Sitting in a cafe today enjoying my lunch when a sudden scream is heard. I look around and there in the corner is a young girl about 13 years of age sitting in a wheelchair, her body twisted and her head looking down and to the side. Her parents feeding her and not saying a word. Then suddenly another scream, and another. More will follow that. I sit back realizing that for this girl there are probably many screams in the course of her day. But each time she screams something in me responds. The waves of painful emotion seem to wash up against my body each time like a relentless tide. I begin to pray...for her, for me, for all of us in that cafe. Somehow , I pray, may we all feel something. May we embrace this young girl, her suffering, her parent's suffering, our own suffering, in some secret loving way . And if possible, may we communicate to her our gratitude and respect. For this person and her parents are people of courage. Perhaps, in some sense, her screaming is a reminder . It may be that our silence in the midst of all the insanity and needless suffering in this world is indeed the stranger response. God give me the courage to scream, to cry out in a public place when everything in me says -" Enough !"
Br. Stefan
We are as the flute, and the music in us is from Thee; we are as the mountain and the echo in us is from Thee.
7.03.2010
3.18.2010
The Story of a Great People Who Lost Their Soul...and Found It Once Again
This is the story of a great people who lost their soul...and found it once again. It happened this way:
A long time ago, an invading people landed on the shores of Ireland. They were a fierce people, mighty and shrewd. They believed it was their right to conquer and take whatever they pleased. And so, a great battle ensued. Many on both sides were maimed and killed. And it seemed that there was no end in sight. But then, one night, the chief wizard from the invading people crept in to the Irish camp while they slept. It was as though he was invisible. He went straight to the center of the camp and stole their most prized possession -the sacred harp. This harp was a great comfort to the people. Every day and night they played upon this harp and souls were soothed and spirits inspired. In fact this harp had a name: HARMONY WITH ALL THINGS.
Now, in the morning, when the people discovered their sacred harp had been stolen, a great lament went up. Weeping and wailing throught the entire camp. It was as thought their very soul had been removed. And the piper tried to play but no sound came . The flute player picked up the flute but no melody was to be heard. The chief singer opened her mouth but no song could be sung. A great despair spread among the people.
Just then, a small boy came forward. His name was Owen. Owen announced that he would go to the enemy camp and bring back the sacred harp. " You're mad", they said. " You'll be killed". But that didn't stop Owen. He had made up his mind , and that was that. So he gathered enough food and drink for the long journey and off he went.
It was indeed a very long journey, especially for a small boy. All day and night he walked. And while he walked he sang and chanted. And it was the song that kept him company. Now, something happened to Owen as he walked along with a lovely melody and a steady rhythm by his side. And we'll tell that later.
When he arrived at the camp of the enemy he walked straight passed the armed guards, right into the heart of the camp , found the sacred harp and walked back out again and while all saw him , no one raised a hand to stop or harm him.
Arriving back among his people there were great cheers that went up. " Hooray, Owen has returned. And he's brought back our sacred harp!" That night gathered around the fire the question that everyone was eager to ask was put to young Owen: " How did you do it? How did you walk right into the heart of the enemy camp and come out alive?" Owen thought for a minute and then said: " It was a long journey. So, to comfort myself I starting to sing some of our songs. As I did, something strange began to happen to me. I fell into a kind of trance. The song took me to a place I had never been before. The further I walked the deeper the song became . It was like the song was singing me! Then images began to appear in my mind. Faces of the enemy. Their children's faces. Beautiful faces all. It all became blurred and I could not tell their faces from my own. So that when I walked in to enemy camp they were no longer my enemy and I was completely visible. When they saw my face I believe that they saw the faces of their own children. They smiled . Some cried. And no one did me any harm."
"Rubbish", cried an old man. C'mon tell us what really happened. You snuck into the camp and stole it. Didn't you?" But there were some who believed his story.
Now Owen never spoke about it again as long as he lived.
As for the invading people...they were so moved by what they saw that they decided to leave Ireland and end their war-making altogether. And they erected a standing stone which, if you look hard enough, you can still see to this day. For they had learned the most valuable lesson: to make war and to do violence on another people is to make war and to do violence on yourself.
