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April 2021

04/30/2021

Perhaps we'll be OK - but it took a rocket ship! April 30, 2021

 

 

 

Crew-2 launches nearby the VAB at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

There are a steadily growing number of events which give us a reasonable hunch that we are all going to be OK.  Too many people are still sick from the coronavirus. But you cannot refute the fact that the vaccinations have caused fewer people to lose their lives. May this continue.

This occurred to me last week when I woke up at my usual time, 5 a.m. Sigh. I turned on the TV news station and saw that they were readying a countdown for the take off of a spaceship with four astronauts to go to the International Space Station.  As you can see, the takeoff was successful at about 5:40. 

I noticed an involuntary smile on my face and wondered why - maybe, just possibly, we were going to be OK.  Have you had any of those feelings? Well, it seems to be happening more frequently. The venom in our national conversations seems to be less. It is a wonderful feeling. 

W are now getting used to people having their injections. We are getting used to hearing more good health news and less bad health news.

I had three health things which, while not debilitating in any way, nonetheless concerned me. Two of the three have now been addressed due to the advances of medicine. In the past, they would never have been addressed at such a rapid rate. I do pray with gratitude to God for the achievements in medical science. I pray with gratitude for the availability of great medical insurance. Not everything is covered, but so much more than many people have available. Thank you, God.

 

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04/22/2021

Have you been languishing today? (Probably) - April 23, 2021

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During the pandemic, many people have noticed a feeling of listlessness about many things. Routines that used to be so automatic have now become an effort. Things you may have noticed about yourself: what day is it; what did I do yesterday; did I remember to send that note or thank that person; what was the article about that I read yesterday?  What did I do this week, this month, even this year? How many good friends have I connected with during the past month? Have relationships, friendships, just faded away and I don't know what to do? Are you losing your mind? Is there something wrong with me? Am I super depressed? Do any of these thoughts remind you of yourself?  

(OK - I'll go first.) The above questions seem to resemble things that have occurred to me.  But, and now I'm breaking no confidences, but these things have happened to a lot of people that I know. What is actually going on? Sometimes, when things seem to be all jumbled, one way to begin to work things through is the simple act of naming what is doing on.  I and many others seem to be afflicted with the condition from social psychology known as languishing. A few days ago, I noticed an article in the New York Times by an organizational psychologist, Adam Grant. His article hit many publishing circles like a tsunami. He was right on target. Actually, he had recalled some work 20 years ago by Corey Keyes. Here is his definition of what is happening to many of us by languishing: “A state in which an individual is devoid of positive emotion toward life, and is not functioning well either psychologically or socially, and has not been depressed during the past year. In short, languishers are neither mentally ill nor mentally healthy.” The key is the last sentence: you are not nuts but something is awry. You're really in-between a little bit ill and a little bit healthy - which may possible be most of us in this awful pandemic. 

Here are the suggestions of Adam Grant to work through this languishing. I'll repeat a couple of sentences verbatim from the New York Times article because it makes so much sense:

"Find states of “flow,”.... There are pursuits (from hanging out with friends to playing the piano) that take you out of yourself. They bend time and place, in the best way. I would also personally recommend routine. Fill out a calendar, fill out a journal. Schedule meals. Go to bed at the same time every night.

The pandemic has taken so much from us, and for some, the final twist of the knife has been a loss of self. We don’t recognize ourselves, and down the line, that could lead to real scenes of mental illness, perhaps even a major depressive episode. Don’t expect to find excitement and excellence right away, but with a bit of intent, you can climb out of languishing’s purgatorial holding bay and get yourself right again."

Languishing is being experienced by so many people who may be at a loss for what is happening to them. I hope this might be helpful. I'm going to try the above suggestions since I really do not recognize myself in many ways. So it is time to start. Good luck.

Reassurance Seeking OCD | Is Seeking Reassurance Good Or Bad For OCD?

 

 

 

 

 

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04/16/2021

A National, Not Local, Problem - Will the People return? - April 16, 2021

Here are two photos of religious congregations - one before and one during the Pandemic:

During this past  year: 

Our Future?

 

My brief thoughts in this post are simply my own, representing me, no one else. I'm fully retired. I speak for no one. (Have I made that clear? Hope so!)

I am really concerned how people, throughout the Church in the United States, will handle the return to "normal" after the pendemic. We do have a couple of dioceses that have revoked their past decisions removing the obligation for this past year of participating in Sunday Mass. 

What troubles me? Namely, unintended consequences. I doubt that there are many people in the Church who correctly predicted how quickly people would get used to the idea of no obligation to attend/participate in Mass. People easily set aside the practice of Mass attendance. Although I have seen no national surveys on this issue, but my hunch is that people easily and quickly morphed from a practice of attending Mass over decades, into a practice of attending Mass in their home, on their porch, and possibly, not attired in their Sunday best! Things changed quickly. 

There were various reactions along the way. Some, possibly in the majority, viewed this as a wise decision to protect public health. The response of some was fueled by political concerns and even blamed the pope,  local bishops and priests for "closing" their Churches. And lots of people in-between.

