For Boston and All of Us…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.

Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Thoughts for Lent…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

Evil is corrected by good; faults by love, kindness, meekness, humility and patience. Acknowledge yourself as the greatest of sinners. Of those who appear to you to be sinners, or are sinners in fact, consider yourself worse and lower than all. Be rid of all pride and malice against your neighbor, all impatience and bad-temper, and only then – with love and long-suffering towards them – try to cure others.

Until then, cover the sins of others with your indulgent love.

St. John of Kronstadt

Yes…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

there is a battle going on for the soul of our culture and if we think we can avoid it,  it will still come and find us. So as a Christian there’s no sense in hiding. You can’t escape. Somewhere somehow it will touch your life and decisions will have to be made.

So when that moment comes how we do battle will make all the difference. The world around us may revel in violence as a form of settling disputes but we must avoid it to the greatest extent possible. The world around us may identify us as persons to be singled out for special public loathing but we must see even our enemies as people God loves and strive to know and support the good in them even if they hate us. We must never respond in anger even if we are unjustly treated. Our eyes of faith must see the image of God even in the person who is attempting to wound us. We must be ready to suffer. We must be ready to endure. We must learn the full meaning of “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Cultures change when hearts are changed and no force or coercion has ever resulted in permanent change, especially for the better. Let the world see our faith in action and the responsibility for what they do with that is up to them.

Remember, history really is on Christ’s side even if various moments of history are precarious, even fatal, to those who choose to align themselves with Him. Knowing this do not give in to fear, anger, hate, or violence. In time the world will be as God wishes it to be and those who understand this can have cofidence, even joy, in the present and certainty about the future.

There’s No Money…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

to be made in self restraint. If people choose to live a life with a moral foundation delaying immediate gratification for the longer term good they’re simply not going to spend as much energy and money on chasing after whims. There’s plenty of money to be made, however, if people  live a life free of self- restraint.  If a person can be convinced they must be a libertine and mindless consumer, a person who trades the wider and deeper understanding of life for the moment,  they can continuously be sold on fads and those who control the shape and direction of those fads will grow rich and powerful. Understand this and you will also begin to understand why Jesus spoke the way he did about money and possessions and take the first steps towards being truly free.

Interesting…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

article worth reading.

As the fortunes of Russia’s super-rich oligarchs begin to crumble, a man who was once one of them has some surprising advice: they should acknowledge their folly in ever believing money could bring happiness, and then follow him back to what he believes is the good life.

German Sterligov has enjoyed sumptuous wealth, sampled the world of glinting limousines, private jets and super-yachts, and mixed with stars at lavish parties, but he gave it all up four years ago to live with his family like a simple tsarist-era peasant in the wilderness, often struggling to make ends meet.

We’re Hungry…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ Leave a comment

for leaders of simplicity, commitment to service, and little desire for celebrity. We’ve grown tired of the self-aggrandizing, the elites, those who feel ruling is their privilege, and their extravagant lifestyles. Where is the true servant of the public, the executive who sees beyond their office and the lifestyles of those like them? Where is the person in charge who realizes the welfare of those “below” them is intimately intertwined with their own? Where is the powerful one who understands their power is only a moment in time and thus a trust to be managed and not a possession to be exploited? In these times such human beings are hard to find.

Thus the surprise, joy, and even disbelief in a person like Pope Francis. His approach, although it is as old as Christianity itself, appears new. His disregard for meaningless pomp and circumstance, for all the “perks” of the office, seems like a breath of fresh air. To a world, and even a Christian community, jaded by the current understanding of power and leadership he appears as a refreshing anomaly, a person whose ideals and life actually match.

Could it be a ploy? Perhaps. We’ve seen it before, people who are too good to be true because they work hard at it. Yet leaders of all kinds should take notice. The hunger of the common people for such a leader is deep, profound, and a cause for celebration among the masses even when just a sliver of it becomes apparent. There is a great fatigue with private jets, gated neighborhoods, exclusive gatherings, and unnecessary perks among the people who make the lifestyles of the rich and famous possible. The great of this world need to step out of their world, grab a towel, and start washing some feet and not just the feet of their peers. The powerful of this world need to realize anew there’s a difference between respect and compliance and that people have already turned off their speeches in favor of watching their lives.  The powerful of the world, indeed all of us, need to learn from this Pope, and more important the Jesus he is trying to emulate. Those who do will not simply be recalled in history but be memorable.