A long time ago, an invading people landed on the shores of Ireland. They were a fierce people, mighty and shrewd. They believed it was their right to conquer and take whatever they pleased. And so, a great battle ensued. Many on both sides were maimed and killed. And it seemed that there was no end in sight. But then, one night, the chief wizard from the invading people crept in to the Irish camp while they slept. It was as though he was invisible. He went straight to the center of the camp and stole their most prized possession -the sacred harp. This harp was a great comfort to the people. Every day and night they played upon this harp and souls were soothed and spirits inspired. In fact this harp had a name: HARMONY WITH ALL THINGS.
Now, in the morning, when the people discovered their sacred harp had been stolen, a great lament went up. Weeping and wailing throught the entire camp. It was as thought their very soul had been removed. And the piper tried to play but no sound came . The flute player picked up the flute but no melody was to be heard. The chief singer opened her mouth but no song could be sung. A great despair spread among the people.
Just then, a small boy came forward. His name was Owen. Owen announced that he would go to the enemy camp and bring back the sacred harp. " You're mad", they said. " You'll be killed". But that didn't stop Owen. He had made up his mind , and that was that. So he gathered enough food and drink for the long journey and off he went.
It was indeed a very long journey, especially for a small boy. All day and night he walked. And while he walked he sang and chanted. And it was the song that kept him company. Now, something happened to Owen as he walked along with a lovely melody and a steady rhythm by his side. And we'll tell that later.
When he arrived at the camp of the enemy he walked straight passed the armed guards, right into the heart of the camp , found the sacred harp and walked back out again and while all saw him , no one raised a hand to stop or harm him.
Arriving back among his people there were great cheers that went up. " Hooray, Owen has returned. And he's brought back our sacred harp!" That night gathered around the fire the question that everyone was eager to ask was put to young Owen: " How did you do it? How did you walk right into the heart of the enemy camp and come out alive?" Owen thought for a minute and then said: " It was a long journey. So, to comfort myself I starting to sing some of our songs. As I did, something strange began to happen to me. I fell into a kind of trance. The song took me to a place I had never been before. The further I walked the deeper the song became . It was like the song was singing me! Then images began to appear in my mind. Faces of the enemy. Their children's faces. Beautiful faces all. It all became blurred and I could not tell their faces from my own. So that when I walked in to enemy camp they were no longer my enemy and I was completely visible. When they saw my face I believe that they saw the faces of their own children. They smiled . Some cried. And no one did me any harm."
"Rubbish", cried an old man. C'mon tell us what really happened. You snuck into the camp and stole it. Didn't you?" But there were some who believed his story.
Now Owen never spoke about it again as long as he lived.
As for the invading people...they were so moved by what they saw that they decided to leave Ireland and end their war-making altogether. And they erected a standing stone which, if you look hard enough, you can still see to this day. For they had learned the most valuable lesson: to make war and to do violence on another people is to make war and to do violence on yourself.
2.16.2010
It's Been A While... Thoughts from on the road...
It has been a while since I've made a blog entry. A lot has been happening.
For the past three months I've been on the road visiting colleges, retreat centers, churches and gatherings sharing a simple prayer of song and silence. The simplicity and beauty of this is something that nourishes and inspires. The music seems to be going deeper and deeper. And it's been very good to see old friends and to make new friends. How to express my gratitude ? The journey continues. Next stop - Harrisonburg, VA tomorrow night where a gathering of students, pastors, and friends will sing and pray the beginning of the season of Lent.
This Lent is a time to look inward and to realize even more deeply the direction and purpose of my life. " Deep Within a Song is Heard..." is the title of a new song. It expresses the joy and peace of hearing and following one's calling, no matter how confusing and contradictory it seems at times. This Easter time I plan to take traditional monastic vows as a first public step in living the life of a monk and in forming a monastic community here in the U.S. I cherish your prayers.
Why be a monk? To respond to this question I refer you to an interview between Oprah Winfrey - yes, Oprah Winfrey - and the Zen Buddhist monk Thick Nhat Hanh. His response to this question is simple: " to transform and heal oneself so that I can share this transformation and healing with others." A monk is someone who takes time to do this. There is no greater joy than this.