This brings us to the present day. It may be helpful to recall the research which highlighted reasons that bring people into Church (note that this was pre-pandemic research) People used to come to Church based upon a variety of factors - including high quality preaching that connected the message of the homily with the stories and experiences of people's lives; the felt experience of parish community, warm and inviting; high quality music; and so many others. 

I would be surprised if people would just fall-in lockstep behind each other and re-appear in church the next Sunday because a bishop asks/tells/invites them to return. Why? Even as churches were given permission to have people return, though under restrictions about social distancing and officially allowed numbers in the church, they did not all flock right back into church. They came almost gingerly to try it out - but in no way with numbers that seemed large. We have not yet seen the effects on church attend after larger numbers being vaccinated. Will this change? Hopefully. But we need to be smart.

The most productive way may simply mean following an old maxim: Make haste slowly. Slow, steady progress is a good way to proceed. Given some of the unpredictability of the virus and variants, we need to go slow enough to respect people's concerns and fast enough to build up momentum in returning. 

As with most things involving social change and even personal change, things take time. There is an organizational principle that Stephen Covey often repeated, slow is fast and fast is slow. If you want to make lasting effective change, then do it slowly - and results will be far quicker than if you rush it.  In Jersey jargon, just saying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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04/09/2021

Keep the Flame Going - Easier Said than Done - April 9, 2012

Which Flame are You like? Which Flame is your Parish like?

Do you keep things going - for yourself - Does your parish?

Or do things turn to this?

(I feel more visual than verbal today.)

It is incredibly hard to keep things going - to keep momentum - in regular activities - in relationships - and in parishes. 

Do you just let yourself coast?  Does your parish just coast?

 

 

Some brief thoughts:  When relationships just coast, we will be in trouble unless we act to change.

Parishes that coast will ultimately wither and die - even though many people will still come to church. But they are held captive by a routine, not the promise of new life that a parish can and should offer. 

One of the most exciting thing about Catholic parishes are those that resolutely refuse to coast.  To never stop trying things. To recognize that their parishioners are their customers - and, therefore, they have to meet their needs, find out what they want, and connect with their dreams.

Many successful marriages, successful partnerships, know the value of date nights, giving each other space when needed, listening without speaking, and just celebrating the gift of each other - every single day. A relationship is hard work. It is that simple, but few things on earth can be as rewarding.

Easter is our celebration of the dream that never dies. The most incredible dream we could ever have. The non-abandoning love of God.

Don't coast. It is not worth it. Be drawn to the empty tomb - and realize what draws us beyond that tomb - and into eternal life.

(Entering the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem - The most sacred place on earth - with the exception of anywhere that Mass is celebrated!)

 

 

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04/01/2021

Sorry, Easter Bunny! - April 2, 2021

This post has nothing to do with Santa Claus. It is all about the Easter Bunny and a little about Santa Claus. During the decades while I was pastor, I served once as the Easter Bunny at a parish function and once as Santa Claus. Both events were fun. 

I was thinking this morning about the Easter Bunny and Santa this morning. I knew the background of Santa Claus, especially through Saint Nicholas (living in the Morristown area, how could you not believe in Saint Nicholas!) I was somewhat puzzled about the origin of the Easter Bunny. Frankly, after doing a little research, I am still puzzled. 

The best I could come up with was a few strands in history involving German Lutherans. The Easter Bunny would judge who had been good or bad - and give gifts based upon this assessment. The story did not really cause me to say, "Wow!"

There is always the argument from experience. My experience with the Easter Bunny is that the creature is a benign influence, does not speak, gives children eggs - and, most importantly, is a gentle benign presence. The Easter Bunny, if the one wearing the costume is properly trained, does not speak to anyone - just listens - and makes no promises.

Santa is a totally different story. People, especially kids, make demands of poor Santa. They tell him what they want - and, while not threatening Santa with harm, the approach to Santa is different than the approach to the Easter Bunny. 

Wonder if Santa just denied their thoughtful requests? Not nice of Santa.

Theological question: do we have to believe in the Easter Bunny? If you like the Easter Bunny, great. Do we have to believe in Santa Claus? Don't be a Scrooge. Believe in Santa. 

It is fun playing with these two images. But it is joyful thinking about what we observe at Holy Week and Easter, the greatest of our feasts. Don't forget what Easter is all about? Life. God's promises kept to Jesus. Eternal life. 

Now I am absolutely serious: Jesus conquered sin and death - and so will we - because God never ever abandons the ones that God loves. This is what it is all about. This is what we need to remember to truly get through everything the world throws at us. Easter is what gives us hope. Easter reminds us not to give up. Easter encourages us when we feel everything is lost and not worth it. The empty tomb is what our world discovered on Easter. Our world discovered that life wins - and that settles everything else. So stay with it. It is worth it - perhaps not in the short run, or the middle run - but definitely in the ultimate run. We will finally learn that it is safe to trust God. Not everything will turn out as we want. But God won't abandon us. Remember what Mary Magdalene discovered. The tomb was empty. She saw Jesus. She understood what had happened. Thanks to her - we now know where we too are headed.

Final scene of the Passion Play at Oberramagau, 2010:

Alleluia - He Is Risen

 

 

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