Twilight Twitches

Dear Family,
So, tell me. Is any time really ordinary? Today is the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Did you miss the first nine? We had six of them before Lent way back in January and February. Lent and Easter came and weeks seven through nine just happened, hiding under Pentecost, Trinity and Corpus Christi Sundays. Finally, today the tenth Sunday emerges proudly in its own right!

You must think that either I’m desperate for subject material or I’m nuts if you have read this far. My point in bringing this stuff up is that the cycle of events that we celebrate throughout the year are at the core of the rhythm of our Christian life.

Dear Family,
Thank you! Thank you! Thank You! Thank you!

I could continue those words over and over – in fact 348 times on this page, but there would simply not be enough room to cover the gratitude I feel.

I hope that these words will do for the moment for all those near and far, my family, old parishioners, faithful St. Sebites (new word), and especially the folk who worked so hard to pull off the greatest anniversary bash anyone could hope for.

I spent Memorial Day reading each and every card, often twice. You said a lot of nice things, but for me it was proof positive that the Holy Spirit can use anything to accomplish the Father’s will for us. I told some of you my ongoing prayer is, “Jesus, just don’t let me get in the way.” Sounds like He has been hearing my prayer... and I’m glad I didn’t realize it fully, or I could become insufferable, thinking that it was me instead of him.

Dear Family,
Tomorrow we honor all those who have died while they served us in the military. (Veteran’s Day - Nov. 11 - is for all those who served, living and de¬ceased.) In the past this special day was also known as Decoration Day when the graves were decorated with flags. Check out Wikipedia for a very nice his¬torical summary. More to the point, especially to¬day, we honor and remember those deceased veter¬ans with our prayers.

As you read this, many of you will have been a part of the celebration of my 50th anniversary of ordi¬nation. As I write this, it hasn’t happened yet.

Maybe by the time the celebration comes I will be able to better explain why I have been a little reti-cent about making a big deal out of it. But I also need to say, from the depths of my heart, God for¬bid that the reticence ever be seen as ingratitude. Far from it. All the work that folk have done moves me to deeper sense of gratitude.

Dear Family,
“Dunamis!” - the Greek word for power. Dynamism, dynamic, dynamite...
BOOM!
Remember last week, Ascension Day, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles? Early on, in verse 7 to be exact, Luke quoted Jesus as saying to his disciples, “You will receive power from the Holy Spirit.”
Ever since, I’ve been thinking about the word and what it means.
BOOM!
Unconsciously, at least ‘til now, I think I’ve tended to look on Pentecost as the feast that winds up the Lent-Passion-Death-Rising-Eastertide cycle. Next week we add Holy Trinity and then Corpus Christi, but I thought of those feasts as sort of add-ons. Pentecost really closed out the cycle, I thought...
Now, I’ve been contending with... you guessed it:
BOOM!