Our readings for Sunday are here.
No notes from D2’s homily this time, but these are the poems from the Mass of
- July 30, 2017
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The poems Fr Dennis references are:
- 2017 homily — Singapore by Mary Oliver
- 2017 homily — Waterfall by Mary Oliver
- 2014 homily — Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church by Emily Dickinson
I had some notes from my deep dive into “treasure” with the New Jerome Biblical Commentary and couldn’t get myself into them to post in a timely matter last week.
🙂 I think God was watching out for us! 🙂
On reflection, the foray seemed a bit heavy and not very D2-y (even as he did dive into theology for his own explorations). He had found early on in his pastoral life that his homily and spiritual conversations needed to reach the flock’s daily experiences. So — a “maybe” to direct sharings of scholarship, and a definite “Yes!” to all that captured the emotions and experience of being alive and human in Christ, like poetry and more.
On Sunday, I was the team member shepherding our parish’ Children’s Liturgy of the Word, in which we offer 2- to 6-year-olds more accessible and interactive gatherings in the lounge (parents encouraged to join!) while the Mass continues in the main church.
We had a good time with a simpler discourse: feeling God’s Love is the treasure, the pearl of great value … and we need to practice returning to the feeling of Belovedness throughout our lives. So: notice where and with whom that occurs (as one Grandpa and granddaughter happily squished in a sofa chair together) and practice it now when we are young and feel Beloved, because as we age, it can become more difficult to clear ourselves from the thickets of daily life and return to our Belovedness. That being said, the kids loved finding the heart stickers we hid around the lounge and sticking them on!
Emily Dickinson’s poem captures this sentiment perfectly and so does a purportedly free image of a hummingbird … as we all go to Heaven all along the way, moment by Beloved moment.
The Surest Sign 