A Franciscan Benediction: Isn't it Wonderful?

May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God's creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbors who are poor.
Amen.

Google: The Way to Go?

Not too long ago, I was on the phone with my 5 year old nephew Liam, telling him that I had uploaded some cool pictures of him from soccer and baseball. I explained that when his big brother came home, he would show them to him. (I had posted them on Facebook.) I guess he wanted to see them immediately, so he asked me, "Can't I just press Google?" Amazing.

I spent some time recently poking around Google which is so much more than a search engine. I have used Images, but that's about it. The Google Calendar syncs with just about everything and Google Docs is very impressive. Since we have serious filters at work,  and cannot get Blogspot or so many other sites, Google Docs might be the way to go for creating a space for members of the departments to save and share documents and exchange ideas and lessons. I already have about 30 Articles of the Week I was thinking about putting on a CD for teachers to use with their classes. I know, how archaic. It probably would make more sense to save them in a Docs file for all to access. Plus, there are so many excellent podcasts available! I just subscribed to This I Believe, which comes with a curriculum unit for middle school and high school students. This would be a perfect unit for the students; they could listen to podcasts, read some of the 70, 000 TIB essays submitted since the program's inception, and write their own TIB essays.

I guess the next step would be to create a group blog in Google, then forego the print newsletter  Curmudgeon and publish it via Google. Although,  I should probably introduce that next year. Volume I (print), Volume II (electronic). While these may seem simple things to implement, in my experience, teachers are incredibly resistant to change. Getting them to actually access these resources via Google? That's another post.

Day 15 Down 8: Let the Battle Begin

Day 15 of my alcohol-free zone, that is, and healthier diet. Down 8 pounds is a start, I guess. Thank goodness, Lent is here; it makes the effort communal. The reality is that for my health and well being on many levels, I must say so long to my beloved red wine and hello to eating better (and less) and exercising more. I probably should have said farewell to the Mets fan - owner of Pickwick Liquors and thanked him for selecting nice red wines for me over the years. Or, the sweet deli guy who makes my weekly scrambled egg and turkey platter, all chopped up with a little mustard. No can do now; cholesterol is too high and temptation too great. Now the exercise must kick in. Hhmm. No surprise I used the passive voice in that sentence, how apropos of my still too sedentary self. Probably best to stop here and "weigh in" on this intermittently just to keep myself honest. Too much self absorption no good.

Incarnation: Boot Camp for Kids

If you attended Catholic elementary school, that is, "grammar school," you spent many waking hours walking in line (See "marching") and practicing for important things: First Communion comes to mind immediately. But there were many others: Confirmation, Graduation, First Penance, the May Crowning, to name a few. There were, of course, the more regular rituals for which one practiced: mass, benediction, lining up in the morning, (first bell, freeze, second, walk to your line) dismissal, hymn practice ("egg shell see us"), and walking in the halls properly when you got to the upper grades and changed classes. We practiced for everything, even the correct way  to receive our report card. When the priest arrived at the classroom door, no matter what the teacher was doing, we had to pop out of our seat (Attention!) and in a unison sing song, say,"Good Morning, Father So and So" (Sir, yes, sir). Then, receive it, don't take it, say "Thank you, Father," return to your seat; do not look at it or discuss it with your neighbor. 


It was the Catholic kids' basic training. Follow the rules and you would be just fine. Step out of line and you could get whacked, literally. For me it was heaven. Naturally (or nurturally) inclined to follow rules, I was very good at grammar school. There was an us against her mentality most times, which was also fun. And fifty kids in a class made for a lot of action. Being smart was extremely helpful too in negotiating your way around the territory. Teachers back then did not suffer fools or dummies well at all. In some classes your seat was assigned according to your average. Can you imagine? What in God's name were they thinking. Yet I look back with fondness to those days, understanding the milieu and recognizing the many benefits of this eight-year training ground. After all, I am a Soldier of Christ, right?

Another Favorite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZn_VBgkPNY


About 30 years ago I saw Yo Yo Ma perform. I do not recall where, but probably at Lincoln Center. It was an assignment for a music class my second year of college. I don't remember what he played, but I've loved the cello ever since. His rendition of the Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major: I. Prelude is a favorite--especially as he played it during an episode of  The West Wing,  probably my all time favorite television show.  Not a bad combination. . 

Drench Anger with Forgiveness?

