Jon's posts serve to sustain these symposia: St Paul lays down the Gospel law: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (I Thessalonians 5: 16-18). The early part of this mandate--"Rejoice always" and "pray continually"--resonates the most profound 2-word verse of the Bible: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). It's as if God gave us these to memorize.
Dick's reminders to give thanks are both bedrock and balm: we depend on one another, and as Hamlet attests, "There's a divinity that shapes our ends / Rough hew them as we will" (Act 5, scene 2). We are forever between being baptized and the need for absolution before the Holy Mass. It is amazing what sacraments can do, and to partake home and abroad.
home
In Arizona we
sang around the Baldwin
and danced below the cowboy boot,
witnessed beautiful ballet,
talked with old and new familiars,
walked a hundred miles
through canyons called Madera,
Grand, Antelope, Owl and Pine
and Boulder Creek, scavenged desert
treats, learned about the richness
of our earth and how to keep
a process clean, played good games
and wrote things to be read,
prayed and told some anecdotes,
some to honor those who passed away,
to realize they are really here to stay,
another testament of faith today.
In Arizona we
may have lazed around a bit
or channeled our routines,
instead of challenging the pharisee
in every son of Zebedee (begin with me),
we could have more than met
the Navajo who listened to our wonder
and journeyed with us timelessly,
then blessed our drive away,
we might have lifted spirits
when we raised our voice, occasionally,
or settled into silence of serenity,
the matins of the mule deer
and coyote foraging discreetly,
yet as the raptors and the beaver
in captivity, we adhered to Advent
provender from home beyond the inn.
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