Recently, the Catholic News Agency ran this article which featured a Maine parish and its pastor. Â The gist of the article was this: because we cannot distribute blessed palms to the faithful on Palm Sunday, the pastor of that parish suggested that people obtain pine branches instead and call it “Pine Sunday”. This idea generated several responses in my own mind, and also helped me focus on a theme for this reflection on Palm Sunday. Continue reading “Palm Sunday”
The COVID-19 Zone
Or
How We Learn To Stop Worrying and Surrender to Love
We are about to begin Holy Week.
April is Autism Awareness Month.
We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three realities converge for us now. What do they have to do with one another? Nothing… and everything.  The pandemic, and our responses to it, have brought us to a crisis moment as the People of God. There is hope on the horizon – an immense, brilliant hope, hidden in Christ but offered to us now. Before we can perceive this hope, we must acknowledge our situation as it is. This will be very difficult for many. It entails seeing things in a manner differently than the world as a whole sees things. That is why we need to look to autistic people – people who habitually see things differently; people who are not fooled by ‘spin’ – as an example of what this means and how it can work. It is the hour when people who appear to be of no use – such as autistic people and contemplatives – may have something valuable to share with everyone else.
Let us begin. Continue reading “The COVID-19 Zone”
Prayer to Consecrate One’s Autism
I have recently composed a Prayer of Consecrating Our Autism to St. Thorlak. Â It may be found here. It may be obtained in Kindle format here.
Those of you who have been following my blog for a while know of my devotion to St. Thorlak as an unofficial (as yet) Patron Saint of Autism. This prayer is intended as a means for someone on the autism spectrum, or a family member of someone who cannot pray this themselves, to offer one’s autism to St. Thorlak, its gifts and its challenges, so that, through St. Thorlak’s intercession, one’s autism may serve the Lord in some way.
In this time of great uncertainty, which also provokes great anxiety among many on the spectrum, it is my fervent prayer and hope that, through this prayer, the Lord and St. Thorlak may bless and guide us and show us more clearly how our autism may serve the Lord.
A Church In Holy Saturday Mode
In my last post, and especially in my poem, my intention was to open my heart fully and express the anguish that yesterday’s news brought to me. Yesterday, in a real sense, was a Good Friday moment for us all. It was a time to weep, a time to mourn. In one sense, we may feel as though the Lord has been taken away (even though He remains among us) and we do not know where they have put Him.
Now that we are absorbing the news of the suspension of public Masses, where are we? We long for Easter, for a Resurrection, for the full restoration of our Eucharistic celebrations. Until then, we find ourselves in Holy Saturday mode. Continue reading “A Church In Holy Saturday Mode”
Who Will Weep With Me?
Yesterday, my diocese joined many others in suspending the celebration of all public Masses for an indefinite time. Â I was asked if I could write something instructive, encouraging and hope-filled for the next issue of Harvest, our diocesan magazine.
Hope-filled? Â Yes, there is reason to hope. Â As the Scriptures assure us, hope does not disappoint. Â The favors of the Lord are not spent. Â His mercies are not exhausted. Â They are renewed each morning.
However, before we can speak a true word of hope, we must speak true words that acknowledge fully our plight.  We must express our pain and sorrow.  Otherwise, our words of hope will seem unreal, naïve, and escapist.  It is in this spirit that I offer the following. Continue reading “Who Will Weep With Me?”