Whispers in the Loggia TV Interview in DC

The Whispers in the Loggia logo! This morning, for your Washington fans, local channel 9, WUSA, will host Rocco Palmo for an interview beginning at 9:00 AM.

For those who may not be in the reception area for this local tv station, PERHAPS, http://www.wusa9.com/news/faith/papalvisit.aspx might be streaming the interview.

Did you ever try to determine who the Cardinal in the logo might be? When Whispers first hit the blog world, many thought the blogger was the man walking away from us in the picture. Certainly the locus is Vatican City, heading toward one of the many scalae.

Enjoy the Palmo interview. Channel 9 at 9 AM. TODAY.

Reflection: Wednesday, March 28, 2008

Arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, our Shepherd is leaving "Shepherd One." Wait until you read the first reading from today's liturgy. It is Luke's account in the Acts of the Apostles we are made aware of the selection of Paul and Barnabas for missionary work. And furthermore we learn of St. Paul's first missionary jaunt. How fitting for us to reflect on the first day of Pope Benedict's visit to the USA.

As this blogger wrote on Sunday, please listen to what the Holy Father has to say! Listen to his words and then carefully listen to his interpreters. Already talk radio hosts and some tv anchors have taken over the special grace of "infallibility" for themselves. They have determined precisely what the Holy Father meant concerning his words on Shepherd One while flying across the Atlantic.

Again, let us reflect on the spirit of prayer and the spirit of deep joy that the Holy Father is offering to each of us who sees him or hears his words. Again, let us remember that the Holy Spirit is a prime mover in this visit ... perhaps more so than the "interpreters" of the Pope's words.

When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Salamis, as the reading instructs us, "they proclaimed the word of God ...." For me each time I hope to hear what the Holy Father proclaims, I try my best to understand what the Holy Spirit is calling me, calling us to understand.

To the surprise of some, perhaps many, this Vicar of Christ expressed his pain and horror while thinking about the priest sex scandal. Thankfully, Rocco Palmo, in Whispers in the Loggia for yesterday has provided the full text of his thoughts on the tragedy that has marred the priesthood and tainted the credibility of many Bishops. These words alone provide us, especially priests, with food for thought ... even though we may have tired of thinking about the matter. In these words, we can experience a "shy Pope" who does not hide his personal pain and condemnation.

Let us continue our personal prayers for Pope Benedict that the Holy Spirit will continue to bless our Pope during this visit to the USA.

A Prayer for These Days

The Prayer of St. Theresa of the Little Flower

Today may there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

"Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways. Meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love She is also the patron Saint of flower growers and florists. She is represented by roses.”

Reflecton: Arrival USA DAY -- April 15, 2008

As these words find themselves on this blog, "the" trip is beginning back at a Rome airport. Already today here in Washington last minute drills are beginning for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, the third Pope ever to visit our native land.

Interestingly, today's liturgy -- oh, yes, the ordinary things do continue to happen -- offer scripture readings that can easily afford us serious thoughts for a reflection.

As Jesus was walking around the temple area, at the Portico of Solomon, he encountered some Jewish people who challenged him: "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." It was mid-winter as the Jewish people were celebrating the Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. It was just a few months before Jesus would return for a final and painful visit on his mission. But he did not back away from the challenge. He answered plainly: "I told you and your do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify to me .... The Father and I are one." He could not be clearer. Yet, his words and his presence did not immediately change minds as we know from the "rest of the story."

Today how many, joyously and excitedly awaiting the Pope's arrival, fully understand who it is that is soon to land at Andrews Air Force Base in Suitland, Maryland? Arriving on our soil is a man, previously chosen by the College of Cardinals, hopefully guided by the Holy Spirit, who comes to teach, who hopes to give us a renewed hope in our Church and our faith. Surely he comes to an American Catholic Church that is so very different than the American Catholic Church Pope Paul VI encountered when he made the first Papal visit to the USA in the 1960s. Almost fifty years has brought simply "incredible" changes to our Church's reality in the USA.

