Friday, August 24, 2007

Happy Friday.... It's Friday, right?

Happy Friday to all! I mention this because soon, I will have a keen interest again in the phenomenon known affectionately as "Friday."

You see friends, school starts up again in less than two weeks. Yippee! But I need to get over the amnesia that strikes teachers every summer. That's right! Throughout the summer, we teachers are on a perpetual Friday feeling! We lay around in lawn chairs and eat chips, drink mojitos, and absent ourselves from the stress of paying bills, grooming, and other basic forms of hygiene! Now I need to wake up and remember those other four days of the week again: Mumday (sp?), Toosday, Miercoles, and Thursaturthsday or something!

Honestly, it's been a good summer. A self-inflicted summer of work, with talks, writing, and podcasting for the first time, but I set my own pace and really enjoyed it. I love my Catholic Faith! God! Life! LOTS OF STUFF! So the work is my passion and my passion is this work! What'd ya gonna do?

The only thing is... we really didn't "get away" much this summer. Canada was a terrific trip in June, but after the conference, there was just 2.5 days to explore the Rockies. Hey, I'm not complaining! (Well, clearly I was there) but I know that was a grace and a gift. It would be nice though to lavishly squander a week or two somewhere. We haven't even been to the infamous Jersey shore yet this season! At least this weekend will be a little shore time with Rebecca's family. I'll have to soak it up! But that's enough of that. I'M GOING ON LIKE RAMBLESTILSKIN OVE' HERE!


AND NOW A WORD FROM TODAY'S GOSPEL

Today's Gospel for the Feast of St. Bartholomew is from John 1:45-51. Philip finds Nathanael (aka St. Bartholomew) and tells him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

And Bartholomew throws back this rather sarcastic reply "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Hmmm.... don't judge a book by its cover, Bart! How often does God choose the little ones, the poor, the wounded, the backwater towns to confound the big cities? Lots of times... in fact, every time! God always seems to come to us through the hidden way, the common path, the obscure whisper of our conscience as we pass the family van stranded on the roadside looking lost, the pungent odor of the homeless, the mentally ill woman on the bus, the work stacked in the back room awaiting our responsible hands to organize it. God is so often in the details, not the devil. The devil's flashing cash in the big city lights and in the glamor of the popular and the posh.

"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

Philip said to him, "Come and see."

And here's the saving grace for Bart. He went and saw and found out for himself that "Yes.... Everything good comes from Nazareth."

Come and see for yourself today! Look for Him in the little obscurities, the mundane and the ordinary. I think we'll find Him, if we simply look.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

AAAHHH Friday, you are so right! I don't know if I told you but we homeschool, coolest thing ever, but that is for another comment. Sooo, we homeschool and I get lost during the summer if we aren't doing some sort of "scheduled" learning! The days slide by and I never know what it is, until Sunday ofcource!

We are starting back to our Mother of Divine Grace school year after Labor Day and the kids and I are excited. We have had enough free time for awhile and are looking forward to finding God in the details of official learning again!

By the way, LOVE the Jersey Shore! I was born in Jersey and have lots of relatives still there. I don't even think I know all of them!

Peace!

Wendy Fuller

The Heart of Things said...

Hi Wendy,

We were in Belmar and next weekend I think my mom got a place a little further south. Rebecca and I have gone to Sea Isle many times with friends.

Have fun at Mother of Divine Grace! Love the name!

Bill

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