W A N D E R E R

Peace

2011-09-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

There can never be peace between nations, until it is first known that true peace is within the souls of men.

-Ogala Souix, Native American

What Is Good

2011-09-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Enemies of Compassion

2011-09-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

"Pity, moral outrage and fear are the enemies of compassion."

-Joan Halifax

Joan Halifax: Compassion and the true meaning of empathy | Video on TED.com

2011-09-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Joan Halifax: Compassion and the true meaning of empathy | Video on TED.com

Moment

2011-08-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

It is a warm, sunny day in the South of Brazil. Following months of cold and rain, we are in in that moment between winter and spring when all of Creation is filled with possibility and potential. The tips of tree branches are washed with bright green and fresh grasses are pushing their way through winter mud in the parks. Flowers buds are turning their heads toward the sun. Runners are shirtless, and winter stoney faces are turning into smiles.

Little Gidding

2011-08-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on change, and reading T. S. Eliot, again. An excerpt from `Little Gidding'.

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make and end is to make a beginning,
The end is where we start from. And every phrase
And sentence that is right (Where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident or ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning,
Every poem an epitaph. And any action
Is a step to the block, to the fire, down the sea's throat
Or to an illegible stone: and that is where we start.

--T.S. Eliot
Excerpted from
No. 4 of `Four Quartets'

it's Pentecost

2011-06-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

Corridor

2011-06-03T09:35:00.001-07:00

To be a corridor, with countless open doors.

Mosaic

2011-06-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

When the floor beneath us seems to break into a thousand pieces, a mosaic forms that is beyond our imagination.

Ithaca by C.P.Cavafy (with Sean Connery & Vangelis)

2011-05-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

Green Banks: Paying Countries to Keep their Trees

2011-05-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Green Banks: Paying Countries to Keep their Trees

Foot Washing

2011-04-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Ceremony of Foot Washing was observed today at our Thursday lunch with the homeless, at
Catedral Sao Tiago, Curitiba.

"By this the world will know that you are my disciples: That you have love for one another."

Our hearts were broken open to his love.

"Peace that the world cannot give, I give to you."

A Paz

2011-04-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

"Peace is my last gift to you, my own peace I now leave with you; peace which the world cannot give, I give to you."

Nurturing

2011-04-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

"How often I would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not"

Mosaics

2011-04-14T13:06:00.001-07:00

Just when the ground seems to be breaking up beneath my feet, the pieces begin to reconnect into a mosaic beyond what I could have imagined, stregthened by its reformation.

Peace

2011-02-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

Hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that a further shore
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and
healing wells.

- Seamus Heaney

Worthy Responsibility

2011-02-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

"The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all,
our most worthy responsibility.

To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope."

- Wendell Berry

February 14th

2011-02-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

The moment I heard my first love story;
I started looking for you,
not knowing how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
They're in each other all along.

- Rumi

Don't Cheapen Your Life

2011-02-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Don't cheapen your life by taking it about,
making the rounds with it, exposing it
to the everyday inanity
of relations and connections,
so it becomes like a stranger, burdensome.

-C. P. Cavafy

Urgency

2011-01-24T11:51:00.000-08:00

"Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful, which it is. Many people in the past also nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which we now know is the case only if we care for it. It is not difficult to forgive destruction in the past which resulted from ignorance. Today, however, we have access to more information, and it is essential that we re-examine ethically what we have inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to future generations. Our marvels of science and technology are matched if not outweighed by many current tragedies, including human starvation in some parts of the world, and extinction of other life forms. The exploration of space takes place at the same time as the Earth's own oceans, seas and fresh water areas grow increasingly polluted. Many of the Earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects and even micro-organisms that we know as rare may not be known at all by future generations. We have the capability, and the responsibility. We must act before it is too late."

-The Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet

Free Farm

2011-01-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

I visited the Free Farm in San Francisco today. I was there six months ago, and the urban garden has grown. They were constructing greenhouses this afternoon and harvesting vegetables for the Saturday sharing with neighbors. Sweet peas and iris were blooming in January, and the organic garden was rich green with produce. There are murals on the retaining walls where a Lutheran church once stood before being destroyed by fire. I particularly noticed St. Frances and the wolf. There is a labyrinth that meanders through the lettuce and other leafy vegetables. As I sat eating lunch with the staff and volunteers, I was conscious that the Free Farm is about relationships. Relationship of workers with each other, of the project with the neighborhood, relationship with Creator and Creation, and relationship with food. How we treat one another. I also thought of the Portuguese word and concept of "esperanca" (pronounced "sa")which loosely means "hope". As I have otherwise written about, it is not about a dream or a wish, but rather a way of living. No one knows how long the land will be available or when or if they will build a new church building. It is clear that a church meets in and occupies the space. They live and move forward not being deterred by doubt, but rather being encouraged by each other.

2011

2011-01-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

A wonderful 2011 New Year with the Zimmermann family, Gustavo and other new friends in Brazil. The toasts at midnight: "Become who you are."

Um Ano Novo 2011 maravilhoso com a familia Zimmermann e amigos no Brasil. O desejo a meia-noite: "Torne-se quem voce e."

