The Sound of Silence

Elected silence, sing to me

And beat upon my whorled ear,

Pipe to me pastures still and be

The music that I care to hear.

Shape nothing, lips; be lowly-dumb.

It is the shut, the curfew sent

From there where all surrenders come

Which only makes you eloquent.

The poetry of the Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins in his poem The Habit of Perfection speaks of silence and asks that this silence be the music that he cares to hear.  Upon reading the book The Catholic Experience by Lawrence Cunnigham, I decided to say a few words about silence.  Is it a commodity in our present culture that is lacking?

We certainly experience silence during our hours of sleep.  But what about our waking hours?  Has the noise of the world overtaken us to the point that we find it hard to experience silence?  We live in a world full of noise - loud stereo music, elevator music in the malls, horns blaring on the highway, constant interaction with our I-pads or talks on the cellphone (even in our cars).  It seems sometimes that when we do find a period of silence we don't know what to do with it.  Did you ever feel uncomfortable when there is a lull in a conversation?  Do we feel the need to fill the void with words or can we just let some quiet take over?

There is a history in my Church - the Catholic Church - which recognizes the role of silence.  We know of contemplative religious orders, for example, that practice silence as a means of staying more in touch with the divine and being open to the stirrings of the Spirit.  Our Catholic liturgy places particular moments of silence throughout (although sometimes it seems that they get glossed over very quickly). 

We might believe that being silent at times (during private prayer, on a retreat, etc.) will allow us to hear God's message more clearly. What about those times when we feel the silence is on God's end of the conversation?  In Ingmar Bergman's film The Seventh Seal the figure of death speaks to the searching knight:

KNIGHT:    I want knowledge, not faith, not suppositions, but knowledge.  I want God to stretch  out his hand to me, reveal himself, and speak to me.

DEATH:     But he remains silent.

KNIGHT:    I call out to him in the dark but no one seems to be there.

DEATH:     Then life is an outrageous horror.  No one can live in the face of death, knowing that all is nothingness.

Have you felt those times when it seems that God does not hear or is even present to you?  I'm sure all of us have experienced this at one time or another in life.  Do we give up or do we continue to listen for what God is telling us?  Can we hear the message of God when surrounded by all the noise of our world?  The monks in cloistered communities like the Trappists live with silence and involve themselves in contemplative prayer.  One of their most famous members - Thomas Merton - in his work Contemplative Prayer says:

Contemplation is essentially a listening in silence, an expectancy.  And yet in a certain sense, we most truly begin to hear God's word when we have ceased to listen.  What is the explanation of this paradox?  Perhaps only that there is a higher kind of listening, which is not attentiveness to a particular wave length, a receptivity to a certain kind of message, but a general emptiness that wants to realize the message of God within his own apparent void....He waits on the word of God in silence, and when he is "answered" it is not so much by a word that bursts into his silence.  It is by his silence itself suddently, inexplicably, revealing itself to him as a word of great power, full of the voice of God.

Can we use our moments of silence then to listen to what the Lord wants us to hear?  Perhaps we need to look at our expectations of how God makes his message known to us.

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is found in the First Book of Kings, Chapter 19:

Then he came to a cave, where he took shelter.  But the word of the Lord came to him,  "Why are you here, Elijah?"  He answered,  "I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword.  I alone am left, and they seek to take my life."  Then the Lord said, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord will be passing by."  A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord - but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake - but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was fire - but the Lord was not in the fire.  After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.  When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

A tiny whispering sound.  Sometimes the Lord may get our attention with something loud and majestic but most often his voice comes to us in that "tiny whispering sound."  We need to be open and attentive to it.  We need also remember that the voice of God most often comes in forms we might least expect - many times in the words and love of others for us.  Do we recognize God's voice in those times and in those people in our lives?

The man whispered, "God, speak to me."  And the meadowlark sang.  But the man did not hear.  So the man yelled, "God, speak to me!"  And thunder and lightning rolled across the sky.  But the man did not listen.  The man looked around and said,  "God, let me see you."  And a star shone brightly.  But the man did not see.  And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle!"  And a life was born.  But the man did not notice.  So the main cried out in despair, "Touch me, God, and let me know you are here."  Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.  But the man brushed away the butterfly and walked on.

God comes to us in the touch of a loved one's hand, in the off-key music of a little child, in the soft refreshing rain that quenches the thirst of the earth.  Are we listening - are we aware?

In Psalm 46 we read:  Be still and know that I am God.  We need to find the time in our hectic lives to "be still" and cherish the silence so that we can hear the voice of God in whatever form it comes to us.  May each of us be willing to say that this silence, in the words of Hopkins, is "the music that I care to hear."

