Lent is going to begin on March 5th. Our 2025 unique, one of a kind, journey into the meaning of The Paschal Mystery. We are living , contemporary examples of Its presence  as we live it in our, here and now. Since I have journey deeper into old age the NOW has become a necessary toll of me  to be able ,to not only survive, but life the  awe-full challenge of my, here and now. I have to grasp on to the life jacket which tells me, " now is the time of salvation". Not any other, "now", I am tempted to follow and hide within, but but this mysterious here, this now. This  unique , "now", never  to be repeated, never to be duplicated. 

As I choose , hope-fully, consciously, to live this now moment, so ,will I live the rest of my earthly existence, which is gateway to my eternal life and living. Yes I am guaranteed that there is noting lacking  in this moment, for my continued ability to meet all the challenges that are to  come my way. Es verdad !!!!  I am challenged to meet the truth of Psalm 138, "YOU have built up strength within me." We call that mercy-full loving. In my encounter with this mercy-full loving workings of The Creators"s love I am healed, soothed, comforted, strengthened all leading to transfiguration and transformation. This makes sacred the often offhanded words "no pain, no gain". There is nothing new in our human lives of any value that does not come trough pain. 

  When we are immersed in our personal, and communal experiences, of The Suffering we can cry out from our depths "forsake not the work of Your hands" Ps.138. As we are awakened, again and again to our calling we can make " Forsake not the work of Your Hands" our prayer of desperation and surrender. We  journey countless times to our Calvary experience,  with each encounter we are  always gifted with something new. This gift is not "for ourselves, but for the building up of the common good."(St.Paul)  

  Being able to write these words are not the result of something I read in a book. When are you going to write you book for " building up of the common good" ? Your moment to moment actions write you personal experience of todays sufferings, the dying, and the living some new. Lent is coming so, this year, you will be able to use the excuse ," I was prepared to meet this personal challenge The Creative and Creating Spirit has had you in His consciousness from eternity. You life has no surprises for the Creator, for us yes. When are we going to be free enough to believe there have been surprises in my life, but these surprises are allowing the cosmos to evolve to its highest perfection.Your life is at the highest perfection in the view of The Creator. We are all works in process of being perfected, yet there is no perfect person in our human family despite the lies being acted out, as our supposed truth. So The Voice echoes today, "whom shall I send, who will go for US ?" The  inner  Three are begging for a fourth so the eternal plan CAN work. 

     Valentine's Day 2025. I hope and pray this day is a moment to moment journey into the mystery of Love's action in your life, and how this has transformed and is transforming ,your challenging human journey. Love is dynamic and above all, actively creating. Because we are human we will heartily embrace "the easier and softer way" of living and turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to what Creative Lois asking, no demanding of us. Over the years I have  had to meet the challenge of the presenting the radical call to embrace to the radical demands of, The Jesus of The Gospels. His demands to reorder priorities got Him ostracized and eventually die the horrendous, ignominious death of a runaway slave. That is a scary act to follow. That is the reality we are called to embrace, and live out, a reality we as humans recoil from. We are called to journey, ALWAYS DEEPER into the true radical meaning of what was and is revealed to us in the human journey of The Incarnate One. Where He went we are called to follow. Yes we are always encountering the reality of His Passion and Death and over time has a deeper and more challenging demands of us who say, or claim to follow in His footsteps, no matter where it may lead to.

              Have I been successful in getting a creative response to Gospel Life and living ? Of course not. That is not the model laid out for our imitation  by the historical Jesus. Where He went , we as His disciples, are challenged to follow, into suffering, death and continuous rising to, a new way of living. The fruit filled challenge of embracing The Christ within us, and the Suffering Christ within all of our sisters and brothers is a challenge that needs supernatural active support. " Of ourselves we can do nothing, but we can do in Christ, Who strengthens us" to meet the challenging of following in His footsteps. There is a great connection, I feel, between the discovery of The Suffering Christ within ourselves and the willingness to embrace all the appearances of The Christ within others.

Henri Nouwen proposes there is a gradual growth from hostility to hospitality of The Suffering. Christ within ourselves and how we then embrace the reality of His Presence in all His challenging appearances. The false self will recoil from any appearance of such challenge. The prayer is, " please say that ain't so'. It is and that cannot be changed unless we attempt to rewrite the gospel message of The Good Samaritan. To the original audience what Rabbi Jesus proposed was opposed by the very nature of who The samaritan was. 

