human beings. Conflict can and should help us to understand ourselves and challenge our commitment to love one another. Conflict management should be a part of elementary education. I believe this would even help to deal with the bullying that is happening in school these days. Parents, please assure that this is being taught not only in your own home but at school. I hope and pray that we are adequately dealing with this within our parish setting. Indeed, domestic violence has risen to a level that demands that all of us address this not only in encouraging those who are engaged in this violence to withdraw from that environment, but also to positively teach our children so that this terrible, destructive and disrespectful way of relating to each other does not continue to be repeated.

In the Isle of View, I believe there can be and will be a change in how people experience life in their own house. I pray that those feel threatened and insecure in these houses may someday be able to be loved, appreciated, and safe in what is typically called, a home.

The Skipper

Vacation: Contemplation on the Isle of View

‘tis the season for upcoming vacations. The weather instills a yearning for easier and more leisure living. Warm weather seems to entice us to engage in activities that are less laborious and more personally refreshing.

What are vacations for? I know when I was in school, it was a time to get caught up. Most of my vacations were spent writing term papers. Without vacations, I don’t think it would have passed many courses. Even now, I’m afraid to leave the routine of daily living for fear of coming back to a pile of papers and a computer full of emails.

No matter who we are, everyone knows the vacations are to refresh us, spiritually and physically and emotionally. We spend our vacations in such a variety of ways it’s hard to enumerate them all. Some travel;  some work on their second homes, the so-called cabins; some do leisure reading; some develop a different skin color; some totally immersed themselves in hobbies like: gardening, sailing, painting, biking, blacksmithing, wood carving, and candle making; some spend time with their families; some dedicate their vacations in doing nothing. Maybe you are one of those who do a combination of a few of these things.

Whatever you end up doing during the summer months, I pray that you have, that is, make time for quiet and contemplative reflection on God’s presence and generosity. For many of us, it is difficult to sit still for very long. It takes practice, discipline and appreciation of the value of just sitting. Some would say that this is doing absolutely nothing. The art of being present to presence is not valued in this culture. How many of you have taken advantage of the opportunity that the Saturday morning centering prayer affords us in the parish? Centering prayer is truly a good way to develop another aspect of what it means to be on vacation. If vacation means freedom from duty or measure of productivity, then centering prayer can do much to teach us how to let go of agendas, performance, and accomplishments. Centering prayer is allowing God to do the work. In this prayer, we simply are. It feels, at times, like a spiritual vacation.

May the upcoming vacations be safe, fulfilling, refreshing, and most of all gratifying in the simple fact of being. If anything is accomplished or happens at all in your vacation this summer, may you allow God to touch you in a way that you know you are blessed, you are loved, and you are empowered by His Spirit to make an eternal difference in this world.

This week, I’ve decided to append an article to this blog. It is timely and it explains the feast of St. Dymphna which is on May 15. She is the patron saint of those who suffer from mental illness. I believe strongly in the power of prayer to heal us. I strongly believe that we need help in praying about our illnesses. This is why I have decided to include this article which was given to me by one of our parishioners, Carol Couchot.

The Centering Skipper

A Healing Prayer-- by Carol Couchot

 

The topic of abuse always hits home to me, as my mother was very abused all her life, mentally, physically and sexually by both her father and mother. Feeling rejected and unloved, my mother committed suicide at the age of 50, when she felt life was no longer worth living.

My daughter, Elizabeth, has her MSW degree and lives in Gillette, WY. She has recently started the Mary Jane Brining Project (named after my mother) with a goal to eliminate the Stigma of Mental Illness and promote better care and concern for those affected by abuse.

 Being Catholic, we turn to Patron Saints, asking for their intercessory prayers for various needs. We recently learned about Saint Dymphna, patron of mental illness. Dymphna vowed a life of chastity to God. She was martyred (beheaded) by her father at the age of 15 because she rejected his sexual advances. Saint Dymphna was canonized a saint on May 15, 620 – 640 AD. I began just praying for her intercession of prayer, then was called to make the chaplets and bracelets, which you have been blessing for me. From some of the testimonies, it is evident God has graciously blessed St Dymphna and hears her prayers for those afflicted with mental oppressions.

As I dug deeper into Saint Dymphna’s history, I learned that there is a National Shrine dedicated to her in Massillon, OH which is only about 3 hours away from my home town of Piqua, OH,where my family lived. It is ironic that we lived that close and that my mother was buried on May 15, which is the same day Saint Dymphna died and now dedicated to her feast day. I only wish I had known about Saint Dymphna years ago. Maybe her prayers of intercessions would have made a powerful difference my mother’s life, breaking the chain of abuse for her, and our family as well.

The Mary Jane Brining Project, a foundation to help eliminate the Stigma of Mental Illness and promote care and concern for those suffering from mental abuse.

My daughter, Elizabeth, has always had a way of helping people with a problem, even as a young girl. As she got older, the problems became harder and she realized she would need education to appropriately help people overcome their issues and be able to move ahead in society. She went to college and then on to earn her MSW degree in social work in 2006. 

Liz, never knew her grandmother (my mother), who this project is named after, because she died before Liz was born. As Liz became an adult, the questions about how her grandmother lived and died brought answers she did not like. She knew that people with mental disorders do not get the concern and care they need or deserve. With this in mind the Mary Jane Brining Project became her goal.

We read and hear about unnecessary tragedies every day, many of which have to do with someone’s mentality. In the aftermath of the recent school shootings and other devastating incidences with tragic endings, Liz finally organized the Mary Jane Brining Project to promote care and prevention for people with mental illness. Liz worked with the Campbell County Community Resource Coalition in Gillette, WY, through which the project received its 501© status. She also established a pilot intervention program to help women better access mental health resources through working with primary care physicians to promote better treatment and care. Her next step include plans to become part of the Substance Abuse Advisory Council.

Needless to say, I am very proud of my daughter and support the project she has founded for the protection and care for the mentally disabled. Please read her letter below and visit her Facebook or BlogSpot to read the stories and testimonies and how it is possible to help people with mental illness to reclaim their lives.