Looking ahead... I encourage you to be in the quiet during Lent, to be still, in the moment, to listen even more deeply to all that is within, and to be open to the voice of the One who loves you passionately, completely and always. This is the purpose of Lent - to let go of everything , yes, everything and choose that " one thing". There's a lovely phrase - " It's always been between you and God .." Lent is a time to renew this relationship and this love. Lent is a time to ignite the fire and become - a living flame.
Remember the story: Two monks were sitting quietly one evening when the younger monk said to the older: " What else should I do? I pray every day. I give money to the poor. I study the Bible . I work hard. I visit the sick. What else should I do? Upon hearing this, the older monk stood up and raise his hands to the sky . As he did his whole being became like fire and he said, " You could become a living flame."
In the Midst of It All...
The Love of God,
Your little brother,
Stefan Andre
For the past three months I've been on the road visiting colleges, retreat centers, churches and gatherings sharing a simple prayer of song and silence. The simplicity and beauty of this is something that nourishes and inspires. The music seems to be going deeper and deeper. And it's been very good to see old friends and to make new friends. How to express my gratitude ? The journey continues. Next stop - Harrisonburg, VA tomorrow night where a gathering of students, pastors, and friends will sing and pray the beginning of the season of Lent.
This Lent is a time to look inward and to realize even more deeply the direction and purpose of my life. " Deep Within a Song is Heard..." is the title of a new song. It expresses the joy and peace of hearing and following one's calling, no matter how confusing and contradictory it seems at times. This Easter time I plan to take traditional monastic vows as a first public step in living the life of a monk and in forming a monastic community here in the U.S. I cherish your prayers.
Why be a monk? To respond to this question I refer you to an interview between Oprah Winfrey - yes, Oprah Winfrey - and the Zen Buddhist monk Thick Nhat Hanh. His response to this question is simple: " to transform and heal oneself so that I can share this transformation and healing with others." A monk is someone who takes time to do this. There is no greater joy than this.
Looking ahead... I encourage you to be in the quiet during Lent, to be still, in the moment, to listen even more deeply to all that is within, and to be open to the voice of the One who loves you passionately, completely and always. This is the purpose of Lent - to let go of everything , yes, everything and choose that " one thing". There's a lovely phrase - " It's always been between you and God .." Lent is a time to renew this relationship and this love. Lent is a time to ignite the fire and become - a living flame.
Remember the story: Two monks were sitting quietly one evening when the younger monk said to the older: " What else should I do? I pray every day. I give money to the poor. I study the Bible . I work hard. I visit the sick. What else should I do? Upon hearing this, the older monk stood up and raise his hands to the sky . As he did his whole being became like fire and he said, " You could become a living flame."
In the Midst of It All...
The Love of God,
Your little brother,
Stefan Andre
11.27.2009
Black Friday: Unplugged - A Meditation on Our Contemporary Matrix
Today is called Black Friday in the entire United States. A term that encompasses a culture that cris-crosses California to Maine and New York to Florida. Black Friday were the words chosen by the Philadelphia police back in the 1960s to describe a new phenomenon of massive numbers of people creating a traffic jam in the desperate attempt to get out to the stores and buy products on the day after Thanksgiving. Since then we have more than lived up to the name in the ever multiplying numbers of products and the ever increasing numbers of people desperate to buy them. Ours is a culture determined to consume more and more things and people without any wise limits in sight. Black Friday is really a national symbol of the way we think, and relate to things and each other- the way we live our lives.
Flashback some years ago to a popular film called the Matrix. Here was a movie about a culture where everyone was plugged in to a network of machine and computer. The machines controlled those plugged in and created a fantasy world where individuals could get and have anything they wanted. Of course all of the getting and having wasn't real and the price of all this was the loss of our very humanity and freedom. The story follows the adventures of a small group of people who have become unplugged and who are determined to resist the dominant culture and lead a rebellion to free others from the control of the Matrix. Good story.
Like most science fiction this story says more about our present situation than it does about some future one. Our day has seen the rise of a corporate political and economic system that is truly global, reaching into every life everywhere. We are all plugged in to what some have called a consumer and consuming culture. Others have called it by different names. President Eisenhower once called it the military-industrial-congressional complex. Some today would add to that list the media ,which is seen to be the mouthpiece of this complex . And others would add to that list our religion as well. Our contemporary Matrix is very effective and all pervasive indeed. Just watch any TV or read any magazine.
