Welcome

Welcome to All. This blog is a discussion site, looking at our lives through our experiences, our spiritual, and, not so spiritual lens, ....what our lives look like at The Front. We are and some would argue, always have been, in interesting times. Servants, past and present have been at constant struggle with whatever the issues of the day have been. Where do we even begin to name them: poverty, hunger, education, shelter, .... and did I mention poverty? Fifty-one years ago, President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty, a war by the way, we're still fighting. Then again, we've always been at war with poverty, and yet poverty has remained steadfast. Jesus apparently got it right: "The poor will always be with you." But Jesus was a smart man. Did he mean what we think? Does poverty always have to be with us. Let's talk about this, and whatever else, in real and truthful ways. Let's view our lives from The Front.
If you have come to help me, then you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is linked to mine, then we will work together.
----(Anonymous) Australian Aborigine Activist
--mailto:--neilpitts@aol.com

Contemplative Action

The Rite of Initiation: You are going to die


A shocking statement. Perhaps. But the Franciscan Priest, Richard Rohr,,who has studied the Rite of Initiation has said the following::

"Every initiation rite I've studied had some ritual, dramatic, or theatrical way to experience crossing the threshold from life to death in symbolic form. Some ritual of death and resurrection was the centerpiece of all male initiation. It is probably why Jesus sought out and submitted to John the Baptist's offbeat death and rebirth ritual down by the riverside, when his own temple had become more concerned with purity codes than with transformation. It is probably why Jesus kept talking to his disciples, three times in Mark's Gospel, about the necessity of this death journey, and why three times they changed the subject (8:31-10:45). It is undoubtedly why Jesus finally stopped talking about it, and just did it, not ritually but actually. Death and resurrection, the paschal mystery, is the theme of every single Eucharist no matter what the feast or season. It takes us many seasons and even years to overcome our resistance to death.

"The transformational journey of death and resurrection is the only real message. It makes you indestructible. The real life, God's life, is running through you and in you already. But allowing it to flow freely doesn't come easily. When you do, the spiritual journey really begins. Up to that moment it is just religion. Everything up to then is creating the container, but you have not yet found the contents; you are creating the wineskins, as Jesus says, but you are not yet drinking the intoxicating wine."

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Answering the call (Originally posted 1/13/2010)

What a tragedy,..Can you imagine, .. its almost dusk, the ground opens up beneath you, your world begins to crumble around you, literally, and you have no governmental infrastructure, no equipment, little food, no clean water. Night falls, and now, there are no lights. Imagine the long and frightening night of aftershocks, fearful that the next one could be even more devastating than the last. The cries for help and the prayers permeate the dust laden air as you begin to realize that even the closest assistance is countries away. Imagine this at the end of your day. After making your dollar. Its only a matter of where you were born that separates the "developed" world from underdeveloped nations. Only a matter of geography that even the poorest of the poor are faced with even greater physical devastation. On this planet of almost 7 billion, we are called to help our neighbors, regardless of location. In Haiti, as with those victims of Tsunami's in Asia, the call is among this planet's loudest. Will you ignore the weeping of the desperate?... Would Jesus? An organization based in Philadelphia, PA is answering the call, as many are. Visit the website of "Lamp for Haiti" to learn how you can help you neighbor. Will you answer the call? http://www.lampforhaiti.org/
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