Fully Alive

2010-12-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

"Do not ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come fully alive. Because what the world needs are people who have come fully alive."

-Howard Thurman

Fall In Love

2010-12-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

"We shall awaken from our dullness and arise vigorously toward justice.
If we fall in love with Creation deeper and deeper,
we will respond to its endangerment with passion."

-Hildegard of Bingen
1098-1179

Hummingbirds

2010-12-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

As an architecture student interested in urban design, I studied the plan of Brasilia, some say shaped like an airplane, others a bird. I was fascinated by the modern capital city, constructed in the 1960's. In February, March and April of this year, I lived there while I studied language, culture and the history of Brazil at a Roman Catholic school. What I saw there was a lot of cold concrete and poured pavement, and a city design that ignored humanity. The organization of the design places the military at the top, followed by government, then commerce, and at the very bottom, or underneath, the people. There are parks and open spaces, and the campus included the equal of five acres of green space. Outside my window, mother monkeys (macacas) cleaned and taught their offspring, feeding them bananas and avocados. I loved awakening to their playful screeching calls, as they began their day. I knew that I was alive and that everything was good. On late afternoon walks, I watched the hummingbirds bulking up to 25 to 40 percent their normal body weight of under two grams, feeding on nectar and insects and preparing for their long migration northward, on a path that they would repeat their entire lives. They travel independently, but travel the same course as others, but not in flocks. Some will fly as far north as Canada, to their nesting habitat. They will pass over the borders and boundaries of countries and territories, without passport or visa; just as God intended. The tiny migrant workers are ambassadors of Peace, Justice and Inclusion, connecting the Americas; South, Central and North and the Caribbean. They connect the land and its inhabitants in an extraordinary and profound way. Native only in the Western Hemisphere, those seen in Africa are from ones set free from captivity. Simply, it would be impossible for them to travel over the Atlantic. I've observed hummingbirds in North America (Canada and the U.S., including the Rocky Mountains, Eastern Seaboard and Appalachian Mountains), and in Central and South America. Factors such as weather stimulate their migration, and changes have altered their flight. Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation is effecting their nectar corridors, due to loss of flowering plants. If we lose them, we will lose one more important connection with Creation. And, a reconciling force in the Americas. Save the hummingbirds.

Environmental Justice

2010-12-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

In early December the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) will assemble in Cancun, Mexico for the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16). From December 7-11 the Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Bishop of the Episopal Diocese of California, and The Rt. Rev. Naudal Gomes, Bishop of the Episcopal Anglican Diocese of Curitiba, Brazil, will convene a parallel global dialogue. "The companion bishops see this as an opportunity to raise the banner of 'climate justice' to the Church and to the world," according to the Rev. Griff Griffin, DioCal's Environmental Justice Missioner, who has been instrumental in organizing the meeting. "They want this diocesan companionship to point toward justice and reconciliation, amid the harsh global context of catastrophic climate change." The gathering which is to take place at the Bishop Kellogg Conference Center, Sao Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, will draw the participation of bishops from Guatemala, Central Ecuador, Cuba and the DominicanRepublic, as well as lay and ordained representatives from The Episcopal Church and several other dioceses. You can follow live updates from the December meeting at episcopalclimatejustice.org

Watchfulness

2010-11-22T11:06:00.001-08:00

Hope

2010-11-21T12:41:00.001-08:00

"For surely I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.
"Plans of Peace and not of suffering, to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

Aaron Huey: America's native prisoners of war | Video on TED.com

2010-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Aaron Huey: America's native prisoners of war Video on TED.com

What?

2010-11-15T08:58:00.000-08:00

"And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to
walk humbly with your God."

-Micah 6,8

Blocked

2010-11-04T05:02:00.000-07:00

We are entering the final phase of planning a conference in Santo Domingo, bringing together representatives from the Global South & North for an eco-justice global warming conference. Cosponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of California and Episcopal Anglican Diocese of Curitiba, there will be representatives from countries in South & North America, Central America and Caribe. I was researching flight information and rates for a colleague from Cuba when I discovered that while I am in Brazil, my laptop is registered in the United States (I am a U.S. citizen) and I am blocked from accessing this infomation due to U.S. State Department policy. I was not attempting to purchase a ticket for myself or for anyone else, simply attempting to access information. I have no plans to visit Cuba and if and when I did, I would apply for the proper visa.

Amazing.

Finados

2010-11-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Dia dos Mortos, or Dian de Finados, commonly called Finados. Here is Brazil it is less
of a Festa as celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries. In urban areas, it is more becoming a holiday from work, and there are many in October and November, mostly days in the Roman Catholic calendar that are now secular. In towns and villages, people still gather at graves and light candles and decorate with tributes of flowers, remembering the dead.
At home, some improvise alters and decorate them with votives, photographs and icons. It is
exactly six months different in time from the first weekend in May, and Memorial Day in the United States. Similarly, families gather at grandparents houses, beach houses and vacation spots to celebrate their lives with family and friends, and pay tribute to those who have gone before.