What's especially insidious is that this Matrix invades and controls not just our politics, our economy, our congress, our religion, and our media but it penetrates and lives inside each one of us in the ideas and feelings, values and beliefs we think are our own. Recently I came across a book. Actually it is being loaned to me by a young person who recently visited and who is out to change the world and become more and more unplugged. The title of the book is : SEX , ECONOMY, FREEDOM and COMMUNITY. The author is Wendell Berry. Without a doubt, this is one berry worth picking.
Here's how Berry begins the book:
Dear Reader,
"This is a book about sales resistance. We live in a time when technologies and ideas(often the same thing) are adopted in response not to need but to advertising, salesmanship and fashion. Salesmen and saleswomen now hover about us as persistently as angels intent on " doing us good" according to instructions set forth by persons educated at great public expense in the arts of greed and prevarication. These sales people are now with us, apparently, even in our dreams."
Berry goes on to say that:
"... the first duty of writers who wish to be of any use even to themselves is to resist the language, the ideas, and the categories of this ubiquitous sales talk, no matter from whose mouth it issues. But then, this is also the first duty of everyone else."
So, how might we creatively resist ? There are many excellent responses to this question. Let me offer just one that is not original at all but is gleaned from the lives of individuals like Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King. More and more we need to see things as they really are. All these people struggled to do just this. They spent hours and days, weeks and months in silence, prayer, inner searching, thought and study to see what was happening both within themselves and in the so called world outside. Gandhi is said to have spent one hour every morning and one hour every night in meditative silence. Each week he devoted every Monday to complete silence and prayer. As they began to see more clearly they began to discern what way they wished to go in order to bring about a greater freedom and fulfillment in their own lives and in the lives of those around them. In their discernment they learned to distinguish the good from the better, the false from the true. In many ways they moved toward a greater simplicity and focus of life. And as they acted on this discernment they gained even more wisdom and more peace: the wisdom and peace of lived experience. So, one simple way forward is to give ourselves to this inner work every day. For a few moments each day to consciously unplug, to be in the silence, to pray, to meditate so we can grow as they grew.
A caution: with all these individuals their wisdom and peace came at a great price. In various ways, they were all rejected by family and friends, by the religious and the highly educated, by the cool and hip culture of their day. The Matrix reacted. Their wisdom led them to be with those who suffer and struggle the most in society. Their lives were lived against the current grain of their culture and they experienced the consequences.
Perhaps when the next Black Friday comes around we will be more deeply rooted in the freedom of our inner life and more unplugged from the culture that compels us to consume.
From Long Island , New York with Love,
Your little brother,
Stefan
Flashback some years ago to a popular film called the Matrix. Here was a movie about a culture where everyone was plugged in to a network of machine and computer. The machines controlled those plugged in and created a fantasy world where individuals could get and have anything they wanted. Of course all of the getting and having wasn't real and the price of all this was the loss of our very humanity and freedom. The story follows the adventures of a small group of people who have become unplugged and who are determined to resist the dominant culture and lead a rebellion to free others from the control of the Matrix. Good story.
Like most science fiction this story says more about our present situation than it does about some future one. Our day has seen the rise of a corporate political and economic system that is truly global, reaching into every life everywhere. We are all plugged in to what some have called a consumer and consuming culture. Others have called it by different names. President Eisenhower once called it the military-industrial-congressional complex. Some today would add to that list the media ,which is seen to be the mouthpiece of this complex . And others would add to that list our religion as well. Our contemporary Matrix is very effective and all pervasive indeed. Just watch any TV or read any magazine.
What's especially insidious is that this Matrix invades and controls not just our politics, our economy, our congress, our religion, and our media but it penetrates and lives inside each one of us in the ideas and feelings, values and beliefs we think are our own. Recently I came across a book. Actually it is being loaned to me by a young person who recently visited and who is out to change the world and become more and more unplugged. The title of the book is : SEX , ECONOMY, FREEDOM and COMMUNITY. The author is Wendell Berry. Without a doubt, this is one berry worth picking.
