Jim Mahoney's Blog - Sacred to Etc.

Do you think I could be elected pope in the next papal conclave? Am I a long-shot? - September 27, 2021

(This post is simply an exercise in musing. It means no disrespect to the Holy Spirit. It does not take on political positions. It is just lighthearted speculation. I have been dealing with very serious things lately - and I'm supposed to be fully retired! These things can really get you down. All sort of things that would not be appropriate to mention in this post. So, I just wanted to relax from the very serious things - and speculate on my chances of being elected the next pope.  Haven't you mused about what you would do if you were pope? I know that I have. In my musings, I'm not going to say what I might do as pope.)

WIth some sense of melancholy, I would realistically observe that I am probably not a front-runner in the next papal conclave. But, this is simply because I have not been marketing my name, or brand. I realize that I need a concise, easily remembered slogan. Thus far, the only slogan I can come up with is this concise presentation of my platform: A vote for Jim is a vote for your golden retriever. Catchy? I think so. If you come up with someone who is against such a slogan, then I don't want their support. 

I wonder whether I need to disclose some of the things I would do if I'm elected pope. Probably - so here is just handful of the great things that I can do to help the Church. Snoopy could provide spiritual insights to all the faithful.

Popes wear all kind of fancy clothes, including hats. In fact, if you are not wearing a special hat, how could you be pope? I would want to see how my closest advisers would look in special hats:

Who would not listen to the insights of this trusted advisor?

I am starting to get the feeling that this post will be a lot harder to write than I had planned. Could these controversial thoughts and well-constructed arguments cause rioting in the streets? Well, you never know. There are a lot of crazy people running around. 

How do I present a policy based on Jesus' words about children - unless you become like a little child, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Hmm.

Could this be what Jesus meant:

Oops, darn it, darn it, I'm starting to have trouble with my computer using images. My quandary is choosing between two sorts of actions:  Making myself more stressed so that I can complete the idea I had for this post - even it will dramatically raise my stress level?  OR Ending my work now on this post - and being willing to concede that my computer skills are not what I imagined - and clearly another thing I need to add to my bucket list for retirement topics.

I'm waving the white flag right now. This week has been really hard. I wanted to have a little lighthearted approach this week. It was not to be. So I declare this particular post - "an  unfinished project." What the heck!  Schubert wrote his "Unfinished Symphony" and it did not cause the stars to drop from the sky. So Jim's post can be just a declaration that he's not perfect.  This also means that this perfectionist is getting a little more comfortable with being imperfect. It is a little peaceful reaching this conclusion - and I would like some of that peace that they preach about. 

WIth my West of Ireland cry: Sigh. 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Can't get forgiveness out of my mind! Sigh! August 19, 2021

 

Lately, I have been consumed with the topic of forgiveness. I have been consumed with those who have hurt others, hurt things important to me, who go on their merry little way - leaving wreckage behind them. I have found it very difficult to just blow things off - to move on.  I suspect many people, I know many people have struggled with forgiveness.  This may be the reason why Jesus mentions it so often. This may be why so many things have been written about it. 

We've heard the phrase, "still water runs deep."  Well, newsflash, I'm still water. Always have been. 

Lately, it seems i'm tripping over  a lot of still water. It is frustrating, but possibliy a sign of wisdom, not to say to others the things on my mind. Interwoven with these thoughts is the lingering problem of forgiveness. My mind is constantlyi going - trying to figure things out, trying to make things make sense, trying to find light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not being melodramatic or self-centered. I recognize that so many people struggle with these things. I am fortunate to have some ways that I can share my thoughts. 

The above photo gives one of the perspectives on meditation. When you meditate, you gradually are seeking a reality of settling, of not being overwhelmed by the noise, and finding peace. 

I certainly feel that, since I've retired, I generally have somewhat more peace and less stressthan I lived with for decades.  Some things in my world have shattered, for now, these feelings of more peace and less stress. 

I come face to face with the requirement of forgiveness if I'm going to have lasting peace.  Go back to the quote at the beginning of this post. This is really the key: "Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart." This continues to be one of the most compelling reasons for forgiveness.  

This approach simply presents self-interest.  This is not bad. Self-interest is not wrong. If it gets us closer to Jesus' words on forgiveness, then it can be helpful. 

I'll be darned if I'm going to allow some **%%#@@!!** individuals to push me away from God's love and God's ways.  Possiblly a more satisfying approach is to scream and shout and hurl epithets and carefully constructed expressions of anger and outrage.  I have to reach a calming point where I realize that some people do not deserve the satisfaction of wrecking my inner peace. Let them shout and scream and thinking about kicking little kittens down the stairs. (by the way, this is rhetorical, I'm not going to hurt a kitten - ever!!!!)

I don't want the bad folks to win. I want goodness to win. In my life, that means so much more than all this other stuff.

Pray for me that I can get back on the right path. I'll pray for everyone of you who is strugging with these things as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uh Oh - What if Jesus was serious about forgiveness! - August 13, 2021

 

(Confession: I started to write this post when I was really angry. Some things have gone on in my world that are just unconscionable. I wrote some strong sentences in my first draft that showed my literary skills, but very little compassion that Jesus asks me to show. Through my practice of meditation, I came down from my soapbox. I relaxed a little. I tried to become centered on Jesus' words of forgiveness. Did I do it perfectly? Nah. But certainly better than when I started writing this post. I'm still angry, but also filled with an awareness of peace that I desperately want to receive from God. Frankly, the people who made me angry do not merit the attention of adding to my stress. To heck with them. I hope they clean up the mess they made. But, I will also pray and ask God to help them. Sigh. End of confession)

Do you have a problem with forgiveness in your life?  Do you find it hard to forgive? Do you sometimes say, "Well, of course, I forgive, but I will never forget?"

