I write, speak, invest, network, and question to stimulate fruitful conversation. Let's talk about human flourishing! It begins with freedom. Holy leisure is the key to human being, freedom and generativity. Please join me in the adventure of realizing Christ!
The most interesting thing I have to tell fellow writers this month is about being censored.I bought a “self-publishing” contract with a reputable firm connected to a major Christian publisher. For help with margins and a cover design, the price was right. I excitedly hit “send” and waited for my volume of poetry to be available in print. Imagine my surprise when I was asked to make some revisions to reduce “violence and gore”!
The problem? Christ’s blood kept pouring, oozing, weeping, seeping and condescending through my poetry. The firm was unmoved by my pleas that, in truth, His Precious Blood is the very fountain of life, of anti-violence, of beauty. These images were connected to mother’s milk, waterfalls, abundant life and glorious freedom – how could they offend anyone? I realized I was dealing with people who were not likely interested in arguments from the realm of artistic truth, but when capital “T” Truth failed, I tried that next.
What about the need to tell the truth in art…the whole truth…the truth of blood and violence and evil and ugliness? God seems to have thought it important enough to fill His narrative of history with such realities. The Bible couldn’t have made it past their censor. This contrast between whitewash and the whiteness of garments washed in the blood of the Lamb, between propaganda and truth had to do with another of their quibbles. One of my characters in a poem – a plucky rooster, defending his territory – mentions “that damned dog,” but the d-word is out unless it is God actually damning someone to hell. (And ‘hell’ is only okay in that context, I suppose.)
I wondered how they expected non-Christians to believe we have a faith that can face reality, tell the truth, embrace actual people who speak with actual expletives, if we are this queasy about a rooster with an attitude. They remained unmoved and were not receptive to my suggestion that I cite passages from great Christian writers in my own defense. No replacement words were acceptable, so even if I tamed it to ‘=”drat,” “darn,” or “dang,” that poem was out. Perhaps if I hadn’t used an even worse profanity, we could have come to terms.
Alas, my use of the phrase “in gay abandon” was the third nail in my coffin. Nothing could convince them that this was not a reference to homosexuality, and they – non-literate types, or at least, non-poet types – actually suggested I replace the word “gay” with “wanton,” or “reckless.” I pointed out that the word “gay” has meanings that people of the Word should be fighting to recall, and that neither of their substitutes either scan, or mean the same thing as I meant by it. To me, the word adds, literally, “bright, cheerful color” to the “delighted, happy feelings” I meant to convey.
Well, now you know: your fellow Guild member is violent, gorey, and profane. Strangely, though, my poetry is also worshipful, prayerful, sacramental and sane. You can see it, if you want to double-check! For violence, see Love, With Blood. For my favorite fowl, see Rooster. For that abandon clothed in color, see Avian Medley.
A mom is the caretaker of a huge, wonderful, potentially beautiful, critically important place! She, herself, this actual, unique person, is the single most important ‘environment’ in the lives of her children. Like Mary, like the Church, she is an atmosphere. She is an atmosphere of affection. This is not just warm, fuzzy feelings, but […]
This is my most-requested audio – about how we can educate our children well, despite our own inadequacies. The Problem – We must get kids from where they are, to where they need to be; from ‘uneducated’ to ‘educated’. Given the poverty of our own education, we feel asked to do the impossible: build a […]
Some audiences want to cut right to the chase: “Give us practical applications of all your ideas about Sabbath-keeping.” OK – here you go: In this talk I do just that – give concrete, practical ways to dip into the kind of leisure that brings interior equanimity and leaves you more whole, more human, more […]
I prepared this talk for the Heart of a Woman group, in Kansas City, shortly after the suicide of a Catholic mother of ten. It was a shock to me, but not entirely unexpected, as I had known her during the years she struggled with depression and disintegration, despite her devotion to the Church, Christ, […]
For an Apostles of the Interior Life Women’s Retreat, where the theme was “The King Desires Your Beauty,” I prepared this truly interesting talk. Will you believe me when I say that this is another of my favorites?!?! I know, I’ve said that about a lot of these talks, but revisiting them to give a […]
I once asked a friend who calls herself a Jewish-Catholic if it had been hard for her to accept Mary’s role in Salvation History. She laughed and said, “Heck no! Every Sabbath was begun by a Jewish mama’s prayers! I’d have been suspicious if Lord Sabbaoth hadn’t come through a woman.” Jewish women welcomed Sabbath […]
In “Stour Valley and Dedham Church” Constable has painted the Vale of Dedham – a familiar and beloved area of his native England.
“The Merry Drinker,” by Frans Hals This is a portrait of an unnamed man, called in the title only ‘a merry drinker’.
Giotto’s painting, The Wedding Feast at Cana, portrays the literal and spiritual senses of this story.
Berlinghieri’s St. Francis appears behind the altar of San Francesco in Pescia, Italy. It is an excellent example of art ordered to divine worship.
A mom is the caretaker of a huge, wonderful, potentially beautiful, critically important place! She, herself, this actual, unique person, is the single most important ‘environment’ in the lives of her children. Like Mary, like the Church, she is an atmosphere. She is an atmosphere of affection. This is not just warm, fuzzy feelings, but […]
This is my most-requested audio – about how we can educate our children well, despite our own inadequacies. The Problem – We must get kids from where they are, to where they need to be; from ‘uneducated’ to ‘educated’. Given the poverty of our own education, we feel asked to do the impossible: build a […]
I once asked a friend who calls herself a Jewish-Catholic if it had been hard for her to accept Mary’s role in Salvation History. She laughed and said, “Heck no! Every Sabbath was begun by a Jewish mama’s prayers! I’d have been suspicious if Lord Sabbaoth hadn’t come through a woman.” Jewish women welcomed Sabbath […]
Benedictine College hosted a Symposium for Advancing the New Evangelization in 2014. The theme was Transcendentals as Preambles to Faith, and I got to propose my take on that as a paper. Anyone who knows me could probably have bet good money I’d do something ‘three dimensional’ with that, and they’d have won those bets. […]