It Gets Better

2010-11-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

My birthday is in November, and I celebrate a life I could not have imagined for myself. As a teenager, I was popular and looked as if I had it all. On the contrary, I recall a time then when I wanted to disappear forever. Life was too cruel, and I felt that somehow, someway I was very "different". I remember the feelings of isolation. One day, Mrs. Stalder called to me from her garden. "Mikey (a name I wouldn't lose until college), it makes me so happy when you pass by. You're such a nice young man, and I just know there's a great plan for you." In that moment, I felt a sense of purpose. Encourage a young person today. You can't know how important that might be.

New Stuff

2010-10-27T06:42:00.001-07:00

The second hand, reconditioned cell phone that I've used on four continents died. Dead. I don't like to buy new stuff because of the cost, the waste and polution. But, there's something else too. I really like the stories that are written on old jackets, worn boots, used cell phones and cameras. I travel lightly and find it provides greater ease. Stuff is a distraction, and new stuff seems even more so. I don't worry so much about losing an old phone, camera or glasses. It's always the new things that one loses more easily. I really don't like new stuff, but with any luck, the new phone will write its stories too--and be more "friendly". BTW, the old phone is being reconditioned and will be given to a Brazilian soldier serving a peace keeping mission somewhere in the world. I wonder where that phone had been before.

A Prayer to Abolish the Death Penalty

2010-10-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

God of Compassion,
You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust.
Expand and deepen our hearts
so that we may love as You love,
even those among us
who have caused the greatest pain by taking life.
For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance
as we fill our death rows and kill the killers
in the name of justice, in the name of peace.
Jesus, our brother,
you suffered execution at the hands of the state
but you did not let hatred overcome you.
Help us to reach out to victims of violence
so that our enduring love may help them heal.
Holy Spirit of God,
You strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly
for the abolition of state-sanctioned death
and renew our society in its very heart
so that violence will be no more.
Amen.

-Helen Prejean, csj
www.prejean.org

Execution Is Murder

2010-09-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

An execution by the State of California is scheduled now for Thursday night. I am a Californian living in Brazil, a country that effectively abolished the death penalty 150 years ago. (There remains law that allows for a sentence of capital punishment in cases of treason or wartime crimes. Brazil has not engaged in war since the end of WWII, over sixty years ago. It is unlikely that the death penalty would be sentenced, if there were to be a conviction.) Execution is committed murder by the State, on our behalf. There is no innocense. My friends and colleagues here look at me in disbelief when they learn that there is capital punishement in the United States. I am sickened by reports of the new multi-million dollar facility for this barbaric practice. I think of the homeless who could have shelter, the hungry who could eat and the dance and music that could be performed. But we have chosen a different form of dance. The piling of evil upon evil.

I believe in accountability. As a citizen of the state, I must be accountable for the murder that is committed on my behalf by a state that is broken in spirit. I have attended vigils outside of San Quentin, and I believe in the importance of presence and witness of opponents. There is something surreal and carnival like about them. I think that it is because it is nearly impossible to embrace what is actually happening inside. We push away from the reality. The frezied pro death penalty proponents, some with hateful and vulgar signs; but no less believing that "justice is being served". And, those opposing the death penalty, standing mostly numbed. I remember the vacant feeling and the estrangement from the world, feeling somehow alone in the crowd.

At home, later that night, I couldn't sleep as I wrestled with the deamons. If the execution takes place tomorrow, I'll be restless here too, 7000 air miles from San Quentin.

Updated. The scheduled execution in California was removed from the Department of Corrections' calendar yesterday.

Charismatics

2010-08-20T09:21:00.001-07:00

We visited a community of charismatics this week near Curitiba. They are led by Donna Maria and meet in her house that she shares with husband Jaon and their children. About fifteen adults and a dozen children crowded into the small living room singing songs, accompanied by a guitar and a keyboard. Prayers, testimony and a homily were followed by blessings from the three Anglican priests present. These are families living in extreme poverty; out of work and without food security or medical care. The young adults appear far older than their youth, their faces etched with worry and struggle. In the midst of this suffering, there is joy. They name it and proclaim it. Afterwards, Donna Maria invited us all into her kitchen where she served fresh baked bread, butter and jam, four kinds of cakes she had baked and coffee. Uncommon love and generosity.

Creation

2010-08-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

How is it that just when everything seems to be coming apart, the pieces begin to rejoin and configure into something greater than you could have ever imagined? Chaos and Order. Creation.

Mary

2010-08-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

To love Jesus, as much as Mary loved Jesus.
To love Mary, as much as Jesus loved Mary.

Peace + Love

2010-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

So instead of loving what you think is peace, love other men [and women] and love God above all. And instead of hating the people you think are warmakers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyrrany, hate greed--but hate these things in yourself, not in another.

New Seeds of Contemplation

-Thomas Merton

Ithaca by C.P.Cavafy (with Sean Connery & Vangelis)

2010-07-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

Hollowness

2010-07-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

"That hollowness we sometimes feel is not a sign of something gone wrong. It is the holy of holies inside of us, the uncluttered throne room of the Lord our God."