I believe that genuine forgiveness is one of the clearest things that Jesus said. It is also one of the hardest things to do. I can come up with all kinds of self-serving reasons why I may not have forgiven someone who really tried to do me in.

In looking back at my life, there were some people who over the decades really were despicable to me. (Imagine = and I'm such a nice person. What could these people possibly have been thinking? I can go back and forth about forgiveness. I can make excuses why I haven't forgiven. (some of these excuses are quite convincing - at least to me!) Despite the intellectual gyrations that I go through, I finally end up with the message of Jesus to forgive. I cannot nuance it away. I cannot pretend that Jesus did not mean it. It is right in front of me - without qualification. 

I am great at holding onto things, especially thinking about those who did me in. I can come up with reasons why God could not possibly love them. I end up with the words of Jesus once again - Forgive.

Once in a while, I remember that forgiving others is actually in our supreme self-interest. This is not a bad reason to forgive. Jesus is clear that failing to forgive can keep us from heaven. I don't know about you. But not one of those people that tried to do me in is worth not getting into heaven.

Here is the ultimate self-interest quote:

For various reasons, I have been in a lot of high stress situations lately. I don't like this. I know precisely who are the people to blame for my anger. Situations can be complicated, but they cannot be ignored.

When people have been hurt by others, the ones who did the hurting have an obligation to repair the hurt that they have caused. The ones who were hurt have to try ever so slowly, so gently, so steadily, try to forgive.

None of this is easy. Jesus never said it was easy. But it has to be done. He was not kidding!

Sometimes, we find it hard to continue to be with someone who hurt us. Here is one observation that troubles me, but it may offer a way past a tough situation:

I'm not certain about this quote, but sometimes, the hurts are so painful that separation might be helpful. But sometimes, the grace of God can give us the strength to forgive and go on - and embrace the other person through forgiveness. There are no easy answers, but well worth thinking about.

I just know that we have to forgive. If we don't forgive, we are hurting ourselves - and that is not a very intelligent thing to do to ourselves.

If you're stuck on forgiveness, then  pray what I have come to see is the prayer of last resort concerning forgiveness. Here is the grudging prayer of forgiveness you can say, and I think it is valid:

"Lord, if you have it in mind to help this (fill in nasty word or two), then I won't object."  If this is all you can say, pray it. It shows God that you're on the right direction.

Forgive. Be free. Let God pull you through. We are not asked to go on this path all by ourselves. Don't do it alone. Do it with God - and slowly, over time, you will become free. It is worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Encountered any really nasty people lately? August 6, 2021

 

There are various ways to proceed through life. Even Santa gets in on the act - when a song allegedly written by Santa asks if "we've been bad or good so be good for goodness sakes." Bad or good, naughty or nice - these pairs of words can make us smile, but they also apply to real life. And it goes way beyond Santa Claus.  Lest you wonder, I really like Santa - so, if you see him, please pass this along.

Where the heck did this subject for a post come from?  I was in a meeting recently with a person who is in one of the helping professions.  The nature of his life is that he talks with many different people each day. He has done this for decades. At one point in the meeting, he spoke privately about something which was bothering him. He asked if I thought the people that I see are  different than they used to be. I was going to respond No until I stopped and really thought about what he asked. Then I said, "Yes. I have personally come across more nasty people in the last two years than in all my years of being a priest."

I went on to elaborate.  Usually, the people you come across in Church ministry are nice people. There are always a few who are not, but most are nice. This person shared experiences over the past year. He happens to be one of the nicest people I know - and some people treat him like dirt.  I think I'm a nice person, but I still get assailed by people (perhaps they're nice people, but they become "not nice" when they are in front of a keyboard, I don't know.) In my 48 years of being a priest, I only recall 4 people (2 from the parish and 2 concerning the diocese) who ripped me apart face to face rather than through a letter, etc.

But in the last two years, the number of really awful emails and letters has increased dramatically. I have had the kinds of jobs where people have made me the designated recipient of the most awful things they could say when they have problems with the church or church leaders. The last one I received was three weeks ago. The level of anger, vitriol, especially about a situation that I did not cause, usually would have sent my blood pressure skyrocketing. Thanks to my practice of meditation over the last few months, I can keep the blood pressure somewhat lower than in the past. I am profoundly grateful for that. I do not have the strength of character to simply think "well, they are having a bad day." I'm not there yet, but I do hope to be.

I at least think through these situations in ways that I did not do in the past. I instinctively think that this person is really a (insert unsavory word) and that Jesus does not like them. Through the benefits of meditation, I obsess about these things much much less than I ever did in the past.  

I think about the really nasty people. I am fortunate to work in a vocation/job/ environment where I generally encounter mostly nice people. A few have slipped through my impenetrable walls lately, I must admit. God will get them (I calmly pray!). To use my "toddler" vocabulary, some people are just mean. I do pray for them - and more often than not, it is a genuine prayer =asking God to help them. Once in a while, it is still genuine but I would not object if God was too busy helping others to help this person. (I'm human.)

I used to think that, as a priest, I had to simply take whatever might be thrown at me.  I don't believe that any more. Period. End of Sentence. Isn't life complicated?

I do hope that, overall, I live with integrity and Santa will be good to me.  I have been so blessed with extraordinary friends - who keep me going - who gently help me not take myself so seriously- and who are exuberantly nice people.

In the end, at least in our world on this side of the Kingdom of God, we end up with Santa  - just as we began. I hope Santa knows that I've tried really hard to be nice!

As I read the above before hitting "SAVE" - I am baffled how this became about Santa. Must be a reason for this.