Las Posadas en el Barrio

Entren Santos peregrinos,peregrinos,

reciban este rincón.

Aunque es pobre la morada, la morada,

se las doy de corazón.

La Virgen de Guadalupe

Donna, se’ tanto grande e tanto vali,
che qual vuol grazia e a te non ricorre,
sua disïanza vuol volar sanz’ ali.

La tua benignità non pur soccorre
a chi domanda, ma molte fïate
liberamente al dimandar precorre.

              --Dante, Paradiso: Canto XXXIII                  

Late Autumn

To rest for a moment, beneath this sunset over a rocky plateau covered with the bronze silhouettes of trees, in this garden with yellow and auburn leaves falling in the insubstantial breeze, in this late Autumn light, to rest for a moment—and yet to know that rest is possible, anywhere, anytime—in God.  

Labrador Tea

I first encountered Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) when a friend shared leaves with me that she had picked while living in the Yukon.  I fell in love with the shiny green leaves and their fuzzy reddish-orange undersides.  This herb makes a very fine tea with a taste somewhat like bergamot.  It is said to be rich in Vitamin C.  I have since heard that it can be toxic in large quantities, but I have never encountered any problems after drinking a cup or two.  In the Fair Trade store where I used to volunteer we sold a tea that was made up of a number of herbs, including this one, from an Indigenous producer group.  I don’t believe that that particular tea is available anymore, but you can buy Labrador Tea from other sources if you don’t happen to live in a region where it grows.  Labrador tea has been over-harvested in the wild in some places, so it is important to only obtain it from suppliers who practice sustainable cultivation and harvesting.  (Ledum latifolium is an earlier botanical name for Labrador Tea.)

God

God’s self-revelation to us, absolutely naked, completely without convention or ornament, and yet, not in a denial of nature, rather, in truth, the decryption of nature, and the sacralization of all things.  We do not—as so many well-meaning people think, invent this God.  Not the god of the philosophers, not the god of the politicians, but the loving and sustaining ground of all being, God, utterly separate, utterly self-evident, and yet close to us.  In him we live and breathe and have our being—not the other way around.  (An experience; an experience that, in reality, one cannot adequately begin to put into words…)

Occupy Sandy

                                                                                      Todd Seelie/Suckapants

Occupy Wall Street volunteers are on the front lines of providing emergency relief to some of the poorest and hardest hit communities in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  For more information:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/11/04/occupy_sandy_hurricane_relief_being_led_by_occupy_wall_street.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/occupy-sandy-occupy-wall-street_n_2061067.html

To donate:

https://www.wepay.com/donations/occupy-sandy-cleanup-volunteers

Día de los Muertos

Support Walmart Workers Who are Standing Up for Their Rights

Support Walmart workers who are demanding their rights and a better life:

http://forrespect.org/

http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/

Reading

                                                                                               ESA/Hubble Image

Ever since I was young, I've returned to St. Ireneaus of Lyons many, many times, finding in his writings a source of clarity and light. There is so much in this wonderful passage, for instance: “God has no need of anything that is ours; we do have a need—to offer something to God.” (Adversus haereses IV, 18.6, Tr. Maurice Wiles & Mark Santer)  And there is a real echo of Ireneaus in Novalis (and George MacDonald), consciously perhaps—or not.  Song five of Hymmen an die Nacht is a magnificent lyrical expression of Ireneaus’ organic eschatology, including this:

Die Mutter eilte bald dir nach – in himmlischem Triumph. – Sie war die erste in der neuen Heimat bei dir. Lange Zeiten entflossen seitdem, und in immer höherm Glanze regte deine neue Schöpfung sich – und Tausende zogen aus Schmerzen und Qualen, voll Glauben und Sehnsucht und Treue dir nach – wallen mit dir und der himmlischen Jungfrau im Reiche der Liebe – dienen im Tempel des himmlischen Todes und sind in Ewigkeit dein.