Elizabeth’s mother,

Carol Couchot 

 

Mary Jane Brining Project

http://www.facebook.com/#!/maryjanebriningproject

http://maryjanebriningproject.blogspot.com

Thank you,

Mary Jane Brining Project

Elizabeth Pierson, LCSW

 

VISION OF PEACE ON THE ISLE

PEACE ON THE ISLE OF VIEW
Yesterday, we “celebrated” the 38^th anniversary of the ending of the Vietnam war. We remember, not because we want to relive the atrocities and the chaos of that era, but because we never want to relive that horror again. Remembering helps us to know how terrible war is. Most would say that nobody was a winner in that war.  Almost as many would say there is no winner in any war.

What is the purpose of war? Those who lived and remember World War II know the saying, “the war to end all wars”. Seeing what happened after that war, negates the validity of that statement. I have heard that World War II turned our economy around. I wonder about the simplicity of that statement. It’s difficult if not impossible, to measure the efficacy of any war, especially out of context of so many other global dynamics.

Building on last week’s posting of the Isle of View, violence and war have no place. In these last two weeks of Easter Season, Jesus is saying goodbye to his disciples. He does this by saying, “I give you peace not as the world gives you peace. Peace I give to you. Peace I leave with you.” My guess is that Jesus is referring to how the world tries, over and over again,  to establish peace through violence. The irony of trying to force peace through intimidation, manipulation, and elimination, has always struck me as true sand on which to try to build any foundation. When will humanity learn how to manage itself?

The peace of Jesus Christ is built on love and selfless service for ALL brothers and sisters, ALL neighbors, ALL nations, ALL human beings. To be selfless and to serve is a posture and a perspective that’s seems so vulnerable and noninfluential. It definitely smacks in the face of our culture as helpless, weak, and spineless. The peace on the Isle of View is only able to be established by fully respecting each one’s dignity and God’s willing justice for all. This justice seeks equity, equality and the common good, all at the same time. We struggle in how to balance individual rights alongside the common good. This is the arena in which the lawyer works. Mostly, we spend our time discerning which individual right has more weight over the other individual’s right. Most often this discussion never deals with the common good’s right. Actually, that phrase never is heard in discussion over rights. The love of the Isle of View always takes into consideration the individual and the common good. Jesus loves us so personally and takes in consideration the good of all. Indeed, as Pope Paul VI said, there can be no peace on this earth without establishing justice. Each and all have to be taken into equal consideration.

Peace can only come from a genuine love for everyone. Self-concern has to give way to the love of the other. If I am more important than anyone else, there will never be peace on this earth. Life on the Isle of View necessarily involves education, reflection, and practice of nonviolence and selfless service. Peace does not come simply from wishing it. It takes discipline, conscious and deliberate decision making, and constant examination and accountability of how we are carrying out principles of justice living.

At St. Joseph the Worker, there is presently a reflection process available precisely for this purpose. It starts on May 28 from 9: 30 – 11:30 a.m.  The group will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month. I strongly believe this process should be ongoing within the Isle of View. Without it, how would there be peace?     The seeking peace Skipper.

The Isle of View of Half-Mast Situations

On the Isle of View, the flags fly half-mast every day. I wonder why, who, or what determines when the flags at Perkins, the banks, or the post office aren't fully raised. I often think that the media have to proclaim that it's a "national tragedy" or name the event a serious attack on our patriotic dignity, for the banner not to reach its tallest destiny.

Reality on the Isle of View is fully known. This perspective affords us the courage, the inner strength, and the hope to honestly proclaim that the violence of everyday life does not permit us to act out of denial or arrogance in displaying the colors in full view. The fact that there is violence every day stops us from acting as if the crisis is over and we can go about our normal lives. The Isle of View clearly recognizes how fractured, disconnected, and isolated the world is.

As a person of faith, one may ask how I can speak so negatively. Is it negative or real? To honestly face everything that happens in our everyday life is exactly what faith helps us do. The authentic life of faith helps us to admit the scope and severity of the desperation that is so pervasive and prevalent. This admission comes from a willingness to enter all of life - the difficult, the sad, the hatred, the love, the glory, and the beauty of living in solidarity with all of life. Attention is given to all the struggles and all the joys that affect all of God's creatures.  This attention is not manipulated or directed by what the media chooses to cover or ignore. 

From this island perspective, we can freely yet disturbingly make the admission that there is no clear diagnosis nor prescription for what ails the world with so many earthshaking manifestations of violence in total disregard for any form of life. I, for one, have no clue as to what is going on. If I did, I would package the cure, market it and sell it to the highest bidder; or just plain heal the whole world of all division, misunderstanding, hatred, and wounds which leave the ever-festering infections of resentment. After all, what do I really know about the causes and cures of the world's problems?
I have the suspicion however, that even knowing the causes would not in fact, eliminate them.

The View from the Isle tells us to love our enemies. Following the example of and acting on the power of our Lord Jesus, we can and ought to care about the unlovable in a way that expresses a dignity and value not rooted in anything that has been done or has failed to be realized, but from the fact that all creatures belong to God. In this way, people of faith seek ways to avoid the repeating cycle of isolation, alienation, and disconnection.

 Our faith, which places us on the Isle of View, tells us that what we know doesn't necessarily get us to where we need to go, but Who we know does. As the Good Shepherd said this past weekend, "My sheep recognize My voice. I know My sheep and My sheep know me.” The Isle of View offers a perspective only obtained through the personal knowledge of Who the Shepherd is. We enter into this knowledge when we choose to enter, with a greater trust than what any evidence would warrant, a transforming and challenging relationship with this Good Shepherd. The Shepherd not only protects us but leads us to be in that same kind of transforming relationship with others – especially with those who are difficult to love. This is why I strongly believe the Boston bombers throughout the world and in our own neighborhood are the invitation for us to prove to ourselves, if to no one else, where it is that "we live, and move and have our being.”  Do we live on the Isle of View which forces us to listen in such a way that would recognize the Voice of the Shepherd from someone who we would rather not hear? Does this desperate voice scare us because their methods and means are offensive and destructive? What did Jesus do on the Isle of View? Yes, He taught his own disciples a non-tolerant attitude towards violence. And He engaged with those who used violence. He could've run away from those who used violence to eliminate Him.  He chose to answer those who accused and condemned Him. His answers aimed, not at satisfying the goals of violence, but rather took advantage of the opportunity that the questions of the violent provided. His answer revealed who He is. Yes, the King of the Jews; but a Shepherd-King showing mercy and compassion to those who are unlovable. The path to the heart of this Shepherd-King is through his wounds. Suffering can open our ears of faith to hear His Voice.

