The Vietnamese Mass: A Piercing Joyous Light

As I started going to Mass more in the greater Grand Rapids area I couldn't help noticing the presence of Vietnamese Nuns quite often. I learned that there was a convent for them on the southwest side of town. 

Digging a little deeper I found out a little more history on how people from Vietnam began arriving here in greater numbers with the fall of Saigon in 1975. Many of them were and still are Catholic.

In 2024 we moved towards the southwest side where the closest Parish was Our Lady of La Vang.

Having gone there a few times over the last year, the beauty and kindness of the people there have touched my heart deeply. It shines out profoundly in their worship and devotion during the mass because to me at least, their way of chanting the entire liturgy is piercingly exquisite.

The lovely aesthetic of the Vietnamese language itself lends a hand in this regard.

Hear it for yourself in this example (Jump to the 22 minute mark to hear what I'm referring to):

At Our Lady of La Vang everything is in Vietnamese most of the time. With my love of languages this suits me just fine. Add to that, they often have the words of songs and the liturgy projected so I can follow along and sound out the words. Sometimes they have the English alongside the Vietnamese, so I can figure out pretty quickly the often repeated words like God (Thân) or Lord (Chua) or Jesus Christ (Giêsu Kitô).

The point is this, I find it easy to sing and worship with my Vietnamese brothers and sisters and I find their deep reverence extremely attractive. I hope to make this my Sunday Church home now since we live so close and I like to support my neighborhood Parish when I can.

This past Monday was the memorial of St. Andrew Dũng-Lạc and I was so very fortunate to have attended mass at the Cathedral downtown with Fr. Kenneth Boyack presiding that morning. His homily was so beautiful I asked if I could have it and share it with others. He handed it to me right away and then sent it to me later in electronic form.

It is very inspiring and informative. I hope it blesses you today!

__________

Homily for the Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
Father Kenneth Boyack, CSP
Cathedral of Saint Andrew, Grand Rapids, MI

Today the Church invites us to remember a remarkable chapter in the history of the Catholic faith—the witness of St. Andrew Dũng-Lạc and the Vietnamese Martyrs. Their story stretches across three centuries and includes more than 100,000 believers—bishops and priests, religious and laypeople, parents and children—most of whose names are known only to God. Yet their courage continues to speak to the whole Church.

When Christianity first entered Vietnam in the late 1500s, it was seen as a foreign threat. Waves of persecution followed, marked by some of the most brutal tortures in recorded history. Believers were burned, dismembered, or suffocated; churches were destroyed; and Christians were ordered to renounce their faith by trampling on a crucifix. And yet, against all human logic, the Gospel did not disappear. It took deeper root. The blood of these martyrs became the seed of a thriving Church.

Among them stands Andrew Dũng-Lạc, a humble parish priest born near Hanoi. As a young man, he encountered a catechist, was baptized, and soon became a catechist himself. His zeal and holiness led to his ordination in 1823. In 1832, when Christianity was outlawed under Emperor Minh-Mang, Andrew was arrested repeatedly. He could have saved his life by denying Christ, but he chose instead to remain faithful. He was beheaded on December 21, 1839.

How do we make sense of such courage? One of his fellow martyrs, St. Paul Le-Bao-Tinh, wrote from prison: “I am full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone—Christ is with me. Our Master bears the whole weight of the cross, leaving me only the tiniest bit.” Their strength was not human stubbornness; it was confidence in the presence of Christ.

This memorial challenges us not necessarily to die for Christ, but to live for Him. Most of our trials are quieter: choosing forgiveness over resentment, fidelity over convenience, truth over comfort, faith over fear. The martyrs remind us that holiness is built on daily decisions to trust Jesus, even when it costs us something.

Their witness also proclaims that the Church is truly universal. The Gospel is not Western or Eastern—it belongs to every people and culture. Today, the Church in Vietnam is vibrant and growing, a living testament that suffering never has the last word. God does.

So we pray in this Mass: Lord, give us the courage of these martyrs. Help us to stand firm in faith, to love without fear, and to follow you with joyful hearts. May their witness inspire us to proclaim Christ—not only with our words, but with our lives. Amen.

