“and trucked my freight away under birdsong…”

Scavengers… that’s really all they are.  A sesame seed here, toast crumb tumbling to the ground there–but the tweets!  Ah, if it weren’t for the chirping, tweeting descent by wings so animated and lively;  well, if not for that, perhaps I’d put my foot down.  But how could I?

These sparrows of the street, in hopping clusters around the legs of the cafe table outside, know an easy eat.  And so they scavenge…  no, “clean up”, I guess.  Are they really any different than the lumbering street cleaner polishing the granite curbs along Main Street as I drove into town this morning?

————-

Gospel Hill Road received a fresh coating of oil and stone the other day.  Of course, it’s a way to seal the road, but that “like new” look lasts but just a few days.  I missed the event, since I was at work, but the job certainly was done by far fewer than 6,000 men, unlike the boulevard reconstruction above in San Francisco, circa 1933.

And yet, musing over  R. T. Smith’s poem, Scavenging the Wall, poked a bit at some themes rattling around in the hollow cavity on my shoulders.

So I gathered
what I could, scooped them into the bed

and trucked my freight away under birdsong
in my own life’s autumn.

“Life’s autumn”… yes, that’s it. And the sparrows…  still singing, still scavenging.

Perfection… in simplicity

Oh, how we strive for perfection!  And how we fall short …

Since February, I’ve been snatching an hour here, an hour there…  transforming my “office” into a true study – “A Country Deacon’s Study”.  My vision is one of a space with my books and reference materials close at hand.  The hand written Book of Gospels in a place of honor and of true utility.  A space that also incorporates my tiny Mac Mini hidden away in a twenty-something year-old pine combination typing/file cabinet from Yield House that only surrenders a hint of its technology innards with a modest flat panel display on top.  Firewire external hard drive, Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse all tucked inside by the mini…

But what a time undoing the old office in which “technology” spilled from every corner of the room!  It’s at times like these that I wonder if it’s all worth it–the technology, I mean.  iPod Touch, HDTV, Blu-Ray, streaming audio through the Squeeze Box… for starters!

And so I gingerly pick through the technology heap:  ancient HP all-in-one to the landfill…  DSL modem and Xincom Dual-WAN IP gateway up to the shelf in the closet…  Mac mini on a card table for now while the Yield House cabinet gets a retro to hold the tech stuff.

If it weren’t for the welcome 20 minute break for vespers… the thought of HIS incredible love for us on this eve of the Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart… if not for this…  Thank you, Lord, for showing us that while perfection may be our goal, that it is only in loving you that we approach true simplicity, humility and peace.

WWOOF’ing to Edgewater Farm

And so the adventure begins…

Our youngest daughter “landed” in Maine last week after a 470+ mile drive from Gospel Hill.  Her new home for the summer? Edgewater Farm, working as a “Willing Worker On Organic Farms”…  a WWOOF’er in the lingo of the nearly 40 year-old organization.

According to owners, Bill and Carol Emerson, the “Edgewater Farm B&B is located on four acres of perennial, herb, fruit tree and vegetable gardens.”  Sounds beautiful… a great place to begin a WWOOF’ing experience.

And the willing workers at the Edgewater Farm aren’t just WOOF’ers.  The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardners Association connects those who want to learn more about organic farming through their “Farm Apprenticeship” program.  According to our daughter, several of the workers are sponsored by MOFGA.  Networks for promoting organic, sustainable agriculture have truly taken hold locally, nationally and world wide.

WWOOF is a world wide network that began in the UK in 1971 and is now an international movement:  “helping people share more sustainable ways of living.”  WWOOF is an exchange:   volunteers help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.

Our oldest daughter and her husband introduced our family to WWOOF several years ago when they met a young couple from Japan who were “WWOOF’ing around the world”.  A great pair who basically dedicated a year of their lives to seeing the world, while exploring the incredible diversity of organic farming.  And along the way, making lasting relationships and planting ideas for others to cultivate. Later this year, our daughter and son-in-law will be flying to Japan to vacation with them.  And so the adventures continue…

Getting up in the world!

Over the Memorial Day holiday, we leveraged some time off (ah, a true misnomer!) and planned a “Memorial Day Work Weekend”. Instead of concentrating on projects here on Gospel Hill Road, we headed south and worked on our apartment, a turn of the century cement block duplex that we work hard to keep in repair and looking good.

Thanks to help from Loretta, Brian and Theresa, we accomplished more than we ever expected: all of the bad blocks in two key areas were replaced, the entire outside of the second floor got painted, the roof received a recoat… and lots more.

Using both a scissors lift and stationary scaffolding, we really did get up in the world for five days in the sun.  A great break from the usual routine with sunny skies every day!

Finding his voice!