Good, true advice, from Catholic theologian and author Beth Johnson, C.S.J., but difficult for me these days. The second class status of women in the Catholic Church remains, actually is increasingly infuriating and insulting to me. I find myself seething at the images of the sea of white haired white men in Rome or in cathedrals. I was so distracted recently when a homilist in my Jesuit parish mentioned Bishop Murphy that I might as well have been home watching the Jets. We are typically spared such messages as a Jesuit parish.  To me Murphy is an example of the "apostolic Church" I find so challenging, to put it charitably. Fortunately, that has not impacted my own spirituality. Last year's trip to the Casa for Holy Week provided a wonderful example of diversity within a progressive yet deeply Catholic community.

We Believe in Comebacks. Pang.

Pitchers and catchers first and now all have arrived and are ready to begin again...nunc coepi.  I love that about baseball. New season, blank slate, starting over. So many cliches come to mind:  America's favorite pastime, wait til next year, hope springs eternal, the magic is back, the boys of summer. And then my beloved Mets announce their tepid slogan for the year, and I get my first Mets pang. Mets fans know exactly what I mean; we just don't talk about it. It's imperceptible at first, like a flash of foreboding. If it were words, they might be "oh geez," or "not again." Usually I get a pang when Omar makes a statement or has a press conference, or sometimes, when they have bases loaded and no one out and don't score. Unfortunately, the 2010 slogan was pang worthy. Why would you reference the recent forgettable past when beginning again, starting fresh, turning the page? Of course we do believe in comebacks; we wouldn't be Mets fans if we didn't. Maybe they're telling us that THEY too believe in comebacks just like we do. Okay. I get it. I'm passed it. Now on to April 5.

Good Show for First Sunday of Lent

The cast of SJC students did a great job in their rendition of the 1971 classic Godspell as they continue  the 25th anniversary season of the Clare Rose Playhouse in Patchogue. I had forgotten about the dialogue in the play and how it is updated to reference current conditions. The inclusion of Yankees (exalted) and Mets (humbled) in one of the parables was clever, making the show even more accessible to newcomers. I have to think think that being part of the cast of Godspell can have a profound effect on a young person. Tommy enjoyed it and thought it was cool that the same guy wrote Wicked, his current favorite play... until the next one. A nice way to continue the purple season.

Another Ash Wednesday

LENT. So begins the springtime of the soul, the cleansing, the 46 days before Easter. The purple season. What to give up, what to give, how to continue the journey. The picture is a word cloud of last year's top 100 responses to "What are you giving up for Lent?" Not quite sure I could give up Facebook. Although alcohol which I swore off a week before Lent is up there too.
Let's hope the fasting blood test comes back a little better than the last. One more in a month and I should be fine, as log as the healthy lifestyle continues. They're all related:  the physical, the emotional, the spiritual.

Dennis: ADHD on Steroids

Where to begin? I really do forget how hilarious it is to drive into Manhattan with Dennis. Add three teenage girls and  Z-100 to the mix and OMG. He talks to ( and at) everyone: pedestrians, cops, vendors, cabbies, doormen, other motorists.  Then, the singing and the nonstop commentary. I hope Ja'Nelle my sponsee survived the experience.

Gotta Love New York

Inferior to Original, But Good for the Cause

Here's how hip I am. I saw the video and thought,"Wow Michael Jackson's son Prince can sing too. " I was so touched that he was included, and given such a place of honor. Uh, well, it was apparently one Justin Bieber who sings first on the video. The blogosphere's abuzz with the God deletion, too, plus the rap and that voice - echo thing, but come on it's 2010, for "God's" sake. Oops, is that okay?

Just Watch Those Pounds Melt Away

The words of yet another infomercial? No, mine. And it's a good thing I don't give way to impulse buys like diet fads or exercise machines. Not me. I'll be dropping my serious poundage (sounds like appendage) the right way, you know, diet, exercise, no alcohol, no eating out, good old, clean living. That's the new me. Just wait. You will not even recognize me. Seriously.

Woo Hoo Snow and Money

The iceman cometh and the taxman giveth. On this snow day, I was able to get a last-minute appointment to have my taxes done, instead of waiting until April. Thanks to my accountant, I will be getting a much-earned return, deposited directly into my account within the next few weeks. Sweet. Now, of course, if I could manage NOT to spend it; that would be good. I probably need to find a bank that's really inconvenient -- no debit card, no electronic withdrawals -- one that will hold on to my money until I physically arrive to this distant place to get it. And then, they should only give it to me for something I really want or need. I think of it like a really strict parent's bank-- that's what I need. Anyone anyone?

Getting the Big Picture

I'm starting to realize that leadership for incremental change is definitely the way to go, as much as I'd like to be able to be an agent of Second Order change. The latter just doesn't work in some organizational cultures -- especially schools, which ironically are incredibly change resistant. But that's okay for now. I'm starting to see patterns in the big scheme...from Fundations to RTI to Literacy to date-informed decision making.