What Lincoln Can Teach Us

I have a confession to make.  I am addicted to mystery stories.  I enjoy reading the stories of Anne Perry, Robert Barnard, Agatha Christie, Tony Hillerman, Margaret Coel and Mary Daheim to name just a few of my favorite authors.  Since I am now retired I have more time for reading and I find a good mystery is a good way to relax.  However, I have recently moved into a new genre of reading.  My son gave me the first book in the trilogy by Edmund Morris of the life of Theodore Roosevelt.  I found it fascinating reading and that led me to purchase the remaining two books in the series.

On my last trip to our public library I decided to try out the biography section.  I selected two biographies and the first was Abraham Lincoln by Benjamin P. Thomas.  I already knew a lot about Lincoln but this book led me through a life that was most remarkable in many ways.  Born somewhat in poverty, he rose to lead the nation during one of the most difficult times in its history.

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in our nation's history.  Over 1,030,000 casualties occured (3% of the population) including civilians.  Over 620,000 soldiers were lost on both sides of the conflict removing from the scene 10% of the young male population in the North and 30% in the South.  Through this conflict, Lincoln strove to preserve the Union and bring about the end to slavery in our nation.  As a compassionate man he agonized over many facets of the war.  I am sure that no president in our history who has had to call the nation to war can fail to agonize over the number of lives lost in whatever the struggle may be.

The reason I chose to write about Lincoln today was because he epitomizes the spirit of forgiveness that I had spoken about in my previous post.  Jesus had commanded us (in his Sermon on the Mount) to love our enemies.  This requires forgiveness on our part of those who have hurt or offended us.  You can imagine the calls for recrimination that must have occured following the Civil War regarding how the seceding Southern states should be punished.  Lincoln would have none of that.  While Lincoln did not belong to any established church he was inbued with the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount and would act accordingly.

Toward the end of the war he was faced with a request for approval of various court-martial sentences (almost 30,000 in one year).  According to one of his secretaries, he would use any possible means to avoid having a soldier's life taken as punishment.  He did not want to approve the death penalty for cowardice, and as he remitted such sentences he would say: It would frighten the poor fellows too terribly to kill them.

His spirit of forgiveness was most evident after the conclusion of the war.  He did not want severe recriminations brought upon the seceding states but rather wished to "bind up the nation's wounds."  His words at his second inauguration in 1865 are classic:

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

This is what Lincoln can teach us today - a spirit of forgiveness and a search for lasting peace and harmony between ourselves and others and between nations.  We must never give up hope that such can be accomplished for if we do it can never happen.

A contemporary of Lincoln's - Mark Twain - once wrote:  Forgiveness is the fragrance that the flower leaves on the heel of the one who crushed it.  In the spirit of forgiveness that Jesus taught us and as it was seen in the life of Lincoln, may we reach out to all those who have offended us and leave that fragrance for them to experience.

Homiletic Reflections on Matthew 5: 38-48

Last weekend I had the privilege of delivering the homily for the parishioners of St. Matthew's Church in Voorheesville NY.  The passage from Matthew is a continuation of the readings taken from the Sermon on the Mount.  I just wanted to share a few of the thoughts I shared with the folks in Voorheesville.

Jesus gives us two very difficult challenges in this passage.  He says:  You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil....You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you....  This is a difficult challenge for us.  When someone has hurt us - especially if they have hurt us badly - our first reaction may be to "get even."  "I'd like to do to that person what s/he has done to me!"  Yet Jesus tells us not to do this.  I am reminded of the scene in the musical Fiddler on the Roof when some of his neighbors tell Tevye that he should strike out against the recriminations being felt by the Jews in the community.  They remind him of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."  He tells them that if everyone followed this way of thinking "soon the whole world will be blind and toothless."

Loving our enemies or those who have offended us many times requires forgiveness by us.  Forgiveness doesn't come easy but we are called to it.  Is there someone in our life who needs to be forgiven?

The other challenge Jesus presents is very difficult indeed.  He says:  So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  Lord Jesus, can you give us a break here?  We are weak and sinful creatures.  How can we aspire to be perfect?  We cannot do it without help, the help we can receive from the Holy Spirit to guide us in the way of perfection and by faithful attendance at Eucharist where we can be nourished with the very body and blood of Jesus to give us the strength we need to persevere as we try to lead a more perfect life.

