I wrote a haiku! :-)

We spent Thanksgiving with my sister up in Austin. While there we visited a Children's Museum in downtown Austin. They had an exhibit on Japanese culture (which focused on Hokkaido, Japan, which was cool because that's where my brother lived for several years before moving to Hawaii) which included several haikus. I had haikus on the mind, and on the way back from Austin I wrote this one: I'm quite proud :-)

leaves slowly browning

falling petal shower storm

fall approaches

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo

A Time of Expectation

Another cannabilized post that I wrote for our school newsletter - I thought it appropriate as today we enter into the liturgical season of Advent.

Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is nearly over; daylight is on its way. Let us then throw off the works of darkness, and ready ourselves for the light. (Romans 13:11-12; Second Reading for the 1st Sunday of Advent)

Every year, our church gives us a wonderful gift several weeks before Christmas: Advent (the word means “it is coming” or “the promise is near”). It is a time of preparation for us: a time to get ready, to prepare the way, to make a space. It is a time to prepare ourselves for the coming of the light - the birth of Yeshua ben Joseph, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Christ.

Advent is also a time of listening, of watching, and of waiting. We look to the changing seasons to let us know that time keeps moving forward. We listen to the readings at our Sunday celebrations and we know that the time is almost near. We wait in expectation for the central time in human history, when God broke through into creation in a very tangible, touchable, sacramental way.

And it is a joyful expectation, a time to get ready for one of our great Christian holy days of celebration. We wait in joy - awesome, wonderful joy - as parents wait for the birth of a child, as flowers wait for the coming of the dawn, as children wait for dessert after a meal – we wait and we wonder in deep down, soul and body filling joy.

But above all, and especially in our times of war and unrest, we wait in hope for the coming of our brother and our savior, the Prince of Peace. We wait for a time when everyone - lion and lamb, American and Iraqi, Catholic and Protestant, wealthy and poor, cool and uncool, parent and teenager, teacher and student - will sit together at a common table and share a meal together. We wait for the coming of our Lord, who is Hope incarnate, and who gives us the hope that tomorrow will always be better then today.

One of the ways our church helps us to prepare is with the traditional symbol of the advent wreath. The wreath is filled with symbols and meaning: the circle of evergreen boughs reminds us that God is everlasting, with no beginning and no end, and with a love for us that never dies. The four candles symbolize almost 4,000 years of waiting for our Messiah to be born, and the light from the candles symbolizes the light of Christ, burning brightly in the darkness. The purple candles remind us that, like Lent, Advent is a time of preparation and waiting. The third candle (the pink one) symbolizes that our time of waiting is almost over, and that the celebration is about to begin. The middle white candle, which traditionally is put there on Christmas Eve and lit on Christmas day, symbolizes the birth of a vulnerable, trusting, loving little boy who changed the course of history.

Our church also encourages us to spend more time in prayer during Advent. We can make some time to pray alone - just after rising or before going to bed are two excellent times for us to pause and spend even a few unrushed moments with our God. Before mealtimes, we can take a minute to silently (if alone), or vocally give thanks to God for the blessing of a nourishing meal. Making time for a leisurely trip to Mass on Saturday evening or Sunday morning would be a prayerful change of pace for many of us. Reading even small portions of Scripture would be prayerful. And spending time together as a family in prayer would be an excellent way to prepare for Christmas, as would celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation together.

In whatever ways you decide to celebrate, my prayers are with you and your family as we prepare together for the arrival of our greatest gift ever – the gift of light and love that burned so brightly in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, and that continues to be born in our hearts and in our lives each Christmas.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo

Christ the King

This past Sunday we celebrated the feast of Christ the King in the Catholic church. This is a reflection I wrote for our school newsletter about this feast day:

I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal.
- Ezekiel 34

Kings have traditionally had several main responsibilities. Among them a few stand out:
protect his people
treat everyone fairly
allow no injustice
promote peace between rulers
promote honor, justice & piety

However, when most people think of a king, they think of wealth, power and prestige. Imagine for a second that you could be king (or queen!) for a day.