Our Holy Father comes to be with us, mindful of our past fifty years and the changes, but also as someone who sees the divisions, the pains, the "faithful departed," mixed with many efforts at a renewal some would say is truly "outside the box" of our traditional faith while others would say is a genuine renewal of the Holy Spirit.

The challenge for us beginning in earnest this evening may well be our willingness, as a Catholic population, to accept the words of this Vicar, the representative of Jesus Christ. It is this "title," if you will, and what it signifies that we must examine in our own hearts. The Vicar of Christ: what does it mean? How does its meaning impact my life, your life?

These words from the Acts of the Apostles, again from today's liturgy, are interesting: "When he (Barnabas) arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart." As noted before in an earlier blog, accepting Pope Benedict XVI as the Vicar of Christ may be a most notable challenge in the next seventy-two hours!

[On a personal note, there was not reflection yesterday because I had to be in York, Pennsylvania with one of my brothers, the oldest of the younger brothers, Jack, who suffered a mild heart attack on Saturday evening. Yesterday, following an attempt at a catheterization, he learned that later today or tomorrow that he will undergo open heart surgery for a quadruple or quintuple bypass! And so the heart issues continue in my family that began with my mother's father. Jack will be the eighth person to encounter serious heart problems that brought four of the Fisher clan to sudden death. Please keep Jack in your prayers during the next few days.]

The Papal Visit: A Personal Reflection

Sunday begins the most unusual week in American Catholic history in several decades. Pope Benedict will come on his own journey of faith to strengthen his American sisters and brothers on their spiritual journeys. I hope you have had time to read through the writing of Whispers in the Loggia for the last several days. You will find much about the visit of the Holy Father there and all that is happening. Be sure to get a laugh out of Rocco's last Tuesday posting where he has the U-Tube viewing of what was a humorous effort of the local rapid transit system to alert people to the heavy traffic that will tie up many DC streets during the Papal Visit. WHISPERS

Remember he is coming not as Joseph Ratzinger, ordained priest and bishop in the Catholic Church. He is coming as Peter! He is coming as the Vicar of Christ at this time in our lives.
His visit is not six days of holidays. Not at all. His journey, his visit, to us is genuine "sacred time." His presence among us — albeit only on the East Coast and in two specific cities — is his desire to help us strengthen our own spiritual lives. The contemporary "Peter" comes to speak to our hearts. Every moment that Pope Benedict XVI is among us, he is giving us his personal invitation to join with him in deepening and strengthening the faith that we share together as sons and daughters of a loving God.

Linked to this thought is a reflection that is foremost in my mind: why has the Holy Spirit inspired the Holy Father to journey to America precisely at this time? What matters for all of us is that we recognize that he comes among us as the personal representative of Jesus Christ — not just to those who received tickets to attend one of the public ceremonies. I challenge you to consider this thought seriously: this man comes bringing the thoughts that the Holy Spirit has planted in his mind during his personal prayer which he will be sharing with us. Think on this: he brings to each of us the good news, perhaps truly challenging news, whether we try to adopt the conservative or liberal Catholic description for ourselves. He comes as messenger of the Holy Spirit with only one agenda: to draw us ever closer to our God and Church!

I invite you to draw from his visit, he words, his actions an abundance of hope. Surely our Church has gone through painful years of late ... and most likely will continue on that journey for some time. Pope Benedict is well aware of that reality. He is not a man with a steel heart. He is trying to share as much as is possible the pain of American Catholics today. Most likely he will address the painful issue of child abuse, the war in Iraq, the role of Catholic universities and colleges, the poor, abortion, the role of our Bishops, etc. Surely he will confront the hot buttons of our times. Of course he will afford the political pundits a break from their incessant efforts to determine an election. However, what is critically important for us is to hear the message that is at the root of his words.