Trusting in God who strengthened the martyrs of Vietnam, let us confidently bring our prayers before the Lord.

• For the Church throughout the world, that, inspired by the courage of St. Andrew Dũng-Lac and his companions, Christians may remain steadfast in faith and joyful in witness, even in times of trial. R: Lord hear our prayer.
• For all who suffer persecution for their faith today, that God will protect them, give them hope, and bring peace to nations where religious freedom is threatened. R: Lord hear our prayer.
• For the people and Church of Vietnam, that the seed planted by the martyrs may continue to bear fruit in holiness, vocations and vibrant missionary discipleship. R: Lord hear our prayer.
• For priests, catechists, missionaries, and all who proclaim the Gospel, that, like St. Andrew Dũng-Lac, they may serve with humility, courage and unwavering trust in Christ. R: Lord hear our prayer.
• For our Cathedral community, that we may learn to live our faith boldly -- choosing love over fear, forgiveness over resentment and truth over convenience -- so that our lives become a witness to Christ. R: Lord hear our prayer.
• For those who carry hidden crosses -- illness, loneliness, grief, or discouragement, that they may know the comforting presence of Christ, who walks with His people in every trial. R: Lord hear our prayer.
• For peace among nations and respect among cultures, that the example of the universal Church may help all peoples see one another as brothers and sisters created in God's image. R: Lord hear our prayer.
• For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. R: Lord hear our prayer.

God of strength and mercy, you sustained the martyrs of Vietnam in their hour of trial. Hear our prayers, grant us steadfast hearts and make us faithful witnesses to your love. Through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

Joseph Stalin Part 2

The Joseph Stalin song (aka "Just Like Me" by Jeffrey Martin) acknowledged the dignity we owe to every person with penetrating humor. It is the most recent addition to my campfire songs.

"Orders" by Bruce Cockburn takes it a step father with somber determination. It entered my campfire lexicon after I heard it a couple years ago. Give it a listen:

The just, the merciful, the cruel
The stumbling well-intentioned fool
The deft, the oaf, the witless pawn
The golden one life smiles upon
The squalling infant in mid-squall
The neighbors fighting down the hall
The list is long - as I recall
Our orders said to love them all

The cynic and the crooked priest
The woman wise, the sullen beast
The enemy outside the gate
The friend who leaves it all to fate
The drunk who tags the bathroom stall
The proud boy headed to his fall,
The list is long - as I recall
Our orders said to love them all

The pastor preaching shades of hate
The self-inflating head of state
The black and blue, the starved for bread
The dread, the red, the better dead
The sweet, the vile, the small, the tall
The one who rises to the call
The list is long - as I recall
Our orders said to love them all

The one who lets his demons win
The one we think we’re better than
A challenge great - as I recall
Our orders said to love them all

What Jeffrey Martin did with comic wit, Cockburn amps up with grim resolve. Let's admit it, sometimes we need a good dose of earnest commitment and power from above to love others as we'd be loved... which are our orders.

Cockburn's 38th album is perhaps his sweetest.
Pure light and joy burst from this release.

But don't let the soberness of this song scare you away from the his latest album where it resides. "O Sun O Moon" contains songs of pure joy and light as well. That sacramental joy permeates Cockburn's impressive collection of 38 releases since the early 70's. And that is why over a dozen of his songs are in my campfire lexicon.

Joseph Stalin came from somebody's vagina

Best first line of a song, EVER!