-Barbara Brown Taylor

July 4, 1776~2010

2010-07-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (women) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these, are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Preamble, The Declaration of Independence, The United States

Oil On Our Hands

2010-07-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

My first job with a real paycheck was working for my grandfather's surveyors, surveying land where that had been strip mined. I remember the nauseating sulfur smell of the land that sickened me at lunch time. I remember the run off of purple, blue and yellow water. Tiny pine cuttings struggled to root themselves in earth that had been destroyed. They were planted in a known or unknown lie of reclamation. And, now the destructive attack of oil in the Gulf, sometimes called a "spill". It is a gusher of unknown force against nature. I can not get the turtles, birds and out of work fishermen out of my mind. It results from lack of discipline and greed. There was a better way to extract the oil and make a reasonable profit. But, only profit was considered. How much can be made? The losses are incalculable. No discipline. It seems that no one cared. We all have oil on our hands.

Written June 20, 2010

Certainty & Illusion

2010-07-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am grateful to have spent these past weeks in the place that is most home for me. I am encouraged and supported in uncommon ways by friends and family who have made it possible for me to live these past five years, what has been and continues to be an extraordinary life on four continents, following what I believe is my calling. This has been possible only through the generosity of others, and I am humbled by the opportunity given me. I leave my beloved country in a few weeks with a concern. I am struck by an apparent cultural anxiety, anger and social frustration. I think of endless conversation that unrealistically builds up institutions and leaders, only to then destructively tear them down. And, dialogue that seems more about how important our lives and communities are, rather than the importance of how we treat one another, and how we treat the earth. What need is fostering this? Are we losing trust in our collective selves? I hope not. The great challenges and experiences of this past decade have created much grief, doubt and fear. What has been "certainty" in our lives has been challenged. We are learning that much of what we have believed is "certain" is but an illusion. What is certain, is God's abundant love, as we experience it in relationship with others and all Creation.

Vou Voltar Para Brasil

2010-07-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have been in San Francisco for a visit, connecting ministries and raising awareness of our diocesan relationship, between the Diocese of California and the Diocese of Curitiba. I have been very encouraged by the interest expressed within and outside the Church, in building understanding and friendship between the peoples of Brazil and the United States. It has been
a long neglected relationship; between churches, countries and continents. This past year living in Brazil, I learned that there is great possibility for changing that and living into the millennium as the good neighbors that we are meant to be. I will return to Parana in a few weeks, also inspired and challenged by those I met and visited while here.

Written July 1, 2010

"The love of God has no boundaries."

2010-07-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Mary Frances Schjonberg+ reported in the July issue of Episcopal News Monthly,

House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson helped the Igreja Episcopal Anlicana do Brasil bring its historic 31st General Synod to a close June 6 by preaching at the final Eucharist. "I am reminded of the long and strong relationship between the Episcopal Church in Brazil and the Episcopal Church....I give great thanks for that relationship. Your prophetic witness to justice, your creative and inspired worship, music and song [are] an inspiration to us."

During its final session, the synod voted by acclamation to tell the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada that the IEAB supports their full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in the church's life.

"The love of God has no boundaries," Brazilian Archbishop Mauricio Jose Araujo Andrade said to loud applause.

De Raminho em Raminho

2010-05-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

"De raminho em raminho,
o passarinho faz seu ninho."
Little by little the bird builds its nest.
Things are accomplished little by little.

A Brazilian Proverb.

The Irony of American History

2010-05-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime;
therefore, we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true, or beautiful or good makes complete sense
in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore we are saved by love.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

We Had Everything Before Us

2010-05-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us.

-Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Borders

2010-05-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

I imagine a world where borders are drawn on maps and globes, and not drawn on our hearts.

Humiliation

2010-05-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

The Tenth Station. Why do we allow legislation and policy that humiliates? Dehumanization.

Vai com Deus

2010-04-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

My time at Centro Cultural Missionario, a Roman Catholic institute in Brasilia, is coming to a close. These past three months have been a time rich with diversity, sometimes with challenge, and always inspiring. We came together from many points of view from throughout the world, all following the path of our individual journeys and meeting here to study and live together. Everyone shares the same faith tradition but me. All are Roman Catholic and all are either ordained priests, deacons or graduate seminarians. I am also the only resident student from the United States. My views religious and cultural are more inclusive than anyone in our community. Many hold views that I regard as exclusive. Our discussions have been very open and always respectful. Dialogue. We have learned from one another. I have brotherly affection for every participant, the work they have each done, and the work they are setting out to do. I am grateful for the challenges, and I am grateful that we came together for this time of work, challenge, and joy. Um abraco amigos and irmaos, amigas and irmas. Vai com Deus

Wild Geese

2010-04-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

You do not have to be good
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairie and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clear blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things. -Mary Oliver

Fluent

2010-04-10T05:54:00.000-07:00

I would love to live
Like a river flows,
Carried by the surprise
Of its unfolding.

-John O'Donohue

Emmaus

2010-04-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Were not our hearts burning in us when he talked with us on the road...?

-Luke 24:32

Ithaca

2010-04-06T04:18:00.000-07:00

As you set out for Ithaca
hope that your journey will be a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laisfygonians and Cyclops,
you won't encounter them,
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope that your journey is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors you are seeing for the first time,
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfumes of every kind,
as many sensual perfumes as you can,
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and learn again from those who know.