     Back in the day, the friends I had who were involved with the diocesan youth department used to love that most famous quote of Irenaeus, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”  Irenaeus, who was a part of Christianity in its youth, is filled with the virtues of the young: freshness, mental agility, confidence, joy, and enthusiasm.

Julius Nyerere

Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere (13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999)

"The Conscience of Africa"

We say man was created in the image of God.  I refuse to imagine a God who is miserable, poor, ignorant, superstitious, fearful, oppressed and wretched--which is the lot of the majority of those He created in His own image.                                       

                                                          --Julius K. Nyerere, Maryknoll magazine, June 1971

Hurried Results Are Worse Than None...

Hurried results are worse than none. We must force nothing, but be partakers of the divine patience. How long it took to make the cradle! And we fret that the baby Humanity is not reading Euclid and Plato, even that it is not understanding the Gospel of St. John! If there is one thing evident in the world’s history, it is that God hasteneth not. All haste implies weakness. Time is as cheap as space and matter. 

                                                                --George MacDonald Robert Falconer

St. John Chrysostom

Do you wish to honor the Body of the Savior? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honor it in church with silk vestments while outside it is naked and numb with cold. He who said, “This is my body,” and made it so by his word, is the same that said, “You saw me hungry and you gave me no food. As you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.” Honor him then by sharing your property with the poor. For what God needs are not golden chalices but golden souls.

                     –St. John Chrysostom, “On the Gospel of St. Matthew,” 50, iii

Oberwiederstedt Castle, Birthplace of Novalis

Schloss Oberwiederstedt, birthplace of Novalis.  Now home to die Internationale Novalis-Gesellschaft (The International Novalis Society), die Forschungsstätte für Frühromantik (The Research Center for Early Romanticism), das Novalis-Museum and der Novalis-Stiftung “Wege wagen mit Novalis” (The Novalis Foundation “Dare to Go with Novalis”).

Langer, unablässiger Umgang, freie und künstliche Betrachtung, Aufmerksamkeit auf leise Winke und Züge, ein inneres Dichterleben, geübte Sinne, ein einfaches und gottesfürchtiges Gemüt, das sind die wesentlichen Erfordernisse eines echten Naturfreundes, ohne welche keinem sein Wunsch gedeihen wird. Nicht weise scheint es, eine Menschenwelt ohne volle aufgeblühte Menschheit begreifen und verstehn zu wollen. Kein Sinn muß schlummern, und wenn auch nicht alle gleich wach sind, so müssen sie doch alle angeregt und nicht unterdrückt und erschlafft sein. So wie man einen künftigen Maler in dem Knaben sieht, der alle Wände und jeden ebenen Sand mit Zeichnungen füllt, und Farben zu Figuren bunt verknüpft, so sieht man einen künftigen Weltweisen in jenem, der allen natürlichen Dingen ohne Rast nachspürt, nachfrägt, auf alles achtet, jedes Merkwürdige zusammenträgt und froh ist, wenn er einer neuen Erscheinung, einer neuen Kraft und Kenntnis Meister und Besitzer geworden ist.

                                                                           --Novalis, Die Lehrlinge zu Sais

U.S. Peace Caravan

Below is a letter from Javier Sicilia, leader of the Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad  (Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity):

Dear Neighbor,

The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, MPJD sends greetings to you and your organization.

We are a movement that emerged last year in response to widespread violence in Mexico stemming from the policies of the war against drugs and drug cartels. The 60,000 deaths, the 10,000 disappearances, and the 160,000 internally displaced people during the past six years is a tragedy caused directly caused by failed security policies. Importantly, only 2% of all crimes committed in Mexico are investigated and solved.

We are dedicated to giving voice to the families of victims of this violence and to publicizing the real costs of this war. We have made it clear that the Mexican state must stop denying its responsibilities, which it does by criminalizing the victims of violence. Instead, it must accept that there are victims, and that it is the Mexican government’s responsibility to provide justice and reparations to them. With this in mind, we have asked for a change from the current security strategy to one focused on human security.