So we today can follow the accepted reality, or have the courage to say, WAIT, WAIT, the is another way of viewing this challenge, and this new way is to accepted  embraced. Conversion is a hard and very difficult. It is pain-filled. It is not popular, nor is it socially accepted, as the commonsense way of living. As we discover, embrace and minister to The Stranger, The Alien, the unacceptable part of who I am, then there is only acceptance and radical love of The Stranger, The Alien within. We can rightly say, "I can't " meet this challenge ? We can NEVER say "I can't ", because of The Indwelling of The Trinity is always WHISPERING ,"We can." You are always a radical foursome meeting, all challenges. Let us pray for the courage not only to silently pray for our prophetic Pope,  and to to be a vocal supportive presence as well, as he encounters the many challenges of being a prophet, and a suffering one at that. The Suffering Christ is alive and we are empowered to see Him, in His Vicar on Earth. Not a time to be on the sidelines. Suit up and show up. You never meet any challenge alone. "I am with you". YES, help my disbelief.

 " We are all intended to be, what we never were." A quote I wrote down, but the author's name is missing. Joe would love to claim that as his own, he now must embrace to mystery involved, We are who we are, who we are going to be will be decided by my response to to the grace filled now moment, and all that it brings to us. All that I need is coming to me right now. There is nothing missing, nor can there be anything missing. The Mysterious Trinity is living out Its life, within our depths. Our challenge is to gradually connect with that depth, and allow The Life to bubble up to transfigure and transform both ourselves and the evolving cosmos. There is such great emphasis on the dynamic of all that is happening to us and all evolving creation. As we evolve, so does all the reality I now am immersed in.  We are not just somehow involved in the Creating Creative Spirit's work we are immersed.

        It has been some years now since that word immersed has become part of my vocabulary. It came to my attention when that awe-full quote of DeChardin hit me right between the eyes. " We are not human beings, having a human experience, we are spiritual beings IMMERSED in the human condition" I am guilty of repeating that quote ad nauseam. I am reminded of this stark reality, when we enter the realm of '" ad nauseam", we are in danger of becoming annoying and tiresome. I guess I have embraced the danger inherent in the above action. It is, has been well worth the risk as I have embraced the danger and am reaping the gifts. Gifts I have to share, otherwise  my life evolves into a wasted desert. Bereft of life and life enhancing gifts.

This blog has evolved into Joe bringing to you all that has become part of my evolving reality. Evolution became a part of my vocabulary way back in the late 1950s. It was looked on with suspicion but my rebel nature embraced the risk of staying with the invitation to be lead deeper and deeper into the unknown, and there The Unknown is now evolving, as my reality evolves. Evolving into what ? I am not privy to a  complete answer. I must "ask the question, and live into the answer" so counseled Henry Nouwen. Has this been easy ? sad to say definitely not. 

     I am a very impatient Irishman.  ( Really, and when did you find that out? so says those who know me.)  I want EASY answers, and I want them NOW. That I have found out is not the way it works. " Faith is a journey, into darkness, The unknown and The Unknowable. Thanks to The Gracious Creator Creating Spirit Who has designed all creation as an evolution. A moment to moment evolution. Let us pray for the collective living faith, that leads to perseverance, even though we fall and fail. We must beg for the strength to gather ourselves on the  pitiless ground and respond to The strength which lies in our depths. In time we gifted with the gift of the faith that comes to us through our many, many deaths and resurrections.

You are becoming what you never were, and because of this creation in slowly and deliberately evolving. Now is a great time to encourage the seeking out Merton's great prayer: " My Lord God I have no idea whee I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end, nor do I really know myself ....." Google those words and be gifted with a life enhancing constant companion. This is my experience, as I have to live life, one nano second at a time. From this reality goes my prayers and good wishes, for what ???? Blessings Gramps.

  "I wonder what Grandpa Joe will squawk about this time ? " would be a great caption for this photo, or do you have a more appropriate one ? This was shot outside of West Yellowstone, a number of years ago. For this first, the first post of 2025, I am looking forward to what is going to, bubble up, or to quote the birds, what will be the message be or more bluntly, " What  the squawking will present for consideration."

                    " We live life looking forward, but we understand it looking backwards", right now?. A new quote I also like: " Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow". Our current "yesterdays" have gifted us with tremendous wisdom for us to reflect on, and allow the wisdom to filter down into our depths. There it will lie, joining of Spirit of Love and Wisdom already residing in the tabernacle of the soul. We really need to claim the exhortation Paul offers in Collosshons as words that will guide the time we are given to be " co-creators and co-perfectors " of our evolving cosmos. Each one of us, by our thoughts and actions are either " life givers or death dealers " to what is evolving. Our gift to the future lies in our present thoughts and actions. What faith The Gracious Creator has in each one of us ???? The  AWE-FULLNESS that lies beneath all, that is, is mind-blowing. 

