Folk singer Peter Seeger is ninety years old now. His reedy tenor can no longer bring an audience to its feet singing enthusiastically for unity, justice and peace. Whether he was leading “We Shall Overcome” in the Civil Rights battles of the 60s, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” during the Vietnam War, or “Turn, Turn, Turn” to advocate patience in face of the adversity that comes in the struggle for justice, he is now an American icon. It wasn’t always so. He was right when it was not popular, and like all prophets, he suffered from that. For years he experienced great adversity.

Teaching with Authority
Israel had some terrific prophets throughout her history.  Moses is just one example of God's reaching out through prophets to speak to the people.  But Israel also had a reputation for persecuting prophets and for listening to the many false prophets who also covered the landscape of her history.

It’s been nine years now since that bright September morning which changed the course of history. All of us remember it vividly.

Anna Quindlen, the former Newsweek columnist, had an insightful comment on remembering 9/11. She wrote in 2003, “September 11 should be formally made a day of nation-wide remembrance by Congress. But it should become a day unlike any other so recognized, not a holiday, but a holyday. Not an excuse for white sales or four-day weekends, but a day of national service in the spirit of the [same] spirit that animated so many after this monumental tragedy.

Imagine a married catholic priest in the 20th century, honored for his saintly life by none other than pope John paul II. strange but true! such is the case of Emilian Kowcz of the ukraine, beatified by the polish pope in 2001.

In the more than two decades I spent as a priest (I left the clergy a decade ago over the issue of celibacy), I had many opportunities to observe the ways priests are required to grovel to their superiors

Kids get taken from their parents and put into foster care for all sorts of reasons, neglect, physical or sexual abuse, mental illness or drug addiction; the reasons are as complex as human nature itself. But none of these forms of abuse are as shattering to a child as coming to the realization that he is not loved.

The silence is overwhelming at first. Only the songbirds and the whisper of the wind blowing through the cottonwoods breaks the stillness of the morning. I’m thinking, it’s wonderful to get away from it all but the abrupt leap into total silence is unnerving. I’m having second thoughts about this idea of taking a four day vacation in a Benedictine monastery.

Years back someone e-mailed me “The Best Prayer I Have Heard in a Long Time.” The author was unknown. I adopt and adapt it here.  It makes bushels of sense to me. Here’s my enhanced version.