We were at the Nowhere Else Festival with some friends when we first heard Jeffrey Martin belt these lyrics out from the stage. Here, have a listen yourself:

Joseph Stalin came from somebody's vagina
Just like Babe Ruth and Mao Zedong and Mark Twain
and Paul Simon played catch, with his Daddy on the weekend
Just like you, Just like you, Just like me

And Adolph Hitler played with dolls in his bedroom
Quiet so his mother wouldn't hear
And he grew up to be a monster, but for a while he was a child
Let's be clear, Let's be clear, Let's be clear

And Jesus represented love in the flesh
But they said he was a man in every way
And so the evidence would suggest, that he had a thing for breasts
Just like you, Just like you, Just like me

My coquette neighbor is a banker in the city
He falls off the wagon and gets drunk on Listerine
He is shiny on the outside and broken on the inside
Just like you, Just like you, Just like me

Yeah, he is shiny on the outside and broken on the inside
Just like you, Just like you, Just like me

The song got some laughs for sure. More importantly, I feel like it stimulated some thoughts on the dignity owed to each and every human. Check this out from Google AI:

Yes, you can be said to owe someone dignity, because dignity is an inherent worth that every person possesses and that you are morally obligated to respect, even if they don't "earn" it. While some argue that respect should be earned, the idea of inherent dignity means that you are owed a baseline of decency simply by virtue of being human. This includes treating them with respect, kindness, and consideration, regardless of their actions or circumstances.

Not bad. Pretty much aligns with what I'm learning of the dignity of the human person in my Theology of the Body courses. 

I've seen this type of respect on full display by a couple of women that one would think would have little of it for one another. One had an abortion under terrible circumstances. The other survived an abortion attempt in similar circumstances.

Rape and Abortion Survivors Unite!
The story of the most unlikely friendship

I've found nothing that illustrates the the whole thrust of Jeffrey Martin's song better than this. These two simply refuse to be offended by one another. They refuse to treat each other with disrespect. How refreshing.

This stands in glaring contrast to Charlie Kirk being murdered for what he was saying and doing. All of the offense taken into the public consciousness from Charlie evidently tanked up and burst out sideways through a deranged individual.

That is sad.

Perhaps he was a monster in some ways, I don't know, I never really followed his particular brand of activism or watched any of his college campus debates. But maybe we could add another verse to Jeffrey's song for Charlie:

Charlie Kirk spoke out for things that he believed in
He made famously infuriating pleas
But he loved his wife and kids, even with the things he did
Just like you, Just like you, Just like me.

As I listen to some of my friends speak about Charlie, I become sad about the way it comes across almost as a celebration of somebody finally getting what they deserved. "That $#%@ had it coming!!" is what I hear more often than not.

And this darkness is why Miriam and Buzz' friendship shines so brightly. Maybe we could learn something from them. They've become almost unoffendable toward each other. In fact they talk about this extensively in their tenth published phone chat. They speak of the Bible study they went through in a book by Brant Hansen.

The Bible Study that Buzz and Miriam
Have both read and pondered as they've sought
Reconciliation and recovery together

As I've shared these concepts with friends, it has been strange to observe how becoming unoffendable is deeply offensive to so many of us. (Yes I have taken offense at the suggestion as well.)

I listened to this book, read by the author at the suggestion of Miriam and Buzz... turns out that the author is also an established radio personality and listening to him is extremely engaging. He is both witty and humorous.

But back to Jeffrey Martin and his song. I think I'm a fan of this guy now. I plan to follow him some more. This song at least is now in my campfire song rotation. That might not seem like a big deal until you consider the others in that list like T-bone Burnett, Over the Rhine, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Alison Kraus and Bruce Cockburn.

Keep writing songs Mr. Martin.

Full Flavors Dismiss Caricatures

I was having dinner with my old friend Bob M and he recommended a book to me. I downloaded it for listening on the spot. It turns out to be the best crash course on the world’s largest faith traditions I’ve ever encountered.

In my experience, I’ve noticed the tendency of myself and others to construct a caricature of faith traditions in which we are not involved. It seems to be a universal tendency. The problem with this is that when I reduce an entire faith tradition to a caricature I am robbed of the full flavor of that group’s belief system.

This is precisely what John Dickson expertly avoids in his book “A Doubters Guide to World Religions: A Fair and Friendly Introduction to the History, Beliefs and Practices of the Big Five”.

The title mentions the word friendly and he means it. In the audible version the Australian author’s disarming wit and humor come to life as he reads it himself. I found it deeply engaging as he insisted upon explaining the various faith walks using their own words and enthusiasm as much as possible. It was as if a devoted follower were telling me all the wonderful things about their way of life.