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better it lasts for years,
so that you're old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you've gained along the way,
not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.
Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca will not have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithacas mean.

"Ithaca", 1910-1911
-C. P. Cavafy

Encouragement

2010-04-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

To encourage one person every day. In their struggle, or in their pursuit.

Vigilia Pascal, Catedral de Ressurreicao, Brasilia

2010-04-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Aleluia! Cristo ressuscitou! Na verdade ressuscitou! Aleluia.

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Alleluia!

I-pod

2010-04-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

Aaron Neville singing the "Ave Marie". Thanks Charlie for the music you downloaded on my I-pod before I left for Brazil. Aaron Neville, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Roy Orbison, Norah Jones, Dianah Krall, Ella, Etta James, Nina Simone, Jacqueline du Pre, Nick Drake and more. It is all great! I've not listened since Christmas. Happy Easter!

Stabat Mater

2010-04-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful mother weeping,
Where he hung, the dying Lord.

For her soul of joy bereaved,
Bowed with anguish deeply grieved,
Felt the sharp and piercing sword.

The medieval hymn, Stabat Mater.

Gethsemane

2010-04-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

"Oh my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; neveertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

Complete surrender.

(Matthew 26:39)

Easter on the Daniel Boone Trail

2010-04-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

I am recalling an Easter on the Daniel Boone Trail. I was thirty something and hiking alone. At a clearing Saturday night I dropped my backpack, weary from a long day on the trail. Making
a modest supper of dried noodles and fettuccine sauce, dried beef and granola bars for desert; I turned on my radio to WLW, "the nation's station". I remember that I was listening to Roy Orbison and Elvis. After supper I looked to a clear sky and identified constellations. The moon was not full but it was bright and lit the night sky. I've always liked contrast. Suddenly, across the meadow I aw standing on his hind legs a bear, standing at about my height. Majestic, powerful and owning the night. I felt a kind of oneness with him. But then, I had grown up at the foot of the mountain. How can one fear something so beautiful? We shared the mountain that night and the next morning I hiked a short distance and saw where he slept in deep grasses.
A moment of Divine Formation. Joy over fear.

Friendship

2010-04-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

"There was no pretense between us.
no simulation, no dishonest flattery,
no unbecoming harshnes
no evasion, no concealment,
but everything open and above board;
for I deemed my heart in a fashion his,
and his mine,
and he felt in a like manner towards me.
And so we were progressing in friendship without deviation,
neither's correction evoked indignation of the other,
neither's yielding produced blame."

-St. Aelred of Rievaulx
12 Century Cistercian monk and abbot.

Vamos

2010-04-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Vamos em direcao da sua luz e honra-lo com o compromisso de proteger todas as criancas e todas as pessoas que sofrem abusos, miserveis e doentes, sem discriminacao da raca, etnia, relgiao, ou orientacao sexual, e com igualdade entre sexos.

Let us go into his light with a promise to protect all children and all people who suffer from abuse, hunger, and illness; without discrimination of race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

Jesus Chorou

2010-04-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Dois mil anos atros, "Quando Jesus retorno para Jerusale'm e viu a cidade, ele chorou".

Two thousand years ago, "When Jesus returned to Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept".

Spring in N. A.

2010-03-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

I am remembering that moment between Winter and Spring and the few weeks that follow. When I was hiking the Appalachian Trail 17, 18 and 19 miles a day there would still be patches of snow in shaded areas, young green grasses sprouting forth in dappled sunlit areas, springs gurgling with fresh cold water struggling to find the stream bed from years past. Green buds on dogwood trees facing the light and asking forcing their way into a flower, celebrating the arrival of a new Spring. Many times then I was hiking alone, but sometimes with my hiking partner Steve who was a superb wilderness hiker. He always challenged me to an other mile, and then another. It is a moment of transition--that moment between Winter and Spring.

Haroldo-Filo

2010-03-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend Haroldo-Filo died March 10th at the age of 32, his wife Rosangela and their family at his side. A bright engineer, I know he would most want to be remembered for soccer and sky-diving. I remember him for his hope. He taught me much about Brazilian culture, teaching me that hope is neither a wish or a prayer, rather a way of being. At rest in peace.

Daybreak

2010-03-25T08:52:00.001-07:00

My heart swells that the Universe
like a fiery cascade may enter.
The new day comes. Its coming
leaves me breathless.
I sing. Like a cavern brimming
I sing my new day.

For grace lost and recovered
I stand humble. Not giving. Receiving.
Until the Gorgon night,
vanquished, flees.

- Gabriela Mistral

The New Commandment

2010-03-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

"Love one another as I have loved you."

John 15:5

Simplicity

2010-03-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

My colleagues have taken vows of poverty. I am learning about simplicity from them. With exceptions, most make careful choices. They live simply. Part of that is cultural with regard to
the conditions in their respective countries, and in part it is because of their training and vows. Most have been taught this discipline from a young age, as monks, nuns and seminarians. Some are from privileged families and have chosen a life very different from the one they were born into. To live amongst them during this season of Lent has been a gift. They have given me a deeper understanding regarding choices and discernment. A different language.