Just a week ago, our grandson Thaddeus was baptized at St. Bartholomew the Apostle Church. [See On the occasion of...] A joyous time!  Today, the newly baptized child found his voice in church…

After Mass... a rest for the boy!

A baby’s cry in church can be such a distraction… or a blessing.  Today, Thaddeus’ Mom was Lector and this was one 3-month old that convinced all of us that HE KNOWS Mom’s voice!  As Loretta began to read from the Book of Acts, her amplified voice from the lecturn evoked an immediate, sustained and loud cry of recognition from our grandson!

When Fr. Doug finished proclaiming the Gospel, before he even began his homily, he addressed those of us gathered at 9:00 Mass:  “If you had any doubt that a child doesn’t know his mother’s voice, that was Thaddeus when Loretta began the reading!”.  His recognition of the event was a blessing in itself, as he recognized the presence of all in Christ’s presence–proclaiming and praising God in their own voice.

After Mass, we enjoyed some time with friends just talking and joking about the little guy’s new “voice” during the service. Of course, we all knew that at the bottom of it all was Thaddeus’ hunger.  A boy must eat, after all!

A special moment in the young boy’s life:  an entrance into the family of God, our church community with a voice raised high and long!

On the occassion of…

"Deacon Grandpa Tim" Baptizes Thaddeus

Mother’s Day, 10 May 2009

What a day it was!  Even now, 4 days after the Baptism of our first grandchild, Thaddeus Nolan, I’m unwrapping the mystery of the sacrament, savoring each petal of the flower of redemption of grace with which our grandson was blessed.

More to come in the days ahead…  understanding, remembering, owning this amazing time with family and friends.

[View a Slideshow of the Baptism]

Tearing Down the Walls

Yesterday’s announcement from the Vatican that, “The king of Jordan plans to break protocol this Friday when he receives Benedict XVI [..] on the Pope’s upcoming weeklong Holy Land pilgrimage.” (ZENIT) is a hopeful sign as Pope Benedict prepares for his Holy Land pilgrimage.

[Continued at Syracuse Deacons Blog]

On Retreat: Love

Friday night… the beginning of retreat is always the hardest.  Catching up with those we haven’t seen in months… settling in to a new routine at Christ the King Retreat House… opening ourselves to the possibilities of prayer and reflection guided by the retreat facilitator.

And then, the surprise:  “Love bade me welcome;”  I didn’t ask.  I did seek a few minutes of silence tucked away in the nooks of this marvelous old estate. Fr. Lou Sogliuzzo, the Jesuit facilitatior, had planned a weekend of quiet reflection and relaxation to consider the challenge to live out God’s invitation to be ministers of the mysteries of Jesus Christ.  Our introduction to the retreat:  “Seeking what we have already found.”  For, as he explained, our desire to know God always comes full circle–we begin in our quest with that which we already know.

I discovered the essence of that thought in George Herbert’s 17th century metaphysical poem, LOVE:

LOVE bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guiltie of dust and sinne.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack’d any thing.

A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here:
Love said, you shall be he.
I the unkinde, ungratefull? Ah my deare,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, sayes Love, who bore the blame?
My deare, then I will serve.
You must sit down, sayes Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.

On retreat, the scripture usually befriends me–opens my soul to God’s love.  And yet, this time… just perhaps… the gateway to that “seeking what we have already found” will begin through Herbert’s verse.  A new gateway; a new beginning on a Friday evening still dragging the vestiges of the week’s cares along behind me!

At the Cathedral – A Change at the Top

Two years can be a very long time when you’re the bishop of a Roman Catholic Diocese, past the mandatory retirement age of 75 and in frail health. This morning, though, the Most Reverend James M. Moynihan, shepherd of the Diocese of Syracuse since 1995, announces the appointment of Most Rev. Robert J. Cunningham, effective May 26, 2009.

Below is a link to the news announcement from Danielle Cummings, Dir. of Diocesan Communications:

Danielle E. Cummings
Assistant Chancellor/ Director of Communications

EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:00AM
April 21, 2009

On behalf of Bishop Moynihan, I am pleased to inform you of the following:
A press conference with Bishop–designate Cunningham has been scheduled at 10am today in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Downtown Syracuse. You are welcome to attend as guests. Please enter the main doors of the Cathedral.

Bishop Cunningham News Release

PS – You will find a personal reflection on the news at the Permanent Deacons Blog.

They Said Nothing

What a glorious day!  Jesus Christ is risen… but the women at the tomb… THEY SAID NOTHING. Mark’s compact Gospel, Chapter 16:1-8 more than captures the scene of the three women at the tomb.  It provides a profound insight into the collision between our human senses and the spiritual mystery, the new reality of the resurrection.

My homily for the Easter Vigil and Sunrise service can be found at the Deacons USA blog.