No, it does not come easy.  We need to pray for the help we need.  Perhaps we can use the words of an ancient Christian prayer:

Dear Lord, do not think of the sins we have committed or of those we still commit.  Put out of your mind the failings we give way to night and day.  Do not impute our offenses to us, whether we did them on purpose of whether we could not help them.  Remember, Lord, that we are apt to make slips; we are a spineless race, given to blundering; think of our build, our limitations.  Our skins may be sound, but there are sores underneath.  O God, you are well disposed to us; give us the strength of your support.  Give us encouragement, give the light that goes with it.  Make us live by the truths of the faith preached by your holy apostles and the high teaching of the Gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.    (Adapted from Ouchmounen Papyrus)

What's In a Name - Part II

In my last blog I asked for some help in renaming my blog.  At my daughter's suggestion I wanted to say something other than the fact that a deacon named Neil had a blog.  I received several suggestions and I want to thank my relatives and friends who made those suggestions:  my daugher Christine, and my niece Kristen, my son Paul, Amelia Stack, Kathy Sousa, Nate Giroux, Arnie Schultz, my deacon brother Gary Picher and my presbyter brother Jerry Gingras.  A few of us even jokingly tried out some Latin possibilities such as scriptus electronicus or tabula telae.  Fortunately they never went very far.

As you can see from the new title I have settled on A Servant's Message:  Words From A Catholic Deacon.  The subtitle came from my friend Nate Giroux (thanks again, Nate).  I selected the main title after giving some thought to what a deacon is supposed to be.  The word deacon comes from the Greek diakonia meaning "service."  Thus a deacon is one who provides a service.

It is my hope that my blog will bring a message from one who wants his words to be a service to the readers.  I will continue to present my thoughts and views on a variety of topics some of which not everyone will agree with.  Hopefully, however, they may be seen as coming from a desire to have people understand the issues of the day and how they may impact our lives.

Pray along with me that my words will serve my God and the people who choose to read what I have to say.  Thanks again for being a part of my life through reading my servant's message.

What's In a Name?

As I come to the end of almost six months of blogging, I was given a challenge by my blogger daughter.  She suggested that I might want to "spruce up" the name of my blog rather than keeping the (should we say banal) present name of Deacon Neil's Blog.  When she began her blog she asked her friends to suggest a name that would include the word "grace."  She came up with Grace Lines, a good name for what has become a great blog.

So I'm going to do the same.  I'm going to ask my readers to suggest a new name for my blog.  I do wish to keep the word deacon in the title but beyond that, what suggestions might you have for a new name?  You can let me know by e-mailing me at: deaconjnh@yahoo.com.

I look forward to hearing from you and I will be glad to let everyone know who suggests the name I will choose.  This has been a good experience for me and I would like to continue to share my thoughts about a variety of subjects.  Thank you for taking part in my seach.  God bless!

The Vulnerable In Our Society

I have wrestled with how to approach this post as it concerns two groups that I feel are among the most vulnerable in our society today.  Focusing on these two groups was a result of an article I recently read in my diocesan newspaper The Evangelist and a tragic story of abuse that has unfolded in our area over the past few weeks.

The two groups I speak of are the unborn and our children.  I realize that the beliefs I may hold about the sanctity of human life as it is found in the unborn may not agree with others in our society who are good and well-meaning people.  They may have a different view concerning the morality of abortion than I do.  Nevertheless, I feel compelled to say something about the issue with the hope that those who do not agree may at least hear what I have to say.

In January of 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States rendered a landmark decision concerning the issue of abortion in the now (in)famous decision known as Roe v. Wade.  That decision spoke to what the Court saw as a right of a woman regarding how she dealt with her pregnancy.  It is a decision that sparked great controversy and still does so today.  I know that many of those who may disagree with my belief that abortion is the taking of a human life (since I believe that life begins at conception) also feel that we need to find ways to reduce the number of abortions in our society.

Since the decision in 1973 over 50 million unborn children have been aborted in the United States.  I recall a friend of mine who told me once about a woman she knew who was expecting a child.  She and her husband wanted a boy and she told my friend that if prenatal tests showed the sex to be female that she would have an abortion.  I wonder how many of the 50+ million unborn who have been aborted were just "inconveniences."  I also wonder how many of them might have become the doctors, lawyers, teachers, mechanics, computer programmers, athletes and artists had they been allowed to live.

I know the heart-wrenching decisions some women have to make when faced with an unwanted pregnancy.  We need to support these women to help them make a decision that will uphold both their dignity and that of their unborn child.  The child does not ask to be conceived but since it has been does it have no rights?