Language of the Heart

2010-03-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

As our community at the cultural institute continues to study and live together, one of the unexpected gifts for all of us is the diversity of cultures we represent, five continents and twenty some countries. We are here temporarily as we prepare to work in all corners of Brazil and forge community with those we will live and work with for some time to come; Amazonia, the Northeast, the South, Central Brazil and the Western region. I am the only one who has been living here and I will return to the State of Parana in Curitiba. Cultural difference is recognized, discussed and for the most part celebrated. One example is that we have priests from The Congo and The Republic of the Congo. They are from a divided country. Some have traditions of harsh exclusion. Each day we celebrate Mass and take turns leading the liturgy. I am the only Non-Roman Catholic and I have been invited to the Table by the Church. I receive the host, and touch the Cup as invited. Each week I read the Psalm appointed for the day. Today it was the first Psalm. We are learning many languages. Some of the most important ones are unwritten and unspoken. An international language that I have come to call "Language of the Heart".

Vessels

2010-02-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

"This means we are to become vessels of God's compassionate love for others."

St. Claire of Assisi

XXXI

2010-02-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

Whom can I ask what I came here to make happen in the world!
Why do I move without wanting to, why am I not able to sit still?

Why do I go volling without wheels, flying without wings or feathers,
and why did I decide to migrate if my bones live in Chile?

- Pablo Neruda

Creation

2010-02-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

"When I admire the wonder of the sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator."

-Mahatma Gandhi

John 15:12

2010-02-18T13:10:00.000-08:00

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Little Gidding

2010-02-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

- T. S. Eliot
(From " Little Gidding")

The Tent

2010-02-15T04:50:00.000-08:00

Living in community with twenty others all of one religion different than mine, and all but one from fifteen countries on five continents other than mine, I find an unexpected gift. I have been questioned with interest (sometimes challenged aggressively) about what I, my church, and my country stand for. It has given me the opportunity to go deeper into my own beliefs and relationships. I find in this also a new experience of presence in mission. I have been welcomed into this global community of tradition that is unfamiliar. I have been invited to the Table with hospitality and curiosity. On this journey, I continue to find myself the "stranger" being welcomed into the tent. I accept this not as a coincidence, rather as an invitation to understanding and discovery. The extension and the acceptance of hospitality.

Creating Space

2010-02-13T04:59:00.001-08:00

In preparation for Lent, I think less about what I will give up and more about what I might make room for in my life--what I might take on. I approach it with the joy of unknown possibilities. Making space for the creativity of the Holy Spirit. What do I consume needlessly? What do I waste? Material consumption, time, engaging in gossip or here say, worry? To make space for what is good and what nurtures. It serves small purpose for me to give up chocolate, or diet cola, or lattes for forty days; unless there is an additional intended outcome. If it is for self improvement, OK. But, I ask myself, "What can I do with the dollar or two a day?" I may well have more energy. "What can I do with that energy?"
Lent. Not about sacrifice, rather about creating space and for discovering ways to participate more fully in The Great Mission. How might I live into the covenant of my Baptismal Vows more fully? "Make me hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice."

Global Comunity

2010-02-13T04:10:00.000-08:00

I am attending Centro Cultural Missionario Institute in Brasilia for three months to study language, culture, and history. Participants include men and women from Malawi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan, Italy, Poland, Germany, Mexico, the United States, Colombia, El Salvador, Singapore, Korea, the Philippines, and Haiti. The number of countries represented is unusual and a gift to all of us who share community and expand our common language, Portuguese. There are fifteen priest/missionaries in the group of twenty-two with a different group of three celebrating and assisting in the eucharist each afternoon before dinner. Today begins the weekend preceding Carnival which is officially Sunday through Tuesday. It is an important cultural institution which traces its roots to a European festival which was banned in the 18th century there. Muita alegria fills the hearts of Brasileiros as they gather with family, friends and neighbors to enjoy the celebration after a year's planning. Once held in preparation of enter the period of Lent, it is now a secular holiday for many.

International Language

2010-02-06T03:01:00.000-08:00

I am in Brasilia for three months studying language, history and Brasilian culture CCM Institute. One of the unexpected gifts is the international community of students.
Countries represented include Columbia, Mexico, El Salvador, Cameroon, the Sudan, The Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, India, Italy, Germany, Poland, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States. All studying Portuguese and Brazilian Culture together. All "estrangeros" with visas. The twenty people include sixteen Catholic priests, three women from religious communities and one Anglican lay missionary. Last night we had a festa (dinner celebration) with a samba band. Everyone sang a popular culture song from her or his country.
It was great! "Thank you, thank you very much...One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock rock.."
Everyone knew the music of Elvis, and everyone got up and jitterbugged--as it were. Music and dance. The international language.

How do I listen?

2010-02-06T02:59:00.000-08:00

How
Do I
Listen to others?
As if everyone were my Master
Speaking to me
His
Cherished
Last
Words.
-Hafiz

John 15:12

2010-01-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Cold Shower

2010-01-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

This morning I turned on the shower and the water wasn't the temperature I like. In fact, the water was cold. In that moment I felt very aggravated. "The rent is always paid on time, and so are the utilities. I ought to be able to expect a warm shower." The cold water woke me up! The subtleties of "entitlement"and "Expectation." Good grief! I am every day with people who don't have a shower or even shelter, and they live on the street. It's really easy to fall into "what I ought to have". The fact is of course that I do have running water and a comfortable place to live; I don't live on the street, and I am both unapologetic and very grateful. I think I got what I needed this morning. It put things in perspective. A cold shower now and then isn't such a bad thing.

