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."

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Headin' Home



“Home again, Home again,.. jiggety jig…..”  I’m dating myself, I know, but for those who may not know the reference,… its from an old Mother Goose tale,… again, dating myself. U.S.A we’re headed your way. But anyway, we’ve crammed a lot into 3 weeks. Hitting the ground and immediately visiting a major organization in the medication supply chain, through talks at Gatando Girls School, at Huruma Orphanage (along with a medical camp at the orphanage) and the Hospital Pharmacist Association of Kenya, making rounds at St. Mary’s Missions Hospital, to meeting with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and establishing potentially enduring relationships with two pharmacy schools at major Kenyan Universities.   An impact has been made. The team’s parents relatives and friends should be proud…. We all should be proud. 

These guys do not know fear. They know being careful and being thoughtful. But they do not know fear, and that’s good because fear prevents you from reaching the world. And their minds are set on doing good, and doing it on a broad scale. And isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want to ensure leadership in healthcare, justice in healthcare and teamwork for it all to get done? On our shores, definitely, but also globally. Being afraid prevents that. Having fear prevents connection. And when that happens, hope dies. Idealism, which these guys have enough of to sell, dies. And we’re supposed to help them hold onto their idealism, lest the future would look bleak, indeed. So let’s not teach or encourage fear even when it means searching for purpose in places like Nairobi, Kenya.

So we've had a grand time, ...a memorable time,... a meaningful time. Perhaps most importantly though, an impact has been made on us. We wish this team well. They can now, with great truth, testify that they've been Proven Everywhere.  See you soon.
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