At the same time, however, he does not let unfortunate events or a seemingly lessened love of the Church by some take away his hope. Why? Because his hope is in Jesus Christ and what God’s Son taught all of us ... not just the man who would be chosen to succeed St. Peter and his successors. Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, is a man who is making this visit his effort "to reach out spiritually" to each and every American Catholic whether gathered in New York City or Washington, DC. This man who was charged with the protection of the faith in a former office, now is called to be the man to touch our hearts with his wisdom and love, to assist us in opening our hearts to the message Jesus puts before us in Scripture every day. His intention is "to bring you his (Jesus’) word of life." He does not come to shackle. He does not come to suppress. He comes to open our hearts to the freedom that walking with Jesus Christ can effect in our lives. "Christ Our Hope" is the theme the Holy Father wishes for his visit.

I often think of this Holy Father as a type of "grandfather." In my life, I only knew one of my grandfathers. But for me and my siblings when "Nanny and Grandpa" came to visit us each Sunday, after they (Methodists) had been to Bible School and Church, it was not unusual for Grandpa to speak to us about how much God loved us, how much he gave to us and what we had to do to come to know God intimately. This is one aspect I personally feel is about to happen to me during the Papal visit and the words I will hear.

My heart and mind are truly moved on your behalf. My prayer for you is to see beyond the excitement. Watch as much of the Pope's visit on television as you can. However, let his words sink into your very being. See beyond the "interpretation" that broadcasters will inevitably offer us. See beyond the moments of protest that will happen to a holy man’s efforts to draw me and you so much closer to Jesus, our Lord, our Brother. Let him fill your hearts with hope.

This is the very core of the days ahead. Let the excitement that is so natural with an event such as this be the instrument that opens up your heart and mind ... indeed your very soul ... to the movements of the Holy Spirit given us in the words of Pope Benedict XVI. My friends we are embarking upon "sacred days." Remember this throughout these days and the Papal visit will indeed be a help to you and me on our faith journey because Jesus Christ in the person of his Vicar has come to us, has invited us to strengthen our faith!

AWAY FROM THE PARISH

DEAR READERS and PRAYERS

For this week there will be no reflections posted on this blog.

I will be joining three priest friends for the week in Southport, Maine.

It will be the first time I have been in the upper parts of New England. Yes, I am excited because the trip is a reward for having finished my post operative therapy at Suburban Hospital.

The Ego Trap

To continue the discovery of our true selves, we have to consider the strongest support of sin that might enter our lives: the ego. It is a twisted reality ... almost a person entirely to itself! It is a word most would associate with someone who continually speaks about her/himself. Eckart Tolle (A New Earth) a "me and my story" experience (p 60). He further points out that down deep all egos are the same: they survive on "identification and separation."

What does this mean on a spiritual journey? The separation just mentioned deals with how I feel about others --- those moments when I believe I am in one way or another better than another human being. Subconsciously the ego makes the other person an "enemy." So, consider these words of the Jesus with whom we want to be one. Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye" (Luke 6:41 - RSV). Is this Jesus teaching the disciples how to live without continuous fault finding -- a great energy source for the ego? Is it really nothing less than the habit of the gossiper -- a great one for downing another to raise up one's own image? My questions, yes, and possibly yours. Jesus, however, does not answer his own question, leaving the hearers to journey more deeply into their own selves.

Today you come to this reflection with some understanding of what your inner voice is seeking. Whether mindful or not, you bring to your prayer an agenda, a personal feeling of need --- almost every time. Yet the surprise that can either bring deep happiness or fright is that so often personal expectations differ from that soft, quiet voice God is using.

So, one aspect of Mulholland's presentation in The Deeper Journey of what he calls the "false self" is that the journey of trying to live as Jesus lived is actually breaking open the acorn we might call our ego to see, to understand, to admit our specific fault or weakness. Then growth in the spiritual life will happen only when a person claims ownership of the real self. Mulholland quotes a penetrating remark of a wise instructor: "Repentance is not being sorry for the things you have done, but being sorry that you are the kind of person that does such things" (p 23). A gem such as the thought in these words professes can come only from the heart and mind that recognizes a personal agenda that can be the cause of ego struggling. As long as we fail to claim ownership of this kind of self, we will never ring about a true freedom for the self struggling to be at peace and union with God.

Blessed Jesus, living Bread

By your self our selves are fed.

