Jesus Before Pilate: Speaking Truth to Power?

As usual Connie Dietz delivered an insightful, thought-provoking homily during yesterday's celebration of the Feast of Christ the King, referencing the striking (yet perfect) choice of the Gospel reading. So counter intuitive this Jesus. Last first, poor, rich, exalted and lowly. For me this radical way of life is presented most beautifully in the Sermon on the Mount and the chapters that follow. Yet, how deeply challenging a life to live. David's blog post connects the gospel passage to the concept of "servant leadership," which caught my attention. Here's a Cliff Notes version of SL.

Servant leadership is considered an underlying philosophy of leadership, demonstrated through specific characteristics and practices. The foundational concepts are found in Greenleaf’s first three major essays, The Servant as Leader, The Institution as Servant, and Trustees as Servants.

The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership identified the following ten characteristic of servant leaders: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and building community.

More to come on this, I suspect.

More Substance to this Blog Needed?

Maybe, but since I'm my only reader, it doesn't really matter and I haven't been receiving too may complaints. The thoughts of a Gilliganesque career move are resonating with me lately. They are coming more into my orbit, the realm of the possible, if not yet, probable. In some ways this could seem quite a leap. Others may see it as a different kind of leap--off the professional ledge. That's not really the way I see it at all. I see it as  a potentially transformative, life giving decision. My career has taken a hit but I've rolled with it, and this is bigger than a career, this is about living a mission and a vision, something for which I've longed over the years, on and off and to varying degrees. Hhmm. I need to plan now.

A Slight Issue with the Tombstone

So I get all the way out to Calverton National Cemetery and eventually locate Section 66 grave 5841. Front, no problem: Daniel J. Hannon, U.S. Army, etc. etc. The back: "Rosemary A. His Wife." Oh my God.  That must be the engraver's default setting for wives, because there is no way we would have opted for "his wife," to put it kindly. Fortunately, my mother was secure enough not to care about such a thing; she might even find it funny. Or not.

Calverton Here I Come

For a visit, that is, not my final resting  place; it's too soon and I've never been in the military (except for grammar school) so I don't qualify. I'm leaning towards cremation anyway; it's cheaper, quicker, and rife with fun possibilities for the disposition of the ashes.

So tomorrow, Veterans' Day I am taking my friend's mother to Calverton National Cemetery to visit the graves of her her recently deceased brothers. While there, I will visit my parents' grave. I've been there three times,  two funerals and one visit with my mother to my father's grave site. Now I have this sinking feeling that I'll get there and see that we never got my mother's name put on the tomb stone. Everything is a blur from those days; but jeez, I hope we at least took care of that important detail.  This time tomorrow I'll blog the answer, maybe even post a picture.

"The Baleful Effect of Patriarchal Mariology"

Wow... I just read the first two chapters of Elizabeth Johnson's Truly Our Sister, better late than never, considering it was published in 2003. I sense movement, faint sounds within my mind and heart which I've allowed in now and then through the decades, in varying decibels. All I can hope is to be attentive and open, maybe even with a stance of "forgiving vigilance." 

And what of other discussions of "Catholic feminism" ? Is it an oxymoron? Is there truly such a gulf between the feminist interests of celibate women religious and their non celibate counterparts in the parishes?  According to a recent article published by Johns Hopkins University, 

The content of Catholic feminism depends a lot on individual circumstances and the mysteries of temperament. What distinguishes, say, the successful attorney who would never tolerate an overtly sexist boss but stays firmly in the pews of a church with an all-male hierarchy from the Catholic feminist whose principles dictate a life on the institution’s margins? And how does she differ in turn from the woman whose conscience impels her to leave the church? 

Interesting musings for just another Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Today's is a Tough Gospel to Live

Giving from one's substance, not one's abundance. I think that's the translation I recall from my childhood. Maybe not; "substance" doesn't seem right. Anyway, this reading is certainly easier to hear when you're a child  and you don't really have anything to give, or any reputation to maintain, or any desire really to be admired. Not as easy at 50.

Gospel

Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44

In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds,
"Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues, 
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext
recite lengthy prayers. 
They will receive a very severe condemnation."

He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. 
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury. 
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood."

Hamlet Begone!

I trust America, the magazine that is, for a solid review of Hamlet with Jude Lawe.  And, wow, what a closing line: “The course of action that seems most appropriate for this dissatisfied prince is not bloody murder but a Bloody Mary on some southerly beach.” Ouch. Given the cost and my own somewhat high standards for the play, I am not forking over serious cash for a merely “clear” performance. It is not enough that the audience understand what happens by the end of the play -- which according to the reviewer is about as good as it gets with this production. I do not need to go gaga over Jude Lawe as Hamlet. So, I’ll lower the expectations, go enjoy Jersey Boys, and call it a day.

It's a Beautiful Season

It's my godchild's 12th birthday, All Saints' Day, and it is a beautiful autumn day in New York. I think of autumn as a kind of dusk, and once again, I find myself looking to be rejuvenated-  a perennial state of mind for me, despite the season. I have been fortunate to learn about Ignatian spirituality and and the CSJ charism, both of which I call upon to inform my daily interactions and my own spirituality-- with varying degrees of consistency. These are gifts to be continually opened. In Jesuit boys' schools and CSJ girls' schools, the students are called upon to be "men for others" and women of "all inclusive love," both in many ways from the same Catholic  tradition. Something wonderful to consider on this feast of All Saints.