(Pause here and think . . . )

Now, time for a pop quiz—did you focus on:
A) promoting world peace and social justice for all,
B) being able to order people around
C) being able to spend money like there was no tomorrow
D) being one of the most well known people on the planet (or at least in your immediate area)

Chances are that most of us immediately jumped to E) all of the above except for letter A. However, in the readings for Christ the King Sunday (Nov. 20) we are reminded that Jesus is a King unlike any other. In fact, all of the imagery used in the readings for that day centers on seeing Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Instead of being the kind of king that lets people know how special and wonderful and powerful he is, Jesus spends his time being the “A” king of king, one that puts his people first and does everything in his power to protect, to love and to serve.

As the Christ, the Anointed One of God, Jesus of course wields ultimate cosmic power—he was there from the creation of the world, he is the one true foundation for all of reality, and he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords . . . but he did not, as St. Paul tells us, see godly power as something to be grasped and used/abused. Rather, he emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant, and lived out most of his live in faithful obscurity.

His kingdom belongs not necessarily to the rich, the wealthy or the popular, but to those that live out their lives as true kings and queens: those who treat others fairly and justly, those who serve others, those who promote peace, those who protect the innocent, and those who promote faithfulness/piety. Jesus reminds us that in our day to day lives we are to live in imitation of him, and that in imitating him we become more fully his body here on earth.

The Gospel passage for the day reminds us, too, that on the last day, when the universe prepares for judgment, our actions will be of paramount importance. Our actions toward our fellow servants—men and women of Christian faith, good will, or no faith at all—will be what ranks us among the kings most trusted servants or among his most lax followers. The Good Shepherd will finally, for one last time, call his faithful sheep home to himself.

As we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King this year, let us remember that our King, instead of being a tyrannical ruler or a maniacal dictator, is a fiercely loving protector who will search us out when we have wandered away, who will feed us and protect us, and who will heal our weary souls. May we—as God’s holy nation and royal priesthood—also do the same to those we love and who love us in return.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo

A Cornucopia of Thanksgiving

November, and especially Thanksgiving Day, are times when we traditionally pause and give God thanks for all the good things in our lives.

1. I’d like to offer a challenge to give thanks for other things in your lives this year:
   Give thanks for people who cut you off while you’re driving, especially if you’re driving in the construction zone of the expressway.
2. Give thanks for people who make you uncomfortable by asking for something, whether that thing is your time, your talents, or your treasure.
3. Give thanks for times when you are embarrassed, or imperfect, or when you make mistakes.
4. Give thanks for times when you are in an argument with a loved one, are sure you’re in the right, and then come to realize that you were actually in the wrong.
5. Give thanks for times when you would like to buy or do something, but are unable to.
6. Give thanks for those times when you do not feel like praying or going to Church, but you do so anyway.
7. Give thanks when physical illness forces you to stay home, stay in bed, or go to the doctor.

Why give thanks for these situations? Because they help us practice patience, generosity, humility, love, forgiveness, kindness, temperance, perseverance, and prayer. They help us practice some of the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude) and some of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

So many times we forget that everything in our lives can teach us, mold us, and lead us further into the mystery of Jesus’ life, passion, death and resurrection. This thanksgiving, let us stretch our definition of “giving thanks” to include every part of our lives.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo

Patience is a Virtue

So it seems I've committed the cardinal sin of blogging - no updates with nary a word as to why (is "nary" a real word?)

I've been busy, and that's true, but I think my innate introversion expresses itself in disconnection sometimes - I need space, both physical and metaphysical, and even a blogging community drains my energy.

So I'm dropping this brief note down and hoping it gets read, and I will update before leaving for my Thanksgiving vacation on Wednesday morning. It may not be the most theologically cutting edge post I've ever written, but it'll be something (even if I have to cannibalize it from my school newsletter articles!). :-)

I might even update later on today! :-)

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo