Our readings for Sunday are here.
These are the poems, my notes, and interpretations of Fr Dennis’ homily from the
- September 15, 2013 8:30AM Mass
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The poem and writing Fr Dennis references this year are:
- 2013 homily — Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen and A Prayer to the Good Shepherd by John Shea.
In 2013, we reflected on —
- In John Shea’s introduction to The God Who Fell From Heaven, he writes of three things lost, three things found, ==> three parties! (p 20)
- The Parable of the Prodigal Son has had so much written about it, it can become too familiar. Dennis read an excerpt from Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen, pp 42-44. rl’s favorite quote “I am the prodigal son every time I search for unconditional love where it cannot be found.”
- “What more can be said of the gospel reading?” and, he asked us if there was a word or phrase that stuck with us and encouraged us to stay with it, reflect, and pray.
- On my 8-day silent retreat this year, one of my passages was the Prodigal Son. My spiritual director/companion, Fr Peter Fennessy, SJ often uses art to help his directees engage their imaginations with the passages. This time, he showed me Two Sons by James Janknegt (2002).
- He noted that in this image, the artist equated eating the pigs’ acorns with the dehumanization of a corporate fast food job and the seething resentment of the older brother with a snapped-in-two guitar. What do you see?
- In commemoration of 9/11, in 2014 (I think) Fr Dennis offered the recording of Rabbi Irwin Kula who had transformed the final voicemails of some people in the Towers and United Airlines Flight 93 into the form of a Jewish lament. You can listen to it here. It is how I commemorate that day in grief for lives lost and celebrate that so many chose love to be their final words. Then, perhaps in 2012, he played “No One Is Alone” from Into the Woods by Barbara Cook.
The Surest Sign 