To these ends, the Movement has organized two “caravans” that have traversed the North and South of Mexico. These actions prompted meetings with the President and Legislature to seek policy alternatives to war. These experiences have allowed us to see first-hand the grave situation we face as a society.

As part of our quest for peace and justice, the Movement would like to extend to you a cordial invitation to be part of a new endeavor: the US Peace Caravan. This caravan will leave this August from San Diego, CA and arrive in Washington, DC in September.  This initiative seeks to promote dialogue with American civil society and its government regarding the following themes: the need to stop gun trafficking; the need to debate alternatives to drug prohibition; the need for better tools to combat money laundering; and the need to promote bilateral cooperation in human rights and human security in two priority areas: promotion of civil society and safety, as well as protection and safety for migrants.

The MPJD seeks the support of the diverse array of groups we believe would be interested in promoting and end to, or alternatives to, the aforementioned policies. We believe that the solutions must emerge from within civil society and from a regional dialogue. For these reasons, we invite you to be our counterpart in an exercise of civilian diplomacy that can return peace, justice and dignity to the victims of this war. We hope we will be able to count on your valuable participation as an ally and partner in this historic event.

Sincerely,

Javier Sicilia

Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad

To be a writer

In one of his books, probably Αναφορά στον Γκρέκο, Nikos Kazantzakis says something like, “To be a monk, you must love God to the point of absolute fanaticism; otherwise, your mind will break under the strain.”  I’ve often thought of those words—even though I may have the quote completely wrong, as I am relying on a long-held memory—but I have begun to suspect that, “To be a writer, you must love writing to the point of absolute fanaticism; otherwise, your mind will break under the strain.”

    I have many friends who are midwives, and through them I have come to know plenty of midwifery students as well.  One thing I learned about the students was that they fell into two categories: those who wanted to practice midwifery, and those who wanted to “be a midwife.”  The first group, by far the smallest, wanted to catch babies, and was made up of women totally dedicated to birth.  The second group consisted of women who liked the “midwifery lifestyle,” i.e. women’s circles, talking about herbs, wearing natural fiber clothing, and eating vegan—all fine things, which those who made up the first group were by and large also fond of, but there was no real passion for birth itself among the latter group.  Those who loved helping women give birth went on to practice midwifery, despite the pain, stress, bodily fluids, difficult hours, poor pay, and scorn of the mainstream obstetric establishment, while those who were just devoted to the trappings of being a midwife eventually went on to something else.

     There are plenty of people I know who want to “be a writer,” but few who actually love to write.  Eventually, the same shakeout occurs with would-be writers as happened with the midwifery students.  In the end, writing isn’t about having a career, being successful—or even publication.  It's like what the wonderful, uncompromising singer Julie Christmas says about music: "There are still people making music just to make sure it's done right." That's what we as writers should be doing.  It isn't about "being a writer." It's about writing.  The satisfaction comes from getting it right, from communicating something you believe is worthwhile.  As Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita:

     “Be intent on action,

     not on the fruits of action.”

Lazarus Still Goes Hungry

Sometimes I think that it’s difficult, if not impossible, for people who don’t actually have to interface with the system on a life-and-death basis, from a disadvantaged position, to really understand the extent to which it is broken and demands human sacrifices just to continue.  More and more, the rich, and I daresay much of the middle-class, seem like sailors on a ship set adrift, who are waiting for the weak and sick to die, or at least not be strong enough to fight back, so they can steal their water ration. Is this the society in which we want to reside?  I think of an acquaintance who recently saw her son, an innocent victim of gun violence, go from a healthy teenager to a victim fighting for his life, facing a future of total paralysis below the chest and who knows how many other health problems.  What does the future hold for him?  Or for my children, who depend on a number of expensive medications and treatments just to survive a chronic illness?  Or for the homeless youngsters that I see at the Rescue Mission?  Or the students I know who have been priced out of an education or reduced to debt slaves with an indeterminate indenture.  Meanwhile, banks and financial institutions across the world get billions in public money, while the unemployment lines get longer.  We feed the Rich Man, but Lazarus still goes hungry, and no one tends his sores.