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

2010-01-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

I realized last night, I first read this poem exactly 50 years ago. It remains a most favorite. Thank you to my early teacher.

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

- W. B. Yeats

"The Manual"

2009-12-30T09:21:00.001-08:00

Four short books bound into one "manual" for living. Everything a good sexton needs to find her/his way. I recently stumbled on the uncharted path ahead of me. The terrain was rocky and the switch back steep. I was reminded of an earlier time when I would hike 17+ miles on the Appalachian Trail. Tired, weary, reluctant; there was always something beyond and unknown to me that I wanted to see. I wondered for a moment if I should return to the camp below, but desire to journey on won out over doubt. No damage done except a bruised ego. I grabbed hold of the outstretched hand of a stranger, and reclaimed my balance. Something in the "manual" about that as well. Thanks for the hand. Journey on.

Stove Top Cooking

2009-12-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

I've learned new ways of cooking this year. Not just new recipes, but how to cook on gas burners. Like many people, I don't have an oven. Having been the "Master of CA Roasting" for many years, I do miss roasted vegetables, fish and chicken. If you can't boil it, saute it, or steam it--I can't make it. Lots of pasta with vegetables and oatmeal with nuts and raisins every morning for a good start. I also have one of those great Italian stove top espresso pots that I use to have when I studied in Italy (now a very long while ago--but a great time in my life). Just today I thought of what would be great in my kitchen and fit on the small counter space. A Crock Pot. Haven't seen one here but I will try to find one, and if all else fails I will bring one back when I next visit the U.S. Great for hot weather cooking. Won't heat up the apartment that much. More new receipes.

Saudade

2009-12-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

I wrote about "saudade", a word that is not easily translated from Portuguese--which delights Brazilians. It is a kind of right of ownership. I continue to define it as I best understand it to be:
I am because of all that I love and long for. My friends seem to like the gringo's translation, maybe as much for the attempt to understand their most significant expression of the soul, as its accuracy. Brazilians have saudades when they live abroad and get homesick or when they are separated from family and friends. It is a state of mind that they seek and desire. A pining for something or someone. It is a combination of melancholy, love, gratitude and joy. Saudade. (Sa-ud-gee)

Esperanca (Hope)

2009-12-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

Living in Brazil for seven months, I have gained a new understanding of "Hope". I see it now not a wish, rather a way of being. "Hope" opens one to all possibility that is good. "Hope" comes from a place of joy and gratitude and has no space for despair or fear. "A esperanca e' a ultima que morre." ("Hope is the last thing to die.") Living in the hope of all that has yet to happen, while dwelling in the present moment. May I live into the "Hope" of the New Year and be open to all the possibility of "Paz e' Bem".

The Story

2009-12-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

Last night, Christmas came to St. Peter's Mission Church as the congregation joined to portray the Christmas Story. Young and old shepherds, wise men and wise women, angels and The Holy Family were all represented as carols were sung and the story read. Too small a congregation for a children's' pageant, everyone participates. Curtains, tablecloths, scarves and cord transformed all, and moved us through time to Shepherd's Field. For a moment in time, we lived into the story. Candles were lit by each, like so many stars in the sky. "Silent Night, Holy Night." It was the magic of Christmas.

From "The Cure at Troy"

2009-12-21T05:03:00.000-08:00

Human beings suffer.
They torture one another.
They get hurt and they get hard.

History says, Don't hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime,
The longed-for tidal Wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that a farther shore
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and healing wells.

-Seamus Heaney

Filled With The Holy Spirit

2009-12-21T04:22:00.000-08:00

John "leapt for joy" with adoration in the presence of the Christ Child. And, so read the Lesson yesterday at St. John's Chapel and around the world. The tiny chapel was crowded with over twenty children and fourteen adults; led in worship by +Naudal, Odelon+, and Roberto+. It is a neighborhood of the marginalized, the unemployed, of broken families, violence, and drug wars. It is a community at risk. Every child and every adult there in anticipation and adoration. Each one a joyful presence. This was the last service before Christmas, and +Naudal spoke of St. Nicholas in his homily, explaining that unlike Papai Noel, Nicholas didn't bring presents. He spoke to the children and reminded us of the true meaning of Christmas. After the benediction and blessing, each child received a package from Papai Noel. They had been patient, but now they were filled with excitement. Their eyes were wide and hearts joyful as each was handed a small wrapped gift. Some would save it until Christmas morning, but most couldn't wait and tore away the paper. With each child, it seemed not important what was inside the wrapper. What mattered was that they received something; and they were remembered by Papai Noel. They felt a part of something larger than themselves, and they were included. It wasn't the present, but it was the Spirit of Christmas.