In the Book of Deuteronomy (30:19) Moses says to the people:  I call heaven and earth today to witness against you.  I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.  Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.  I would pray that those facing a decision concerning abortion might choose life.  For those who have had an abortion and are now troubled by that decision, they should know that there are programs available to assist them.

Again as I see what has occured in our country since that decision in 1973 I am also reminded that in our Declaration of Independence the fundamental rights cited by our forefathers spoke first of the "right to life..."

The second vulnerable group I mention today is our children.  This past week in a court in Massachusetts, a priest who used to serve in my home diocese was convicted of raping two children when they were altar boys some years ago.  In addition to the two counts for which he was found guilty there were a number of other instances of his abuse of children over his years in ministry.  While he was removed from active ministry when the allegations were reported to the diocese two years ago, the specter of child sexual abuse raised its ugly head again.  Our Catholic Church (and other churches as well) has seen the suffering of thousands of individuals molested by a priest or deacon of the Church.  There is no question that the Church often did not respond appropriately to this terrible scourge and it has caused a large number of people to reject the Church and what it stands for.

Having said that, we need to be reminded that over 97% of our priests remain faithful to their vows and do not bring harm to our children.  But the fact that a few violate those vows leaves a stain and a scar on the body of the Church.  We need to make every effort to assist those victims of abuse and provide them with the necessary tools to deal with the violations perpetrated against them.  Pray for our priests that they will continue to serve our people faithfully and with commitment to their vows.  Pray for the victims of this abuse and yes, pray for the perpetrators that they will somehow find a way to realize the great pain they have caused and repent for it.

These are two groups of the vulnerable in our society today.  But there are others: the homeless, the poor, the immigrant, the disabled, the elderly and you could add others to this list.  Our obligation as Christians is to reach out to all of these groups and make their lives more wholesome in whatever way we can, for as Jesus has told us:  Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me.  (Matt. 25:40)

Our National Anthem

Thanks to the reaction over this past weekend concerning the rendition of our national anthem at the annual Super Bowl, The Star Spangled Banner is getting a lot of press.  I have my own reaction to the latest rendition which I will shortly describe.

To set a little bit of an historical stage, however, we should look at how we arrived at having this piece of music become our national anthem - our national hymn.  The lyrics came from the pen of Francis Scott Key after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 when the country's banner continued to fly amid the shelling.  It was later set to music but it may not readily be known that the music was originally called To Anacreon in Heaven which was a drinking song in men's social clubs in England frequented by the Anacreonic Society.  While the music was originally a drinking song, because of its prominence in becoming the nation's anthem the music rose to new heights.  It is a stirring piece of music but one not without its difficulties.

Because of its vast melodic range it has often been cited as difficult to sing.  To a voice not used to such stretches of melody it can become a hurdle; I witnessed this once at a baseball game when a local person was asked to sing the anthem (without any accompaniment).  Before it ended the singer had traversed at least three different keys.  For most good singers, however, it is not an insurmountable task if sung in a pitch of a comfortable range.

One final historical note (which I only recently became aware of) - this musical piece did not officially become our national anthem until 1931 during the presidency of Herbert Hoover.  Yet is has become enshrined as the national hymn and therefore deserves respect.  It is a stirring moment when one hears a marching band begin the piece; it raises pride in our hearts when, for example, we hear it played at the Olympic Games as gold medal winning Americans receive their medals.

This brings me to my concerns about how I believe the anthem is becoming abused.  One can criticize the performer this past weekend for fumbling the lyrics (any person - professional or not - can have this happen under pressure) but she is not the first to have this happen.  No, my concern is not with someone messing up the lyrics - it is with the addition of all kinds of extra notes and slides and glides to the point that one almost doesn't recognize the original melody.  Is the singing of our national anthem by "superstars" more about how they look and sound or is it about honoring America?  Let's get back to singing the anthem the way it was written!

I must insert a plug here for a local music group with which I have had the privilege of being connected.  They have rendered the anthem at a number of sporting events in places such as the Saratoga Race Track and a major league baseball stadium.  They are called One Man Short (sometime I'll tell you how they got their name) and are a men's singing group that presents a wonderful rendition of the national anthem.  In fact after they completed the anthem at the major league stadium one of the women in the crowd said to them as they left the field that "you sang it the way it should be sung."  Why can't groups like this be invited to a Super Bowl?  They'd do a much better job of honoring America than some of what passes as musical renditions of the national hymn.

Francis Scott Key wrote four verses that became part of the anthem - the other three are mostly forgotten.  Let me close by quoting the final verse because it says much about what we are about in this country:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

May it ever be so; God bless the United States of America!