Sort of a rant…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

Last night I was talking with the band members and a guard as we walked across the yard at Lino Lakes Correctional Facility and the conversation went to clothing. I remarked how I was always amazed at guys in my neighborhood who wore their pants halfway down their rear ends and then had to walk while holding them up with one hand.

The guard escorting us asked if I knew what that kind of fashion statement meant at Lino Lakes. Let me just say its not about being cool, its about being, how do we say this, “available”. You gangstas out there might want to take note…

Another rant…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

I was just watching a commercial from a millionaire promising that as governor he’ll “make the rich pay their fair share of taxes”.  Please understand that if you’re a wealthy “progressive” and are concerned that the government doesn’t have enough money you can simply write them a check. In fact you can give it all away if you want (see the life of Francis of Assisi). But that isn’t the point is it?

The essential Christian "bucket list"…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

Matthew 25

31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

It's good to doubt your thoughts…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

because one of the great sins of our time is that we have forgotten our mortality, our brokeness and we assume a level of enlightenment we actually don’t possess. If one were to stop and contemplate their own thoughts, their own urges, they may be surprised at how little is wheat and how much is chaff blown in the wind.

One of the things…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

Christianity reminds me of on an almost daily basis is that I was meant to be so much more. I don’t mean that in the “Jesus wants you to be rich, handsome, and skinny” way that seems to be prevalent in so much of American Christian culture. Rather its more about coming to understand the potential of the grace given.

In Christ there are unmeasurable depths of light and goodness and holiness. A thousand miles away from being anywhere close to Christ in my own life I can still see that. Yet its not intimidating. In fact its actually quite hopeful.

I know that in this life there may be only bits and pieces of the unmeasured grace of God that somehow bubble through to the surface of my life. Perhaps the best I will ever be before they bury me is just a small light taking light from the Light. Yet even a small light is still Light. Even a small bit of grace in me is still more than I could have ever been without it.

And some day, every hour a bit closer, the day of knowing in sight what I perceive now in shadows will come. The little light inside, sometimes blown about by the winds of the world, calls me to its Source, to a fullness I see now only as a horizon, to the more that I was called by grace to be.

And I am not afraid.

Sometimes people ask…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

what will you do when and if your sabbatical takes place and you leave St. Elias?

All is not yet clear but I will  first be grateful for my time there. Then I will become the writer I was meant to be. I will practice the music that’s inside of me and hone the craft of Priesthood to a fine edge. I will sleep. I will hold my wife’s hand as often as I can. I will take long drives in the country and work through my prayer ropes. And if there is any time left I will sit on the rocks and watch the St. Croix river go by.

A short rant…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ 1 Comment

Please understand, ladies, that the sexual revolution is over and men have won. We have convinced you that being promiscuous is liberating, that being an object is freedom, and we by and large have left you with the consequences while we do what we want. Only when you decide that you want something better and  are willing to stick to your decisions will any of this change.

And men, we may have won but the victory is hollow. We got what we think we wanted, lots of sex without consequence, but behind the posturing there is still a desire for true love that remains unfulfilled no matter how many hook ups you record. You will never find your soul mate in America’s sexual jungle and nothing will change until you decide that you want something more.