Why is our suffering only given permission to be acknowledged when the media says it is okay? Why is it that with only certain tragedies we choose to unfurl fully the Stars & Stripes?  Our hearts are broken by so much violence and hatred which only seems to beget more hatred and violence.   However from the Isle of View, our hearts are broken not to become bitter and to perpetuate more of the same, but they are broken to be open to everyone who hurts and longs to hear the healing, compassionate Voice of the One who beckons us to trust even more because of the sickening, half-mast violence.

 How do we up the ante of our trust when, it seems, the more we trust, the more we are beaten down with violence? The view from the island tells us that it's only through sacred conversation where listening leads to knowledge of the Other. Jesus did not stop talking to the violent simply because He was against violence. He spoke to them through His nonviolence. He spoke to them with mercy and compassionate forgiveness, pleading to His Father “forgive them they know not what they do.” How else can one express love for the enemy? Even when the violent do not want to be loved, the people on the Isle of View choose to continue to love. This Love becomes more significant when the flags are flying at half-mast.     the salvaged skipper

 

Driving in The Isle of View

 Crazy drivers! Am I One of Them?

Last month, I took a defensive driving course for those 55 and over. Defensive driving, when one looks at it through the isle of view, is a lot like the spiritual life. The instructor opened the class by asking what questions we “students” brought to the course. One question dealt with the sign that says “25 miles an hour when children are present.” Does this mean only when children are out on the sidewalks, or does it mean any time during the school day when children on the campus? Another dealt with what one is supposed to do when somebody tailgates or cuts in front of you and how one is supposed to deal with inattentive driving.

The next four hours actually had to do with living everyday life in a spiritual way or as we used to say, with soul. Reflecting on the questions asked at the beginning of the course, I realized most of them had to do with either doing the minimum --what the law requires, or trying to change other driver’s behavior. The instructor was more spiritual than he probably realized. He dealt with our need to control others and trying to change their driving patterns. He deflected our concern about the other driver by encouraging us to reflect on our own patterns and behaviors. One of his first principles was to prepare ourselves before we get into the car. We need to be focused, removing all distractions. One suggestion was that we use the cell phone before we begin driving. He pointed out this requires planning and allowing time for preparation before actually driving. I liken this exercise to prayer. Prayer is our preparation for interaction with others in our daily life, so we can focus on what we are doing and why. It helps us to execute our daily tasks and interactions calmly and intentionally, being attentive to what’s happening as it unfolds. In this way, prayer predisposes us to be able to react in an appropriate manner.

 It takes discipline not to allow another driver’s behavior to affect our own. Our behavior always and everywhere needs to take into consideration the safety of all. If someone were to cut in front of us, shortening the braking distance between our cars, we should slow down to increase the distance between us. Everyone in the class said the natural reaction would be speeding up to shorten the distance between the cars, showing the other driver we didn’t appreciate the rude and disrespectful behavior. This kind of reaction would not only endanger ourselves and the car ahead of us, but the cars behind us as well. We need to assure that there will be a braking distance of at least three seconds, enough to stop without rear ending the car ahead of us and to maintain control of our car. This reminds me of situations where we need to buffer the friction between ourselves and others with mercy and forgiveness. Not engaging in the same behavior requires the discipline that comes from a life on the isle of view. Indeed, self-discipline and self-control are very much a part of a healthy spiritual life. He was indirectly saying: the best way to affect and influence others’ behaviors is by setting an example.

 This wise teacher spoke of developing a perspective that would help us drive more defensively, developing a spirit of cooperation by acknowledging that we’re all doing the same thing-- trying to get from one place to another. Through this spirit of helping one another, our travel will be safer, more pleasant, and even less time-consuming. He had numerous examples and statistics of how wasteful and

inefficient speeding and ambitious driving really is. Trying to get ahead of someone else doesn’t accomplish as much as one would think. The so-called time gained is actually insignificant and destroys a sense of teamwork among all drivers on the road. The idea of right-of-way doesn’t exist. Our task, our goal is to always and everywhere seek to find where we should be yielding. The connection to the spiritual life here is obvious. The Scripture from Romans chapter 12 which speaks of considering all others as more important than ourselves comes to mind.

 This “spiritual conductor” gave the example of a four-way stop at an intersection. He suggested if we see a car coming up to a stop sign at about the same time we are, we should slow down to assure that the other car comes to full stop before we do. In this way, there is no question as to which car should proceed before the other one. The other driver wouldn’t even realize what we had just done by allowing him to proceed first. How courteous is this? Talk about self-effacing service!

 Our instructor suggested a way we can arrive at our destination ahead of time and without speeding. To do this the only thing one would have to do is to leave earlier. This speaks to commitment, admitting limits, lowering expectations, and self-discipline. At times we think we can do more than what is physically possible. We think we are the only ones or at least the most important ones on the road. When we have so many things to do and believe that we can actually do them, everything and everyone that would slow us down are obstacles. Our behavior indicates we want to get rid of them or at least get ahead of them. There is a perspective is one of arrogance or self-aggrandizement. To make adjustments in our own lives, admitting humbly that our lives will be and need to be affected by our interaction with others will help us get a true sense of who we are on the isle of view.

This defensive driving course taught me something that I already knew, but my consciousness had forgotten: how we travel is as important as arriving at our destination. In fact, how we travel will determine if we arrive at our destination. On the isle of view, our travel could be our destination.

Safely driving Skipper.

the charismatic priest?

Isle of view – – The Easter Spirit.

