Readings: Isaiah 66, 10-14; Psalm 66, Let All the Earth Cry Out to God with Joy; Galatians 6, 14-18, Luke 10, 1-12, 17-20
4th of July: some notes–
1. Celebrates the composition & signing of the Declaration of Independence from the British on July 4, 1776. 2 days ealier a declaration was made.
2. Composed by a committee of 5, including the greats, Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin.
3. Jefferson & Adams, long time friends and collaborators, both died the same day. Guess the day: July 4. Exactly on the 50th anniversary of the first July 4.
4. Just so you know: Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, Coney Island, NY, began July 4, 1916.
Isaiah 66: 2 notes–
1. This is the last chapter of the whole great book. Therefore, the author is author #3, written just at the end of or after the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 550 BCE. It is also part of the Book of Consolation and the reading today is total consolation.
2. Jerusalem is mentioned a lot. What about making Jerusalem symbolic, not just the place? What kind of symbol? Don't know. But, all of us have our Jerusalem place.
Sources: Wikipedia; David McCullough, John Adams (excellent work)
The Harvest is Abundant, but the Laborers are Few?
Last weekend John Cade, Tony, and I went to a convention-seminar at the AA Training Center south of DFW airport. The meeting was sponsored by and for Corpus, a national organization of over 600 married priests.
About 80 plus people were there, and, folks, I was impressed. Humbled, even. About half the guys came with their wives. These people are the best.
I would look at these men and think to myself, ‘These are the kind of men this church needs.’ They are healthy spiritually and psychologically, they love to serve, and they are rejected because they married. The Catholic Church reminds me of the mad wolf who eats her young. Every one of these men should be active and would be active if they could.
Let me tell you briefly about just two men who moved me.
First is a man named Anthony Padovano. You may have heard about him or read him. Incredibly talented and accomplished, he’s written over 25 books, has lectured at 25 colleges & universities. He has doctorates in theology and literature. He presents at the U.N. and at The Hague. He’s a playwright and, in fact, for the second year in a row we got to see one of his plays, one on Thomas Merton. Last year was Martin Luther.
Equally outstanding about Tony Padovano, however, is his optimism in the face of lots of criticism and his personal warmth. He presented a talk on the profoundly positive impact the Second Vatican Council has had on Catholicism, an impact that cannot be reversed despite the reversal efforts going on. When the article is printed, I will attach it to the blog.
The second person who humbled me was a married priest from Louisville, Kentucky. A simple, easy going guy, I only know his first name, Tony. I called him Louisville Tony.
I got to know Louisville Tony Friday afternoon before the seminar began and after we both had checked in. We ended up sitting on a porch overlooking the beautiful campus.
He told me that when he married about 25 years ago, he had no idea what he was going to do to support himself & wife. He had decided to go into teaching, when he saw an ad by Hospice asking for chaplains. He applied, was accepted, and has worked as a Hospice chaplain in Louisville now for decades.
He told me he loves what he does. He is prevented from being a priest officially, but he said that with the exception of doing Masses he is working full time as a priest anyway. He wanted to know all about you folks and how and when our community got started. A number of guys, in fact, wanted to know this. He said he might explore starting a small group in Louisville.
In the gospel this morning we hear about the harvest being abundant, but the laborers are few. I would say, “Whoa!” I know of an organization that has 600 laborers, Corpus, who signed up to be workers, but did not just want to live alone. I find that the ones I’ve come to know through Corpus are still laborers, just not officially.
In fact, they are like all of us, because we are all called to be like Louisville Tony, even like Anthony Padovano, in our own way. In this community you help with CCAC, with Habitat, with Heritage Farm, with the Life Net food serving at Thanksgiving, with food drives, and on and on.
What are you doing today?
Picture 1: Mass Begins, Wendy & Ben
Picture 2: Sienna with grandmother, Robyn, and mom, Erin
Picture 3: Sacrament of the Sick, John Cade
Picture 4: Sisters, Cindy & Marlene