                " Put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility,  gentleness and patience " 2 Corinthians 3: 12. We must also keep before us that this is A Holy Year dedicated to , Hope. Unless we are working on the previous spiritual qualities, we will not be prophets of Hope, but purveyors of increasing death and destruction. The Gracious Creative is in each moment pouring into us what we need to be healthy co-creators. Each moment contains within it all that we need for right now. No more, no less. Each moment is a sacrament, to be reverenced and enjoyed so that we as prophets of hope are empowered to meet the challenges of each approaching moment. " Hold on, pain ends."

          Compassion is not empathy. Empathy depends nothing of  the serious and self emptying action that compassions demands. Compassion means I suffer with you. Join you where you are at, only with fruit-full love and life giving acceptance.. We are the modern Good Samaritans which our existential evolution is in such desperate need of. I cannot remember a time  where humankind's  inhumanity to fellow humans is at such an all time low. How can there be Hope where the dignity of each human is confined to such narrow  and destructive judgments. Humility speaks to me and says, very pointedly " There go you, but for the grace of God." Stunning !!!!!!   

         Until the next time, if there is going to be one, I leave you with this ancient blessing:  May " The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you ; The Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace." As you are blessed, so, bless all those that WILL be placed on the trail with you. Be angels, be trumpeters of The Good News. Love prayers and blessings. Gramps.

                

       

        

      I pray you all had a very mysterious, revivifying Christmas celebrations. I received a Christmas card from a class mate. Tommy sees a  life  beyond the life we see.He has been blessed with the heart of a poet. Msgr.Tom's card read: "May the God of the crib, become the God of the table". As you sat around  your Christmas table where was The God of the crib  being manifested for you ? In whom did you see the mystery of The Incarnation being revealed, anew, for you? The moments around the Christmas Table become timeless for us, because The Timeless One is enfleshed in all. The Timeless One comes to us disguised in so many ways. We have to take the time to reach beyond the  infinite disguises to The Ageless One  being revealed to discover the hidden dignity of all who inhabit our reality.

             During the season of Advent-Christmas-Epiphany I have always challenged those who could, hear and read to look for The Crib within. We have been exposed to countless reproductions of that iconic scene. All are different, reflecting, the nationality and culture of the artist. We have are exposed to the reality of Christmas has truly evolved as a cosmic event. Rightly The Timeless One has become truly encountered in all of our realities. It takes the artist, as always, to present to us what our uneducated vision has not been able to see. When The Reality, immersed in all reality, is recognized all we can manage is a great WOW !!!. Wonder Of Wonder , what a gift that is now occupying the here and now moment. Infinite are the moments of our encounters with The God of the crib, being, all are there within our unconscious. Moments of encounter with The Ageless Hidden one resurrects something deep within and we are lead into a new way of seeing , believing, and acting.

            Who was present in the original crib scene that is is enlivening and verifying my life this moment ? Who is present in the Gospel accounts of the original Bethlehem event that is now leading you to a deeper and more realistic understanding of your sacramentality ? Are you an angel trumpeting the good news for all who occupy your reality ? Infinite is the number of sisters and brothers who need not only to have  the announcement of The Good News, but our reality sparks a belief in those who have lost faith in their belovedness ? Let's be honest. The Good news has to be immersed in reality to have any real life-giving power. It is a modern day scandal that there are so, so-many of The Beloved"s  daughters and son have been so abused as not to be able to live Their Loving Creative Spirit intended them to life ?  Their infinite dignity has been smashed, by countless acts of prejudice, bigotry, and false religiosity. It is heartbreaking to see the numbers of these our sisters and brothers who chose to die rather than continue to eke out  an existence  in the hell they inhabit.  The shepherds, the original outcasts, were chosen to be the first to hear, see, and announce Love has become a human, is wrapped in common clothing, to announce there is no one that has ever been loved, and then rejected by The God, this Child will call, Father.

A very mysterious, and so questioning, 2025. The quest NEVER ends. Be true to your deepest reality. There Love, The Reality, that  all creation cannot contain  lies in wait in the tabernacle of your soul. Pray for the evolving growth so we can all the more authentic proclaimers of the radical,  authentic, transforming  announcers of this good news, the more screwed up we are, THE CLOSER our good Shepherd is to us. When we become lost sheep, we get the a free ride on the shoulders of  The Good Shepherd. I just drained a large cup of "shut up ".