Last weekend of a lady came up to me after mass and asked me if I was a charismatic priest. I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Unfortunately, I think I knew what she meant.   I really didn’t like the implication. I think she meant that I was open to the scriptural gifts of the Holy Spirit. For example, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues and gifts of knowledge are often trademarks of a “charismatic” person. I resisted answering the question because I knew the cost of putting a label on anyone. A label stereotypes and minimizes the mystery in the beauty of any person.

The woman, I believe, was asking that question because I was talking about Jesus breathing His Holy Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost.  Last Sunday’s gospel reading was about Jesus appearing to the apostles in a room with locked doors. In the book of acts this event changed the apostles’ lives from living in fear (locked doors) to shouting from the rooftops that Jesus Christ is Risen. One of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit’s touch in our lives is that we are freed from the paralysis of fear.

Ironically, I believe this woman’s need to label what kind a priest I was, could indicate a need to put others behind locked doors. Yes, I would agree that being open to the scriptural gifts of the Holy Spirit is of great value and truly can be a pathway to acknowledge the beauty and wonder of our God. However, there are so many other ways to do this also. To talk about the role the Holy Spirit in our lives, is to acknowledge how God touches our lives in a way that we can experience and express the beauty of God. Last week, I preached on how Thomas doubted that the apostles had seen the Risen Lord because their receiving the Holy Spirit did not transform their lives in a way that freed them from fear.  After the event of Jesus breathing His Spirit on them, they still locked the doors.

If we truly receive the Holy Spirit, that is, if we are charismatic, the Holy Spirit moves us from fear to confidence and boldness. Let me expound on the example I gave last weekend during the homily.  A cheap violin was being auctioned for a few dollars. An old man from the back of the crowd interrupted the bidding by approaching the auctioneer and taking the violin. He tightened the strings, took the bow and made the violin sing like angels. People were amazed at the sound that came from that old violin. When the old man was finished, he gave it back to the auctioneer. The auctioneer began the bidding in the thousands of dollars. It sold for thousands more than what the original estimated value indicated.(this example is taken from Matthew Kelly’s Rediscovering Catholicism.)

This is what the Holy Spirit does. She awakens in us a sense of our value.  We believe in what God has made us worth.  Through our actions and attitude, we can sing like angels. The beauty of God is expressed and experienced in a way beyond our imagining. To live a life in the Holy Spirit is to express gifts and a willingness to involve ourselves in other’s lives where those gifts are best utilized to the benefit of others and to the glory of God. In trying to understand what this woman asked me, I asked her what she meant by the word, “charismatic”.  She said it is someone who speaks about the Holy Spirit all the time. I said yes. To the extent that we stress God’s transforming love in our lives, we are talking about the Holy Spirit. To talk about the true God is to talk about the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. I told her I try to talk about this God all the time.

Two days ago, over 70 parishioners were confirmed by Bishop Piche at the Basilica. Afterward, I asked a number of them what they were going to do now. Some said: “I’m going to go sit down.” Others: “I’m going to be more involved in the church”. I know they were put on the spot when I asked the question. Before the ceremony, Bishop PIché also asked four candidates what exactly was going to happen to them that night. In the week before, he also read 60 letters that were sent to him by the confirmation candidates from our parish. In his homily, he was able to refer to the letters but also to the answers that the candidates had in his interviews with them.  These kinds of questions make all of us think. What difference can and does the Holy Spirit make in our lives? On the night of the confirmation at the Basilica, Spirit was very much present. She was seen and experienced by a certain excitement, enthusiasm, and an admiration of who we are not only as a parish but as God’s beloved children. People acknowledged that sense or can I say, acknowledged the beauty of God in our midst. There was a certain awareness of Goodness among us. The evening of confirmation truly was an uplifting, inspiring and confidence-building experience. It was as if the artist-God touched the old violin of many hearts only to express the beauty of the Artist that night. I could hear the angels sing and I believe others could hear the same. I guess this was what it means to be charismatic.

The Spirited Skipper

AN EASTER HALLELUIA!

ISLE OF VIEW--- EASTER  HALLELUJAH!  LET US SING!

 

Thank God, Easter is not just one day but a season. We have the next seven weeks to absorb the reality of what just happened this past week. Easter includes not just the conclusion of Holy Week, but all the realities that led up to that glorious moment of Jesus’s resurrection. I’m sure, as many as you who were at the services this past week can attest, the magnificence and the awe that I experienced in the liturgies of sacred Triduum only superficially touches on what is really going on during Holy Week.

On Holy Thursday, I was really inspired by how many people came to have their feet washed and to wash other’s feet. Not only the quantity touched me, but also how people, of all ages, lovingly and gently cared for the other in the way they washed the feet. In years previous, water was simply poured over the feet and then dried off. This year, there was touching and massaging and gazing lovingly into the eyes of the other. I’m amazed by the expression of God’s love found within this ritual and so many other liturgies we have at St. Joseph the Worker. The gesture of washing feet is, indeed, an intimate act that speaks to vulnerability and interconnection among us. In this way, the Eucharist, which takes front stage at the Holy Thursday liturgy, is signified and experienced through this selfless and humble action of service for the other. Truly, I could see the Body of Christ manifest in the care and concern one member has for the other.  Every year, my experience of Holy Thursday becomes richer and more meaningful.