Give us all the eyes to see

All that you were sent to be.

(Magnificat, Evening Prayer, April 4th)

Boredom along the way? April 3, 2008

Continuing a reflection on our spiritual journey, there is the reality we must always consider: boredom. The first time I had the fortune to be free for a month, I was excited just imagining the possible places to visit even on a limited budget. Once the vacation began, one month seemed like a year was ahead of me. So much time. But by the beginning of the third week it happened. The excitement was not there. Something was missing.

So, too, the time given to embracing our spiritual journey can encounter the enthusiasm and interest of newness, answering to an inner yearning. At the beginning of such a journey we get a taste of the core of our spiritual goal: a healthy, loving and faithful union with God.

Yet, the busyness of our lives, a culture filled with so many distractions: these become magnets that attract our time and interest almost every hour of every day. A major blockage to our continued interest in the journey, in the loving union with God, is the degree of self-discovery that naturally begins to take over.

Mulholland (The Deeper Journey) suggests the traveler will discover some "pretty rough territory" along the way. The major threat to us is having to confront what is much stronger than we care to admit: the ego! One of the strongest and most deceptive component of this self that is me, the ego builds a "false self," takes us into the world of the idol," and the "religious false self" before our journey brings us into the Eden we year for, the land of God. There we enable ourselves to shed the vices that shackle us and the put on the cloak of virtues we know deep down will make our lives so much better. (p. 20)

If this part of the journey were not a genuine challenge, we could say there will be no encounter with evil or sin in our world.

Reflect on some of the words from Psalm 67 (8-9, 20): "When you walked at the head of your people, O God, and lived with them on the journey, the earth shook at your presence, and skies pour forth their rain, alleluia."

Houston-Galveston's Great Catholic Day

As noted in Whispers in the Loggia today is one of the "big" days for the Catholic Church in the southwest. His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, (remember? a product of then Mr. Jordan's high school classroom) will dedicate the new Cathedral in Houston. The major Catholic event of the year can be viewed through the computer ... check Whispers for the "where do I find it" directions.

The pictures of the two Cardinal Classmates are of Cardinals DiNardo (left) and Foley (right) who was for some 20 years the "voice" describing the Masses of the Holy Fathers at Christmas and Easter. His Eminence Foley will return to the "booth" again today to assure us all that his consistory classmate has the best possible description of the event going out over the airwaves. The southwest will see an event never seen before!!! Way to go, Danny! Your teacher is so very proud today. By the way, will you have Joel Osteen there to catch some Catholic theology?

One with the Father and the Son: April 2, 2008

Let us continue to look at what Jesus taught us about the purpose of the Christian life: a life that is given to building a loving union with God deeply rooted within our very existence.

The meditation provided for April 2nd in Magnificat* is from a Carthusian monk who died in the mid 1940s. He wrote these words: "Others refuse him (God), and God seems to leave them to themselves, to what they have chosen, to follow their own way, as if he no longer looked upon them: but only as long as their refusal is obstinate and persistent, for he calls to everyone again and again." Dom Augustin Guillerand, O. Cart. saw the meaning of what Jesus said more than once: "The Father is in me and I am in you." It is that reality: There is something of God, something of the divine in each of us. Despite our failures, despite our walking away from God at different times and in different way, God is there "again and again." And why? Why would he not call the sinner, the one who walks away? He cannot do otherwise because, to cite Jesus again, "the Father is in me and just as I am in you." We should find hope in this. There is something in us that the Father loves! What is it? It is the "glory" given the Son which he has given to us. As long as there is conscious heartbeat in a body, God, so it seems, cannot not seek to bring us to himself ... because we are something of God. We are also his "glory."

Yesterday evening, standing before this particular cherry blossom tree, the Spirit moved me to consider again this incredible gift of oneness that we share with the Son and his Father. The tree, in the late afternoon sun radiated its color, its glory, the glory of God shining in the very essence of cherry trees when fully abloom. It was proclaiming in its own language: see the glory of God that is mine! It is the same for each of us. And God will always come to us again and again because we are one with him through his Son.