Here's how Berry begins the book:
Dear Reader,
"This is a book about sales resistance. We live in a time when technologies and ideas(often the same thing) are adopted in response not to need but to advertising, salesmanship and fashion. Salesmen and saleswomen now hover about us as persistently as angels intent on " doing us good" according to instructions set forth by persons educated at great public expense in the arts of greed and prevarication. These sales people are now with us, apparently, even in our dreams."
Berry goes on to say that:
"... the first duty of writers who wish to be of any use even to themselves is to resist the language, the ideas, and the categories of this ubiquitous sales talk, no matter from whose mouth it issues. But then, this is also the first duty of everyone else."
So, how might we creatively resist ? There are many excellent responses to this question. Let me offer just one that is not original at all but is gleaned from the lives of individuals like Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King. More and more we need to see things as they really are. All these people struggled to do just this. They spent hours and days, weeks and months in silence, prayer, inner searching, thought and study to see what was happening both within themselves and in the so called world outside. Gandhi is said to have spent one hour every morning and one hour every night in meditative silence. Each week he devoted every Monday to complete silence and prayer. As they began to see more clearly they began to discern what way they wished to go in order to bring about a greater freedom and fulfillment in their own lives and in the lives of those around them. In their discernment they learned to distinguish the good from the better, the false from the true. In many ways they moved toward a greater simplicity and focus of life. And as they acted on this discernment they gained even more wisdom and more peace: the wisdom and peace of lived experience. So, one simple way forward is to give ourselves to this inner work every day. For a few moments each day to consciously unplug, to be in the silence, to pray, to meditate so we can grow as they grew.
A caution: with all these individuals their wisdom and peace came at a great price. In various ways, they were all rejected by family and friends, by the religious and the highly educated, by the cool and hip culture of their day. The Matrix reacted. Their wisdom led them to be with those who suffer and struggle the most in society. Their lives were lived against the current grain of their culture and they experienced the consequences.
Perhaps when the next Black Friday comes around we will be more deeply rooted in the freedom of our inner life and more unplugged from the culture that compels us to consume.
From Long Island , New York with Love,
Your little brother,
Stefan
10.29.2009
Listening to the Young...
Soon, some young people will be visiting me in the River House to share in prayer , work and conversation. I am very much looking forward to being with them . One thing is clear to me: many young people today are learning a great deal about peace and working very hard to create a more peaceful world. At the same time many are rejecting official Church and Christianity . As I listen to them I hear one young man say;" I don't believe in Christianity anymore. It has lost its credibility." Another young woman says;" I can't go to Church anymore. It is so negative and moralistic." All the young people I meet are searching for meaning, purpose and a way of living that is full of goodness and joy. Some find it very difficult to distinguish between happiness and joy; between superficial good feelings and a deep and lasting joy of life.
What are we learning from them? What do they need from us?
Just yesterday I heard a young Christian man speak of his desire to become friends with a Muslim man . It was a matter of honest human connection and not an issue of shared religious belief. The old categories are falling away. In their place are emerging mutual respect and understanding. Along the way, a greater awareness and a new sensitivity to people and language is growing. This is beyond political correctness. It is a burning desire to communicate in fresh , new language, the realities of faith. The old language is in need of transformation in order to facilitate a deeper human communion and to release the wellsprings of the spirit.
On Thanksgiving Eve Wednesday, November 25 I'll be in Long Island, New York to lead an inter-faith gathering. The chanting then will include new language such as" May All People Live in Peace; Live in Justice, Live in Peace." " May All People Live in Truth; Live in Wisdom, Live in Truth." And this: " Deep Within a Song is Heard; Deep Within My Soul." " Sing the Day and Sing the Night; Sing the Darkness , Sing the Light." "Oh...Ghra Ma Chree" ( Irish for " Love of My Heart").
Many are struggling to find and create new ways of expressing the beauty and goodness of the tradition . That is surely the task of every generation. When we clear away the dust and cobwebs( read negativity and moralism) we see the essential. Music can do that. So can prayer.
For those of us who seek to follow Christ there is much to learn and un-learn. Perhaps the best way to move forward is by listening. Take the time to listen more deeply within to our own inner life. Take the time to listen without to the things and persons in every moment of our lives.
No judgement. No rash reactions. Only deep , calm, awareness. For out of this pool of contemplation comes the wisdom of response.