On Good Friday, the focal action is the Veneration of the Cross. Every year my personal experience is enriched by the community participation and by my own personal involvement in the carrying of the cross. Through the respect and the reflection we put on the cross, I could feel the weight of not only our sins but of the sufferings of the world. With the tenderness that was manifest toward the cross, I could recall in the present so much suffering in the world. I was given an awareness and a sensitivity to so many situations that have been brought to me throughout this past year. As I thought of Jesus on the cross and the gruesome suffering He endured, I was able to pray for and imagine those who have cancer, those who have lost their job, those were going through divorce, those who have been abused in their homes, those who know someone who suffers from mental illness, those who struggle with addictions, those who don’t have enough food to give his other children, those who do not have enough money to pay for gas to get to a medical clinic and those who have lost a loved one in death. It is as if those situations became present again. The weight of the cross became unbearable. I am not sure, I can only guess that the reason so many others had tears in their eyes was because they were immersed into this same heavy consciousness. Our suffering is Christ’s and Christ’s suffering is ours.
The Easter vigil touched on so many themes and so many levels of life. I identified with those who are coming into full communion in the Catholic Church. I felt their excitement, enthusiasm and their passion. New Catholics are good for my soul. They give me new perspective. They challenge me to grow even more deeply into the appreciation of the riches of the Catholic Church. I loved watching Father Mike get into the water with these new Christians. Sometimes I wish our font was deeper to symbolize the depth of this kind of commitment and New Life. For me, the seemingly holiest moment in the vigil was the singing of the Exsultet. The quiet waiting of a dark night is interrupted by the crystal-clear light cast from the bright flame of the tall and bold Easter candle. I am powerfully reminded of the darkness and calm of Christmas Eve. (This might be why I say Merry Christmas at Easter). That is the way that Christ-life affects all of life! The little spark of Christ’s divinity affects all of humanity in bringing hope and joy. The seven readings that were beautifully told in dramatic fashion, made me vividly aware that the salvation of the world began with its creation. In the telling of this salvation story, I was brought into a perspective that I am simply part of a much larger picture and a longer story than what my life adds up to be. I was humbled and yet lifted up at the same time.

With the beginning of the Easter vigil and blessing of the fire, I could see how we, with all Catholics around the world, were beginning a night of vigilance and anticipation. That night came to full conclusion in the celebration of our sunrise, Easter morning Mass. I felt the excitement of a little child in rising before the sunrise. I was excited to see what was going to happen. The sense of new discovery, much like that of finding an Easter egg for a child, helped me to see again how New Life through the Resurrection is constantly being revealed like the dawn of a new day. I loved the solemnity and the calm of the evening. I was inspired and uplifted by the excitement and discovery of Easter morning.

Apart from all that is mentioned above, I was totally absorbed into the joy and the love that surrounded me by the thousands of people that came to acknowledge, in some way or fashion, that Christ’s life makes a difference in their life. With each encounter of so many persons, I felt an exchange of love and of something of ourselves. Needless to say, at the end of all of this I was very tired. As I like to say, “I am good and tired and I am tired and good”.  With all of it being very, very good, I have to say, HALLELUJAH!   Singing Skipper

Aground on the Isle of View?

The timing of this writing sets the framework for its topic – Holy Week. The older I become the more meaningful this week is. Many say, “Father, this week must be so busy for you.” Thanks to all who come forward to take part in the Triduum celebrations, my work is less frenetic. The meetings and the appointments actually become less and I am able to focus on the realities that are dramatized this week. For me, I am blessed to truly call this “a holy week.”

Part of the week takes on the feeling that life has run amok. Once, when I was sailing down the St. Croix River from Hudson, Wisconsin to Lake Pepin, the keel of the sailboat got buried in about six feet of mud. It felt like I was too far into it to turn around, and the more the boat moved ahead, the more difficult it was to move at all. Running aground leaves one feeling that there is actually no way out. I’m reminded of the phrase that Hardy said to Laurel: “Another fine mess you’ve got me into.”

There are so many events we immerse ourselves into this week to express this reality: the agony in the Garden, the betrayal of Judas at the Last Supper and in the garden, the betrayal of Peter in the Sanhedrin, the entire Way of the Cross, the fickleness of the crowds and Jesus’ own disciples, the outcry of Jesus on the cross, and the darkness and seeming finality of Jesus’ death. There so many experiences in our lives where we feel we have run aground and there is no way out: marriage problems, alcohol, sex, and gambling addictions, violence in relationships, depression, cancer, foreclosure, unemployment, and old age. All these can make our life situation feel as if there’s no way out. It’s enough to cause such anxiety as to make us actually sweat blood.

We can run aground, but if we discover that it is on the Isle of View upon which we are beached, we can actually use this grounding to push off or to use as leverage. At the beginning of the Easter Vigil, with all emphasis and eyes on the Paschal candle, the Exsultet is sung. With only the light of the candle illuminating the church, this hymn of praise speaks to how “no way out” becomes “the only way out.”

On the Isle of View, one can rejoice in Adam’s sin. Humanity’s choice to be suspicious of God’s intentions with a deep lack of trust introduced a breach in the relationship between the Divine and the Human. This breach created a longing, a wandering, a disorientation that would led us to run amok. Indeed, the Exsultet rejoices in the “necessary sin” of Adam, “the happy fault which caused such a Savior to be born.” This rejoicing can only take place when we realize we’re aground on the Isle of View. When we understand this, our problems become opportunities, our weakness becomes strength, our brokenness becomes wholeness, our sin becomes an opportunity for God’s mercy, and our sickness becomes God’s opportunity to manifest healing and compassion. Our being lost becomes a chance to trust in God’s way.

When there’s free sailing, one could easily believe and live as if there is no need for God. Indeed, running amok increases the awareness of our dependency on God. “Not my will but yours be done” is letting go of control when, in reality, we never really had it to begin with. On the Isle of View we are really grounded when we run aground.

I pray that this Holy Week be a time where the suffering of Christ is seen as our suffering and our suffering is seen as Christ’s. We venerate the cross. We rejoice in God’s grace as we see ourselves on that cross. The cross is our grounding.

May peace surface in the midst of the muck. May joy sustain, that we may sing with all our heart, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in: the great HALLELUIA!

Happy Easter! Skipper of the Soil.(muck)

Isle of View – The Need for Focus.


Sometimes I wonder what comes first: the view or the focus? Obviously we have a view. To know what’s in the view we have to focus on the particulars. But the view gives us the context.
I started the series of reflections on the Isle of View because I had time for reflection. Most of January was spent in physical therapy, prayer and thinking. After my surgery, there seemed to be a certain clarity of thought and understanding of purpose that I never had before. One might say it was the effect of the anesthesia wearing off. But this awareness lasted much longer than the few days effect of anesthesia. This "extra" time that I had on my hands was available to me to decide how I could best use this time. Given the fact that I was not moving around as easily as I seem to be able to do now, I decided to use this time to journal my reflections and, if it may be of help to others, to share them. I was given time for reflection. I filled up this time by writing an article. Of course, you could say that "Isle of View" IS my reflection.


