"Burst of Joy"

This picture is titled "Burst of Joy".

It is a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by AP photographer Slava "Sal" Veder take on March 17, 1973.  The photograph depicts Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm being reunited with his family, after spending more than five years in captivity as a POW in North Vietnam. The centerpiece of the photograph is Stirm's 15-year-old daughter Lorrie, who is excitedly greeting her father with outstretched arms, as the rest of the family approaches directly behind her.


The topic was "Faith in Heaven".  The retreat master spoke about our longings for heaven, for eternal peace, reunification with loved ones.  Then he passed out copies of this picture.  You may have seen it before if you have enough years on the planet.  This is the pure joy and excitement of a former POW and his family being reunited after 5 years.

Then, the retreat master said, "Our perceptions of heaven are off because we are expecting too little."  He said other things too, but I did not hear him.  I just looked at that young girl and the joy on her face and thought of my Carmen.  (I'm tearing up just typing this now).  She looked so much like that when I met her in college.  I think she even had an outfit like that.

Is she waiting for me in heaven with her arms open like that?  Are the rest of my loved ones also waiting in line behind her?

The picture and the reflection had a big impact on we few widowed seminarians.  Many of us were wiping the tears away.

The Labyrinth - Part 2

While on retreat at the Passionist retreat house in West Hartford, I walked the labyrinth.  The centerpiece of this labyrinth is a large stone sculpture.  Other labyrinths that I have traversed have a crucifix at the center, so this was new for me.

The artist suggest that the circle represents the eternity of God and the emptiness of the circle suggests we need to empty ourselves as we journey.

Well, I took that thought with me into the labyrinth and developed a few thoughts of my own.  In the beginning, I saw the sculpture as an empty human being, needing God to fill him up, to make him whole. From various angles, I saw people who knew that and could see the empty space within themselves and from other angles, those who could not see the void within.

Halfway through the walk, I saw completely through the structure from the back to the front.  Then I saw a circle and the circle was God.  Nothing exists outside the circle and the entire universe exists inside of, and is bound inside the circle by God.

The rocks that made up that circle were smooth, rough, flat, curved, large, small, light and dark just like the wondrous variety of life that we see in God's marvelous gift of creation.

When I arrived at the center, I noticed that people had been bringing petitions and rocks to the center to stuff into cracks, crevices and niches of the sculpture.  I presume they carried the rocks to drop their burdens off with God.  I added my prayer to God for their petitions and unburdening if they were for their greatest good and His will.

On the walk back out, I noted the footprints of my fellow travelers as we walked the path to God together - but separate.

The Labyrinth - Part 1

There is something about a labyrinth that appeals to me.  I know that many of my brother seminarians would disagree, but I find a mirror of our spiritual journey in a labyrinth.

Just to put us all on the same page, a labyrinth is not a maze, you cannot get lost, but you move closer to and further from the center throughout your journey.  (Here is a sample path)

Christians borrowed the labyrinth from the pagans during medieval times so that they could do pilgrimages without traveling thousands of miles.

There are probably dozens of ways of walking a labyrinth.  Here is my way.  I start with a prayer while looking at the goal.  I take seven steps, why seven?  I don't know, it just feels right. I say another prayer.  I repeat until I reach the goal.  What prayer? It depends.  I do vary it quite a bit.  I say Hail Marys, Our Fathers, Glory Be, spontaneous prayers, sometimes followed by silence to listen, sometimes not.  I pay attention to my orientation to the goal.  Sometimes closer, sometimes further away, sometimes facing the goal, sometimes turned away.  See what I mean about a spiritual journey?  Sometimes we are close to God, sometimes far away, sometimes turned to God, sometimes turned away. 

Walking  a labyrinth this way does require some time.  I've never actually times it, but I suspect it takes an hour or so to get into the center of the labyrinth.

Once in the center, I take some time to closely examine the center structure and then walk out slowly thanking God for this quiet time with Him.  A couple of final prayers just before I finish complete my walk.

Next Time -- My walk in West Hartford

Retreat Week

Classes are over today.  After tomorrow's Mass, our class will be heading to West Hartford for a week long silent retreat.  This gives us time to think, pray, and be quiet with God. 

You may recall that last year's retreat led me to a new and I believe better place to be in my Seminary life.  I trust that this year will be a beneficial time for me as well.

The faculty has been cooperating and we only have one assignment due the week after the retreat, so no pressure there.  The week after, however... let's just say that there will be a lot of time devoted to writing papers and studying for midterms.

Seminary Life

What happens when you put 65 men in close quarters, living, sleeping, studying, eating together almost 24 hours a day?  Well, lots of things, but the one I want to mention today is disease.  When 1/4 of those men go out to health care facilities once a week for assignment and 1/2 of those men go out to parishes once a week for assignment, they bring back diseases.

Last week,  almost 1/3 of my class was down with a bad cold.  I dodged that bullet.  I had a blocked ear, and suspected that I may be getting the cold, but my sinus medication cleared that right up.  Sunday morning (yesterday), I suspected that I was fighting something and sure enough a bit after lunch, I was sure.  I did not dodge round 2.  It appears to be a walking cold, last week some of our guys did not get out of bed for 2 days,

Life in the seminary. We had similar rounds of diseases last year, I guess it is all part of our discernment.  We need to get all these things going around to toughen up our immune systems.  There will be few enough of us out there in the future that coverage for sick priests is going to be an issue.