Month: August 2021
Reflection It is hard to believe that this is the last day of August. The summer months seem to have passed almost unnoticed in the midst of heat, disease, crisi,and national divisiveness. Yet nature is true to itself despite us. The song of the crickets still fills the evenings. The tomatoes have still ripened, and some trees already have a tinge of yellow in their leaves. Soon this summer will…
Reflection A contemplative person is imbued with the presence of the sacred in all life and in this earth. This view is not naïve. It recognizes the pain and distortions in the world. Yet, while acknowledging what is wrong, it enables one to see through and work toward what is possible. The wars among nations, the hatreds and prejudices, the destruction of species, the pollution of our planet are all…
Reflection This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. Isaiah 29:13 Isaiah puts these words on the lips of God. Isn’t it an indictment of so many of us personally and in the public arena? It is easy to “honor” God with our words. We begin political events with an invocation, we hold…
Reflection To be created by Love as a labor of love for the sake of love is our primordial and greatest blessing. For us to bless is to participate in and extend that free, generous, unconditional, and initial sending forth of Divine life into the world. The one who blesses acts as a conduit through which the life, love, goodness, presence, and concern of God is made known and shared. To…
Rosemary was a true Brooklynite with proud, vivacious Italian roots. As the cherished daughter of Oswald and Margaret Bellantoni, Ro was the dear sister of three loving and supportive brothers, Frank, Donald and Bob. Ro’s deep faith and jovial, hospitable manner were nurtured by countless family gatherings with the guarantee of good food and wholesome comradery. In her early years in the congregation, Rosemary taught elementary school and directed parish…
Reflection Who do you say that I am? Matthew 13;16-20 It’s a question we have to answer for ourselves. It asks us to go beyond the pat answers we have learned or the cultural Jesus stereotype with which we are surrounded. Who is this Jesus for us in our personal lives? How does his life impact ours? Do his words affect our living? “Who do you say that I am?” …
Reflection When you come into contact with the Holy, there can be no barrier between you and the earth on which you stand. All creation is intimate with the sacred. There can be nothing separating us from God. We must take off our shoes for it is only here on this earth that we can encounter God. All ground is holy to God who calls us to take the holy…
Reflection In us, as creation comes to consciousness, its destiny as an expression of divine love calls for a response. We remain lost and lonely, searching for completion, until we recognize our fulfillment in this love affair with the Holy One. It is a gift unconditionally given, a love present from all eternity. Contrary to past theories of salvation, God’s love was never lost and does not need to be…
Reflection In the course of our lives we face many difficult, daunting, demanding, but seldom dangerous situations. The vast majority of us are not heroic. We avoid danger. We walk away from conflict. We prefer comfort and ease to sacrifice and pain. Fear comes more naturally than faith. But we do go on. For most of us, our courage is not shown in the one dangerous heroic act. It is proven…
Reflection Sometimes we don’t see what is beautiful because it is so familiar. We sometimes tend to take people for granted when we know them very well. We may see their flaws clearly and miss their goodness. This is also true of our experience of the natural world, of the many small miracles of everyday living. Becoming so used to all that is around us and within us, we deprive…