The main idea that kept on recurring in this recovery time was that my life has been filled with many activities and just as many concerns. As I rested in between my physical therapy exercises, I began to see that many of my activities and much of the frenzy of my life really didn’t add up to be much in terms of meaning or even accomplishments. In reality, I wondered if much of the activity of my life was responding or maybe reacting to stimuli that come into my life. I often wonder, these days, if the sense of being scattered and so busy comes from a lack of intentionality. What do I intend to do with my time? I believe sometimes there is a lack of purpose and direction in my life.

It’s almost as if, some days, I lack something like a rudder that would steer my boat. I let the wind and rough seas of interruptions and distractions determine the direction of my activities. The other day, I came upon an intersection with all four semaphores flashing red light. I waited for the driver of the car that was already stopped on my right to proceed through the intersection. I waited and I waited. I realized that the driver was distracted and did not understand that all the lights were flashing. I watched as other cars from other directions proceeded through the intersection after stopping. Even after this, that driver kept watching the flashing red light and remained paralyzed in distraction. So many say, "I have so much on my plate." I want to ask, "How did it get on your plate in the first place?" Does that sound rude? I believe someone needs to ask that question. Why all the busyness?

Then, when someone asks me how I am in my life, I respond, "Oh, I’m really busy." It’s almost as if the busyness justifies my existence. Sometimes I feel that’s what busyness really is about: justifying existence. After my surgery, I felt that I was given permission to do absolutely nothing but "recover." Why is it that we need to be sick to do nothing except rest? Can we rest, reflect, and focus on our lives even when we are not sick? At times, I see this can happen on vacations or in retirement. I believe we need to incorporate a sense of direction, a focused intentionality, and an understanding of the purpose of our lives into every decision we make right now and not in some future phase of our lives where someone else gives us permission. How much of what we do is "on purpose?" If we don’t slow down and think about what we’re doing and we how are doing it, what ends up happening is that the busyness takes over our life. Busyness does not permit us to even take time to ask what our rudder is, that is, what determines the direction of our lives.

With every decision Jesus had to make in his life, we can see him spending time in prayer. This pattern in the rhythm of Jesus’ life demonstrates a way to make sure the rudder is in the water. I’m amazed to hear Jesus say in response to the disciples searching him out to continue to heal the crowds: "let us move on to the neighboring villages so that I may proclaim the good news there also. That is what I have come to do." (Mark 1:38) He didn't let the dire need of His surroundings determine His direction or actions.

For me, I believe the rudder of my life is to build relationships based on my faith. My faith is the reason I enter into any relationship. My faith tells me that God is found within the dynamics of relationship. In this way, I need to constantly reflect on the following questions: How much of my activities really exist for the sake of building relationships? Are my tasks and goals designed to establish and maintain relationships?

Whatever the case may be, I know now that I am back in the frenzy many activities. Because of this I struggle to maintain the rhythm of reflection that was given to me during my intense recovery time. I have set the personal goal of writing an article every week and publishing it on Wednesdays. I believe I will maintain this personal goal not so much because people might be looking for a new article on Wednesday, but because it might be a way to honor and even maintain some sense of the clarity of understanding that I became very conscious of during this intensive recovery.

Writing this article, that is, being on the Isle of View really does help me sort out the clutter of distractions and meaningless activity. To stop, think, and truly be self-aware of what I’m doing is the only way in which to sail on the Isle of View.

Centered? Skipper

Isle of View- Pain...What's the Use?

Isle of View:       Pain—what’s the use?

Recently I attended some faith formation classes in which the students were able to ask me any questions they wanted. A sample of some the questions are: what are your favorite color, sports, Bible story, holiday, and food? How long have you been a priest? Do you like being a priest? When did people start having faith? Have you preached at other churches? Do priests retire? Can a priest adopt a child? How many miles do I go on my tricycle? How old do I have to be to be a server? And what is the training like? How old is the church? Do you like talking in front of everyone? Why are the robes different colors? Are the robes itchy? What is God’s gender?

The question that impressed me was: “Father Don, do you think you are paralyzed for a reason?” Another child chimed in quickly with: “he was in a motorcycle accident!” I responded with: “yes, that’s how I became paralyzed. But I think the question is about why I’m still paralyzed.” I asked the child if she was referring to the fact that there may be a purpose to my suffering. I was intrigued by a nine-year-old girl asking this type of question; that someone could objectify an experience like pain which is so personal and attention-getting.

Obviously because my experience with pain, I was very interested in trying to give this answer it’s just due. It was definitely a challenge to speak about this on a fourth grade level. Also because I just recently underwent surgery to get rid of pain. I told the little girl that I believe that pain can serve a purpose. My short answer to her was that the purpose of pain in my life to teach me to be compassionate to others and to realize every a moment of my life that God is in charge and I am not.
I believe there is more to be learned and understood in the experience of pain. I also understand that there is a built-in energy for self- survival. However, I believe this society treats pain as an experience that has absolutely no value. Thus we try to do everything and anything to get rid of it. In the same breath, I have to say that my pain was severe enough to put me in a situation of desperation. At the same time, I gave it all over to God. I chose to undergo the surgery not necessarily judging its worth by what outcome I would have. I chose the surgery give to myself to God, no matter the outcome.   I was ready to have the pain become worse.

I believe we need to allow ourselves to hold the pain the way Jesus did on the cross. We need to be patient and trusting enough to be immersed in the tension and the turmoil; in the alert awareness and attentiveness that pain can create in our lives. We need to discipline ourselves to look at pain in a creative way. Our natural response to pain is either to fight or to run. Sometimes I think we do both at the same time.
Jesus taught us a new way of working with and growing from the experiences of our life that cause inconvenience, discomfort, confusion, and chaos. As the Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr, writes “Jesus reveals to us a way to bear the pain of the world and not hand it on to those around us. When you stop resisting suffering, when you can really do something so foolish as to welcome the pain, it leads you into a broad and spacious place where you live out of the abundance of Divine Love. I can’t promise you it will leave that quickly or that easily.”