More or Less (Mais ou Menos)

2009-12-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

I received a promotional message from a shop in Los Angeles I like very much. "More is More..", it read. A clever take on architect Mies van der Rohe's precept, "Less is more."
But, it left me wondering if "more really is ever more", and if more sometimes is actually less. It's been a tough year for retailers and businesses. They are struggling to keep alive. I'm on their side and I honor enterprise and incentive to succeed. I am able to do what I do today because of the business I started and grew which business plan relied on "more". I like the nice apartment, the clothes, the cars (I Zip now), the travel and the stuff. And I am grateful for the security I might have. I'm just wondering when More might not be More, and actually be less. I think More is Less when More prevents me from sharing More. I think More is Less when More overwhelms children and confuses them. I think More is Less when More is used as a drug. I think More is Less when it is a distraction from what interests me most. So, I'm going to try even harder to see and understand when More is Less for me.

A Christmas Cake (O Bolo Natal)

2009-12-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the last lunch of the year for Projeto Emanuel. Fried chicken, spaghetti, salad, roast onion and potatoes. Tables and chairs filled the dining hall with places for about fifty. Rosi, the director said, "It is special today". +Naudal and I were standing at the door of the Cathedral when a recycler, his wife and their two young sons took protection under the canopy. It was raining "gatos e' cachorros" as the expression is here. We invited them to come in and have lunch and after some reluctance, they came inside. By then, the dining room was filled to capacity, and they along with twenty men took their seats on the benches in the nave.

There they sat quietly, the expectant mother praying and expressing the piety of her faith tradition. Quiet and with grace and family affection they waited with expectation and hope.

The lunches were delivered to them and a total of ninety seven people, more than twice the number as usually comes. And, there was plenty of food and variety for everyone. It was beautiful. As volunteers cleared plates and served juices some guests went on their way. The family waited quietly to one side, protected and included in community. Social and economic boundaries had been obscured for a moment for this marginalized and oppressed family. There was room, and space had been made to hold them. Finally, the dining room had been cleared and a large cake was at the center of a desert table. People were ten deep waiting to be served, and there were the two small boys (three and four) waiting in anticipation but like their father not able to see the table. "Flavio+", I called out, "may the children come forward?" The crowd parted and made a path to the front while all applauded and cheered for the family. There they were in the front of the crowd with full view of the beautiful cake. Their eyes opened widely as they were served the first pieces. Christmas came early this year.

Bridge

2009-12-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

The entire world is a very narrow bridge.
The essential thing is to have no fear at all.

- Reb Nachman

The Opening of Eyes

2009-11-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

That day I saw beneath dark clouds
the passing light over the water
and I heard the voice of the world speak out,
I knew then as I had before
life is no passing memory of what has been
nor the remaining pages in a great book
waiting to be read.

It is the opening of eyes long closed.
It is the vision of far off things
seen for the silence they hold.
It is the heart after years
of secret conversing
speaking out loud in the clear air.

It is Moses in the desert
fallen to his knees before the lit bush.
It is the man throwing away his shoes
as if to enter heaven
and finding himself astonished,
opened at last,
fallen in love with solid ground.

--David Whyte

Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

I honor the many who have spent decades or even a lifetime working for Peace. This year, the Nobel Peace Prize was given to President Obama for imagining a world with peace, and having the commitment and the courage to create a movement throughout the world as we have not seen for a long while. Suddenly in a moment of time, it seems within reach. He gave voice to the possibility of Peace. Imagine a changed world.

A Monday Holiday

2009-10-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

There it was--right in front of me at the cheese shop. The same one I buy at Peet's when they have it, usually about this time of year. OK. A smaller pan inside a larger one filled with water and you have a double boiler for the scrambled eggs. Fresh eggs from the guy selling them out of a basket at the corner. OK. Bacon? Hmmm. Oh, it's not sliced but that big square of pork and fat that looks like a ham hock. OK. It's time to buy a good utility knife. Toast? No toaster and no oven. (Not that unusual.) French bread buttered and warmed in a skillet. Got it! I had a great breakfast today. It's a holiday here. No, I assure you that it is not Columbus Day here. "He did not discover America, so what is the big deal?" I'm learning more than language. And, "the Wright brothers did not discover aviation, a Brasileiro did." And, Brasil is going to win the World Cup in 2014. But, I say that the US "futebol" (soccer) team are no longer "zebras" (dark horses) and I still say that the USA is better in beach volleyball! They are very, very patient with the estrangero.

Rain

2009-10-11T14:46:00.001-07:00

We have had cold weather and what my friends call uncommon rain this spring. It reminds me of both West Africa and a time I spent in Maine. I different kind of down pour than we have in Northern California.

"The rain surrounded the cabin...with a whole world of meaning, of secrecy, of rumor. Think of it: all that speech pouring down, selling nothing, judging nobody, drenching the thick mulch of dead leaves, soaking the trees, filling the gullies and the crannies of the wood with water, washing out the places where men have stripped the hillside...nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants, the rain. As long as it talks, I am going to listen."

- Thomas Merton

Encouraging Heart

2009-10-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

My teacher and friend has a listening heart. Her voice is never loud, but quiet and reassuring.
A scientist grounded in love of Creation, her words are simple and few. God grant me an encouraging heart.