85 years + 1day is the reality from which I write. In my wildest dreams I never imagined this could be my reality. Then "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans'. My gracious Creator has a great sense of humor. Some of it I have to admit I do not understand, now speaking from the truth of the 85s, there is so very little I understand. Joe, " your life is a problem not to be understood, but  an ongoing  mystery  to be encountered and lived  through.

   Last night something I have not thought about, for some time, bubbled up from the unconscious.It is a quote from Annie Dillard; " Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of  terminal patients. That is after all, the case. What would you begin writing if you knew you were going to die soon ?  What could you say to a dying person that would not rage by its triviality." These words  have offered  a  real great challenge over the years, and more so today as the back nine is definitely in play. Just a breath away. Dying people have no time for trivialities. They demand the facts. These can ,and do, come to  us in a very often unvarnished manner. All life is terminal, a reality we are not always ready encounter in truth. Living the lie, is not living. It is called existing, not living.

         We have to accept, embrace their reality and then pray to The Holy Spirit to give us the words that will convey the necessary,  reality. Why ? Another word for The Divine, is, Reality. From the moment of our existence we are a reality. We are sent to convey our entrusted message of Reality. This demands we are true to our real selves, the self entrusted with Realities truth. Tough question, are we always true to the real truth, r do we dilute, change it so as to fit in to the reality we life in. Living this way is a lie.  

   I have not always spoken the truth that confronts, but fudged the real truth so a to satisfy the false self. Confession is good for the soul. The Sacrament of Reconciliation does demand a purpose of amendment. So here, on the back nine, I am being as honest as I can. Honesty is progressive, we do not have it all. So be gentle. " "To thine own self be true", a counsel of Shakespeare. That was so easy to write, but is it not so very difficult to adhere to. Truth will come to us from so many directions, and from all the events of our reality. We are never disconnected from reality, The Creator Reality makes that impossible.  

   So The Spirit Of Truth, The Holy Spirit comes not at the moments we choose, or through the teachers of our choosing. The  real prophets of our lives are pretty much people who can, and do rub us the wrong way. In even parish I have ministered in, there was always a,  "prophet presence". How I found ways to duck any encounter, but the Spirit can be way more devious that we can be. Time changed, or need I say the grace of masybrough about the changes that were need, for me to be able to welcome the gifts that were coming through this prophetic presence. Now I have to ask for the grace to accept this truth, "What I abhor in another, is exactly what I abhor in myself. The truth will set you free, but this is taking it to a place I am not anxious to go to. The back nine says," you are running out of options". Why not be really honest, asks the true self ? So kicking, screaming, crying I am lead into the Kingdom Of Truth,Justice and Love. Then acceptance is a reality that can be slowly embraced. It does not bite, but we are still, so cautious.  

 So goes my first consecrated effort, when faced with " write as if you were dying.

 It was a great 73 degrees in Sun Lakes, Arizona this glorious morning.It looks like I have survived the hottest Summer on record here in Arizona. These last number of months were a real tough slog. Each Summer over the last three years were hotter than, the previous one. Where is this going to end ? We have just lived through, on second thoughts, survived is a better word to describe our real tough slog. We had 113 days of temperatures over 100 degrees. We are really enjoying the present cooldown, but we have at least nine more days of over 100 on the horizon. 

    The climate  projections for the future are no, by any stretch of the imagination, encouraging. The gradual disappearance of the icecap will have global consequences, what plans are in place to encounter these future challenges ? I was shocked when I read about the Ecomartydoms taking place in the most endangered areas of our common home. Then my questionable memory reminded me of something  wrote about in blogs past. I did dedicate my little book, "Creation The first Bible" to those nameless sister and brothers, who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of this cosmos, our ever evolving home. They are nameless to me,I am sad to say, but not to their loved one who had to bear the cross of the loss. Let have a special remembrance in our prayers , remembering  all our sisters and brothers, who have to face forces of greed, in a life and death struggle.   LITERALLY 

There have been a total of five extinctions recorded in the history of our planet. Are we listening to some scientists who warns of an extinction taking place right now ? Fact or fiction ?  let The Spirit of Truth guide our  own researching  of the facts.I pray that this will  lead us to an informed decision as to the right actions to be taken. The question must be asked, and the answer contemplated, leading to ???????? Each one of us has to answer that question for oneself, and begin to live with the answer. Andre Gide wrote these very challenging words : " To know how to free ourselves is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with ones freedom." We have been gifted by The One Who emptied Himself of the freedom as The Divine One, God, so as to immerse Himself in the reality of being Human. He came to a land living under  the bondage of the Roman occupation. As Paul tells us He did not deem equality with God, something to be grasped at, but willing emptied of The GodHead so as to immerse in the same humanity as you and I. Jesus,Who became The Christ, so that through His Paschal Mystery modeled how we are to become free. The radical life He lead, we are asked to live so that all humankind can experience real unadulterated freedom. Freedom is never free it always comes at a price.

My parents we not born in a land of freedom. My mother's family suffered greatly in the struggle for Irish freedom. Being close relatives and friends of Michael Collins the suffered unending persecution at the Hans of The Black and Tans. I was brought up with the stories of Michael so looking back the desire for real freedom was sewn in me. Freedom, for all who suffer bondage in any way was instilled in my depths. So then we all have a challenge to meet, at different levels, so that freedom is not just a word but an emerging reality. Would that our world was free to evolve into the bloom of fullness imagined by The Creator and not have to struggle because of those who are afraid of free human beings." Watch out for the free person with nothing to loose" is always in my consciousness. It has been a long time, so this is long.