Father Rohr speaks to pain within the context forgiveness. I believe he does this because they are so intimately connected. We become angry and oftentimes need to blame ourselves or someone else for our pain.  Thus Father Rohr writes: “Because the hurts of life are so great, you cannot let go of the pain on your own. At that point, you need to draw from a Larger Source. What you are doing with forgiveness is changing your ego investment in your own painful story—which too often has becomes your ticket to sympathy, and sometimes your very identity. Forgiveness is one of the most radically freeing things a human being can do. When we forgive, we have to let go of our own feelings, our own ego, our own offended identity, and find our identity at a completely different level—the divine level. I even wonder if it is possible to know God at all—outside of the mystery of forgiveness (Luke 1:77).”(The Art of Letting GO--a CD)

Having said all of this, I have to end with a disclaimer. I know many who suffer from depression or some other type of mental illness. I know some believe in the goodness of God.  They want to believe that there is some purpose for what and the way they suffer. Others are so sick that they can’t even want to believe that there can be anything positive which can come out of this suffering. I know an article like this can ring hollow and even make them feel guilty/responsible for their state of hopelessness.  I am not sure I have words of consolation.  I do know that there might be an answer to this in a transformation of how we view this disease in our society.  Through this change in perspective there may be a possibility that this sickness have less power to isolate us, one from the other. And maybe, just maybe, in our interconnected sharing in the darkness of this illness, we all can come to see from the Isle of View.

In this light, on the Isle of View, I would have to say most, if not all, pain can be a pathway to holiness. Our disposition and faith in the grace of God can determine what experiences involve destructive pain and which involve redemptive pain. In other words, to the extent we live on the Isle of View, we will live to experience the beauty of God or an overwhelming state of desperation.

I believe that the young girl who hinted at a deeper meaning to suffering has visited the Isle of View.  Her asking about the reason, the use, of my paralysis is definitely a challenge for all of us to be willing to make that visit. I am reminded of the healing touch of my mother: how powerful I came to realize her love was in overriding the pain of a bleeding finger.  I understand now I saw an aspect of my mother’s love that I wouldn’t have otherwise.  I know that this kind of experience doesn’t come soon enough for most of us but the promise of the compassionate God, that we profess belief in, is that this experience WILL come. Meanwhile we wait in hope on the Isle of View.  ---a sustained skipper

Isle of View - A trusting step into the future.  Standing with trust in the present.

 I don’t have a leg to stand on.

It is strange to move out into a space where it feels like nothing is there. It is definitely an act of trust to believe that something is going to be there to hold me up. There are no sensations which tell there is anything there.  I have no idea where my leg is if I’m not looking down.  I have no idea what my leg is doing, how it is moving or if it’s even touching the floor.

After 60 years of being able to walk, run, dance, drive, and play, now I find myself concentrating on re-learning how to walk. This process starts out one step at a time, with constant practice, alert sensitivity to what the brain perceives, and a whole bunch of trust in believing that there is something the leg remembers from the days previous to the injury.  Only this time it doesn’t feel like walking.  It feels like a different kind of skipping, limping or waddling.

The therapist says that I’m getting better. I am not sure how she measures progress, but the only thing I can think of right now is that I’m familiarizing myself with these new perceptions and sensations. It is a strange territory. Even though I am becoming familiar with this whole New World, it still feels ever so strange. I’m not sure why, but it seems like it’s in human nature to want to know how long it will feel strange.

I believe what the therapist is seeing, although I am not sure she would speak of it this way, is: that i'm learning to walk by faith not by sight or by feelings. Now, I know what it means to step out in faith.  My first steps were purely that. There is no history of standing, balancing or controlling the movements of the right leg.  I am moving like I did when I could feel and had control of the muscles. I am trying to remember what walking was like.  But also, I am walking by a certain confidence that can only come from the Isle of View, which tells me everything will work out just fine.  And you know?  I haven’t fallen once!

In this ever so new and growing-to-be familiar world, I am praying that I learn and am open to new perspectives. I am praying that my character become more trusting and more docile to the unfamiliar. I pray this process is one of not just getting accustomed to what I have; but truly welcoming those things which make life challenging and uncomfortable. I am definitely not comfortable with what I have and what I am becoming familiar with. I pray that this lack of comfort not become debilitating but rather be energizing and life giving.

I pray for the discipline to be able to stay in the present moment. I wonder why I wonder so much about the future. I know my discipline to do physical therapy can determine what type of future I have. I also know that whatever I do in the present does not always totally predict or determine what happens in the future. There are no guarantees. There are no accurate predictors. However, we do what we do in the present  moment believing, in some way, that there is something that will happen in the future because of our present activity. Maybe that’s what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. This is not necessarily an arrogant belief. We do believe we influence the future and we do believe our actions have consequences. Sometimes there are direct correlations between the present and future but not always!

The view from the isle tells me I cannot know what the future holds but I can know Who holds the future and that is enough to keep me in the present. And that is definitely a leg to stand on!

The Skipping Skipper

Isle of View: New Life

ISLE OF VIEW   --NEW LIFE

 So this is what it is like to live in the present moment.  Everything that I am experiencing seems to be new.  Because it is so new I’m not sure what it means nor am I sure of what it will be in the future.  The feelings and the sensations are completely new to me.  I’m discovering what is new and different. Yesterday, I discovered that the left side of my body is very spotty in its detection of what is hot and cold.  I am not sure at this point in time what parts of my arm or leg on the left side is able to sense what is hot and cold.  I discovered that I had burned myself on my finger without realizing it. (The surgery successfully destroyed the nerve cells on my right side.  Therefore, it was a real surprise that my left side was affected too.)

Feeling is different for me now.  The signals received by my brain are foreign. And as such, it needs time for discernment and translation. I am discovering that places, that are numb on my right torso, really aren’t numb at all. Rather, a different faraway sensation is perceived if I but quietly and attentively listen to the signals. This in-body experience is totally out-of-body. It is a new life. And as such: discovery, exploration, learning, adapting, accommodating, and trusting are all part of this new world.