Peace,
Your Little Brother,
Stefan Andre
What are we learning from them? What do they need from us?
Just yesterday I heard a young Christian man speak of his desire to become friends with a Muslim man . It was a matter of honest human connection and not an issue of shared religious belief. The old categories are falling away. In their place are emerging mutual respect and understanding. Along the way, a greater awareness and a new sensitivity to people and language is growing. This is beyond political correctness. It is a burning desire to communicate in fresh , new language, the realities of faith. The old language is in need of transformation in order to facilitate a deeper human communion and to release the wellsprings of the spirit.
On Thanksgiving Eve Wednesday, November 25 I'll be in Long Island, New York to lead an inter-faith gathering. The chanting then will include new language such as" May All People Live in Peace; Live in Justice, Live in Peace." " May All People Live in Truth; Live in Wisdom, Live in Truth." And this: " Deep Within a Song is Heard; Deep Within My Soul." " Sing the Day and Sing the Night; Sing the Darkness , Sing the Light." "Oh...Ghra Ma Chree" ( Irish for " Love of My Heart").
Many are struggling to find and create new ways of expressing the beauty and goodness of the tradition . That is surely the task of every generation. When we clear away the dust and cobwebs( read negativity and moralism) we see the essential. Music can do that. So can prayer.
For those of us who seek to follow Christ there is much to learn and un-learn. Perhaps the best way to move forward is by listening. Take the time to listen more deeply within to our own inner life. Take the time to listen without to the things and persons in every moment of our lives.
No judgement. No rash reactions. Only deep , calm, awareness. For out of this pool of contemplation comes the wisdom of response.
Peace,
Your Little Brother,
Stefan Andre
10.11.2009
Let's Build a Community of Peace...
From August 7- September 7 , 2009 we held a Pilgrimage of Peace at Rolling Ridge Retreat Center in West Virginia. About 300 people came through. Some stayed a day or two, others a week or more. Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and those who are seekers came to sing, pray, share in conversation and meals, and work together. Many states in the U.S. were represented and even a delegation from Russia arrived to visit. As a result many things have emerged. Over the past three weeks I've been invited to speak and share music at various places including the National Cathedral in D.C., Georgetown University, Contemplative Outreach in N. Virginia, Camp Pecometh in Maryland, and a meeting of Sojourners' interns. At times some young people have accompanied me in these visits. Delightful all...
When asked what they need from the church many students at Georgetown University responded by saying that they need community and a new way of being church that welcomes, affirms, and includes everyone. We need to listen to such voices more deeply.
In the upcoming weeks we'll hold meetings in different churches, retreat centers, and colleges. All of this is to seriously/playfully work toward the creation of a new ecumenical community - a Community of Peace. I want to invite you to join with us in this joyful work: to create a new community that will be similar to the community of Taize in these ways: first, it will be deeply ecumenical - both Catholic and Protestant; second, it will be a community of reconciliation with a special heart for young people and the poor.; third, it will live a daily common life with a beautiful sung prayer of original music that all can participate in. It will be different in this way: it will be a community of men and women; a community of equality. Little by little, day by day, we will build ...
Some have expressed an interest in exploring life in such a monastic community . Others want to support the community in various ways. There is a growing ground swell of interest and support. It's an exciting time...
I cherish your prayers and thoughts.
In Peace,
Your little brother,
Stefan
When asked what they need from the church many students at Georgetown University responded by saying that they need community and a new way of being church that welcomes, affirms, and includes everyone. We need to listen to such voices more deeply.
In the upcoming weeks we'll hold meetings in different churches, retreat centers, and colleges. All of this is to seriously/playfully work toward the creation of a new ecumenical community - a Community of Peace. I want to invite you to join with us in this joyful work: to create a new community that will be similar to the community of Taize in these ways: first, it will be deeply ecumenical - both Catholic and Protestant; second, it will be a community of reconciliation with a special heart for young people and the poor.; third, it will live a daily common life with a beautiful sung prayer of original music that all can participate in. It will be different in this way: it will be a community of men and women; a community of equality. Little by little, day by day, we will build ...
Some have expressed an interest in exploring life in such a monastic community . Others want to support the community in various ways. There is a growing ground swell of interest and support. It's an exciting time...
