Our readings for Sunday are here.
These are the poem, my notes, and interpretations of Fr Dennis’ homily from a Mass of
- February 15, 2015
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The poem Fr Dennis references this year is:
- In the Shed by Mary Logue
In 2015, we reflected on —
- Lepers were segregated because of the fear of transmission of the illness. [We now know that Hansen’s Disease (a.k.a leprosy) is not transmitted by contact.]
- In curing this person, Jesus moves from being in town to being out in the country (apart), as the leper moves from being outcast to being back in town, in community.
- This exchange is a curious result in this world, but by taking someone else’s burden to ease theirs, that’s how we serve: we take it on; the extraordinary in the ordinary.
- Jesus heals in words AND touch, with emotional AND physical connection.
- He is a reluctant Messiah and not what the Jewish people were expecting
- he leaves for the boonies of the boonies
- “Don’t tell anyone [that I healed you]”
- In the Shed by Mary Logue unveils an ordinary event but also a Testament, that there is an element of rest and consolation in the Buck’s dying, i.e., all deer die but not all find rest in their dying. “Testament” = “covenant” The buck in this poem witnesses the covenant in its death in the shed.
- Jesus was not a worldly redeemer / messiah, but He brings hope in what we otherwise find to be hopeless, especially during Lent. Though dying is hard, there can be peace in it.
One of the images today is from Cleveland.com (https://www.cleveland.com/middleburg-heights/2017/10/devastating_disease_killing_de.html) and captures the flavor of the poem, a buck finding repose in its illness amidst human settings, here at the edge of someone’s lawn abutting a small stream. The photo is by Laura Takacs, and downloaded from the above October 5, 2017 article on 16 February 2025.
Our post image is Christ Heals the Leper by Vrindaji Clare-Maria Bowman, a U.S. artist. The image was found on the Fine Art America website, https://fineartamerica.com/featured/christ-heals-the-leper-claremaria-vrindaji-bowman.html. It is used this once, without permission of the site or the artist (at this point), but in hopes of sharing her work. Here is her own webpage: https://www.vrindajiart.com/biography
D2’s homily reminds me of conversations during the pandemic with friends in the medical profession. The medical staff (nurses, doctors, technicians), administrative, and custodial staff met us on that boundary of life and death — as we were removed from society, the medical personnel met us there. But the devotion to service and the grace it gives was wound tightly with the anxiety of bringing this deadly virus home to the ones they loved, those who shared the ones they loved with all of us who were sick and dying.
The extraordinary in the ordinary during an extraordinary time.
The Surest Sign 