So many times we hear in the Scriptures and in our faith that God brings us into New Life. I’m realizing that the word, “new” isn’t always something that is readily welcome.  New life is always different and therefore unfamiliar. The meanings of which may never be revealed.  But on this island of faith where we have the view that God is always active, alive, and good, we believe that it can and will be used for God’s purposes. It is also true that how God uses these things in this new world may never come clear to those who struggle with getting used to these new things.  The only thing that is needed is trust that God WILL use these new things;  at least, in the life of Isle of View,    Clear sailing in the unfamiliar water,  spotty "sensation"-al  Skipper Don.

 

 

Isle of View--the loss without pain

I am launching out into new territory by starting this second article. I hope in future to be able to frequently write different thoughts I have arising from “isle of view”. With my recent surgery, my life has been changed. I hope to be able to reflect that change in these articles. Of course, an isle is only a piece of land surrounded by water. But it gives a certain view that otherwise would not be available. Being an island helps to see quite a distance around you.

I believe the spiritual life (living a life in the spirit) is like seeing from an island. Living in and with God gives one a perspective that deepens and enriches the meaning of life. Being on this island is a gift. And it takes trust in making a journey to that island. Yes, with technology, hard work, a sense of commitment, it is possible to arrive at this island. Some would say it’s a matter of luck to have found this island; others would say that, because of so many unpredictable and uncontrolled variables, God has a hand in it.

I am very much on an island where I feel so surrounded by God’s love and presence. I have to truthfully say am not sure how I got on this island. All I know is that I have not done anything to deserve it but am trying as best I can to fully be absorbed into it.

As many of you know, since my motorcycle accident 30 years ago, I have been struggling with pain in my paralyzed arm. That struggle has been very complicated and growth inducing. A major part of that struggle was not to eliminate the pain or find its solution, but it involved discerning its meaning. Because now, after 30 years that pain is eliminated, I find myself, in analyzing what has happened the last 30 years living with that pain. Ironically, living without the pain involves a loss. I believe that pain truly played a significant role in my life. It helped me to be more compassionate to others who suffer. It also taught me that God is in charge and I am not. No matter what treatment or medication or remedy I sought, the pain was always present. I fought to have control but obviously I gave up, or should I say, I gave over. I truly believe that my decision to have something as drastic as the surgery was my way of saying to God: “I give myself over to you, God.” I was totally at peace with my decision and my journey to Chicago for the DREZ procedure.

As I put myself on the operating table, I saw myself being put on an altar. This pure act of surrender was God’s opportunity to not only heal me but cut me open. I was ready for anything and I believe I got it. In the next months and years I believe I will be trying to understand and manifest what this last sentence really means.

The risk of the sharing this experience is that the focus will be on me. When in fact, the total intent of all this is to give the attention to God.  When one concerned person, who visited me, asked how I was doing, I tried to explain what I am writing here to her. She asked me the excellent question: “Is this about you really or is it about God?” This definitely is a danger in sharing one’s own experience.  I believe this is the only arena in which we totally and personally experience God’s presence and love. this is the risk I take in writing and sharing what's happening in my own isle of view.

 

Intro. To Isle of View Series

I thought I would launch the isle of view series just before Lent. This might give us a way to be connected in our spiritual journeys during Lent. I’ve always wanted to write some of my perspective and thoughts. But truthfully I have been afraid that I would not be able to meet my own personal deadlines. With this initiative today, I’m stepping out in faith that God will continue to work through me and in me in a way that would, in some way, shape, or form, be of help in our growing relationship with God.

I’ve chosen to call this series: “isle of view” in honor of my grandfather who lived with our family in my formative years. He moved in with us when grandmother died. He deeply mourned and missed her. It was obvious in all of what he did and what he thought about. I was happy to be somewhat of a companion to him in those lonely years. We played pool and cribbage. We watched baseball games together. I remember most vividly the times we prayed together. I remember, whether we were at church or praying the rosary at home; how much consolation and strength my grandfather gained from those times of connection with God.

I have prayed for this endeavor called “Isle of view”. Because of the faithfulness and devotion of my grandfather, I came to see and experience the strength, the perspective and the deep love that a person can have with this faith’s perspective. Thus, an Isle of view is the name I give that perspective. I use that title because my grandfather always wanted to have a boat. And he always dreamed that if he had a boat, he would name it, “isle of view”. I always thought of how clever that name would be for a boat. For indeed, that is what a boat gives; a place from which one can be on the water and in the water and have a perspective that would not otherwise be afforded without that floating device.

One could say faith is something like an isle of view. Immediately, what comes to mind is that it keeps us afloat especially when the waters of life are rough. But more deeply, I believe faith gives us a different way, a unique perspective, from which we can look at the world. Faith changes everything. From this view, events in life take on such a different, deeper and more profound meaning. In these series of articles, I hope to share some of the view that I have because of the faith I have been given. I can’t really tell you what kind of boat I am in; because this boat seems to keep changing for me. I’m sorry if this offends boat lovers but I’m not really sure it matters what kind of boat we’re in. I think what matters more is what we see when we are in the boat. I know as a younger child, I didn’t have my own boat. I went along for the ride in other’s boats. I’d have to say that I got my own boat when I was in college. And that boat took me to places on the water that I probably was able to see before from others’ boats. But because it was my own boat I could look at what was around in a new and fresh way. I think because it was my own boat, I took risks and made decisions to go out farther and most likely faster than I ever had before.

I think the boat that I’m in now is one that goes very slowly and very intentionally. The boat seems to know where I need to go . It silently and calmly moves along the shore where people gather and greet one another. I’m able to stop at the docks of their hearts. I’m able to invite them along in this always spacious and accommodating boat. I guess that’s what faith is all about. Not that you have it. But what you are able to do with it. Indeed, faith is not a noun but a verb. That is why I like to say that I am “faithing” fine; when people ask how I’m doing. Until the next article, blessed sailing. Skipper Don