I cherish your prayers and thoughts.
In Peace,
Your little brother,
Stefan
7.13.2009
Christ and Craic, Guinness and God...
After a month of revisiting my favorite places and people in Ireland some things are becoming clearer. Some of the most deeply moving experience and wondrous wisdom comes out of places and people that are rejected by the institutional church and labeled as secular by many. I cannot say it enough... there is no such thing as secular! Everything and everyone is infused with divine presence and beauty. Everyone! If we could only see one another as we really are. I wish I could describe some of the things I've seen and heard. Imagine a room full of men, women and children, elbow to elbow, singing and telling stories and listening to each other with loving eyes, affectionate smiles and encouraging voices. This is Marrinan's Pub in Milltown Mallbay during the Willey Clancey week. This is a sacred moment if ever there was one.
The Irish have a word " craic" which describes fun, wit, banter, stories, laughter... In some of those moments Christ is seen so clearly. The laughing, loving Jesus is too seldom appreciated today. This deeply human Jesus is the greatest source of vibrant faith and deep wisdom. Great "craic" is something that everyone deserves to experience. Great "craic" is something that every church needs to experience on a regular basis. " Craic" needs to be busting out of every pulpit and every pew in every church! If anyone is a master of craic it's Christ and those whose very life is brimming over with Christ.
What always fascinates me is how we can relax after a pint or two of Guinness. The conversation flows along with the good beer. Often we are able to say things that we need to say but are afraid to say for whatever reasons. Sometimes very important things, indeed. Words of truth, love, forgiveness. I picture Jesus at the wedding of Cana. He's dancing, singing, and drinking good wine. He's speaking freely with his friends and family. He's flowing along with the gathering along with the wine. Remember the story...he actually provided some of the best wine( and I dare say craic) himself!
I imagine his eyes as he looked on his friends and his mother. Radiant, warm, so in love with others. Half of what he says he says with a twinkle in those eyes. His smile...his joking around. Ahh...here comes that "craic" again. It 's all part of being a whole human being, isn't it? And my God, we need more whole human beings.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: let's stop dividing our lives in categories. Let's stop splitting our psyche . It's truly a painfull thing. Let's stop trying to be something we think we should be and simply be what we are - beloved children of a most loving God. Rest and joy in that. Let's live divided no more. Let's begin again and again to live whole lives...wholly passionate, wholly in love with God and one another, whole and full lives...full of Christ and craic, Guinness and God.
In Lovely Ireland,
Stefan Andre
The Irish have a word " craic" which describes fun, wit, banter, stories, laughter... In some of those moments Christ is seen so clearly. The laughing, loving Jesus is too seldom appreciated today. This deeply human Jesus is the greatest source of vibrant faith and deep wisdom. Great "craic" is something that everyone deserves to experience. Great "craic" is something that every church needs to experience on a regular basis. " Craic" needs to be busting out of every pulpit and every pew in every church! If anyone is a master of craic it's Christ and those whose very life is brimming over with Christ.
What always fascinates me is how we can relax after a pint or two of Guinness. The conversation flows along with the good beer. Often we are able to say things that we need to say but are afraid to say for whatever reasons. Sometimes very important things, indeed. Words of truth, love, forgiveness. I picture Jesus at the wedding of Cana. He's dancing, singing, and drinking good wine. He's speaking freely with his friends and family. He's flowing along with the gathering along with the wine. Remember the story...he actually provided some of the best wine( and I dare say craic) himself!
I imagine his eyes as he looked on his friends and his mother. Radiant, warm, so in love with others. Half of what he says he says with a twinkle in those eyes. His smile...his joking around. Ahh...here comes that "craic" again. It 's all part of being a whole human being, isn't it? And my God, we need more whole human beings.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: let's stop dividing our lives in categories. Let's stop splitting our psyche . It's truly a painfull thing. Let's stop trying to be something we think we should be and simply be what we are - beloved children of a most loving God. Rest and joy in that. Let's live divided no more. Let's begin again and again to live whole lives...wholly passionate, wholly in love with God and one another, whole and full lives...full of Christ and craic, Guinness and God.
In Lovely Ireland,
Stefan Andre
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