I don’t know about you, but much of my exposure to world religions was taught from the perspective of ‘let’s see what is wrong with them’ rather than being curious. Professor Dickson’s approach is so much more engaging and kind.

In fact, the only dose of ‘let’s see what’s wrong with them’ is in a chapter dedicated to the author’s own faith walk: Chapter 26 - What’s Wrong With Jesus. In this chapter he allows each of the other four traditions to explain what they see as disagreeable or even abhorrent to them regarding the Christian way of belief and life.

Genius.

I learned so much from this genuinely disarming approach. It is the epitome of ‘seeking to understand rather than be understood’. I highly recommend this book to anyone fatigued by the relentless polemical approaches often adopted in this genre.

I have added a few hard copies of this book to share with the curious in the Photon Farms give away library.

It is that good.

Arise, Take Up Pen and Write

[It is 1:30am and I just awoke from the most powerful and joyous dream and heard a voice in my heart telling me to rise, take up pen and write, do not delay… so I grabbed my iPad out of my backpack, moved into the living room to avoid disturbing my beloved and began to write out what I had dreamed before it faded away:]

I was in an auditorium with thousands upon thousands, we were processing in together.

The stage was all arrayed for worship. On the left side where I was processing in it was arranged for the western liturgy… the Novis Ordo mass perhaps but much more intricate, more like the Latin mass, but in English… Maybe the Tridentine Mass in English, which I’ve actually participated in before. But there was so much excitement and anticipation in the air.

A Priest came in in a simple brown cassock and he was carrying a huge loaf of flatbread and there were people censing with incense around him and he looked up and saw me because I was near — we know each other somehow (he reminds me of Fr. Boniface Hicks) and he smiled so wide and I smiled back and we whispered in hushed tones “Can you believe this is happening!?!”

At that moment I realized that the right side of the auditorium (or was it an an enclosed stadium?) was fully decked out for the Eastern Rite Divine Liturgy and the stage in front of that side was set up for the concurrent celebration of that liturgy.

And then behold, I realized it was NOT the Eastern Rite Roman Catholics that were worshipping there but dearly beloved Eastern Orthodox priests were there along with many of their Bishops and lay faithful. I recognize some of them from my own home town congregations.

I realize that I am in a concurrent western rite mass and eastern rite divine liturgy and everyone is so excited and happy. The joy in the air is palpable.

And then all is quiet and worship has begun.

It begins with the Eastern Rites leading the intercessory prayers with all the “Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy’s” in English, Arabic, Greek and various languages and everyone participating joyfully on both sides in chant just like we have done at Orthodox Churches in Grand Rapids.

Then I am sitting in a section of the stadium and my guitar is in my hands and it is so quiet and I play a D chord and know that we are to sing a Psalm in the typical Western rite order where a refrain is sung and then the verses are chanted in between the refrains… and I am leading it from my seat and somehow the thousands of people there can hear me and other instruments join in to my simple key of D chord progressions… someone is saying loudly a few rows away “D! D! D!” And I’m thinking to myself “no that isn’t the next chord”.. but then I realize he’s instructing others of the key we are singing in, not the next chord to be played.

And then I notice that I am in among a mix of many clergy in full regalia, I am in my humble clothing and nobody cares, it is all good.

And then the liturgy has progressed into the time for the Holy Eucharist to be fed to the faithful and we are all going forward to receive. And I see my friend Kurt Unangst in line going down on his knees in his green clerical robes to receive communion, but it is from a spoon like the Eastern Rites does and he looks and sees me and his face is shining with joy and wonder.

I too go forward and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord in Holy Communion and then as I’m returning I notice the black rought-iron railing is being covered with beautifully woven red silken coverlets by a local group of Baptist brothers who though they are not going forward for communion are there to support us and gift us with these beautiful coverings for the stair railings. They are happy to be there and get caught up in our joy.

And then there is commotion off to the right side beyond the Eastern Rites’ assembly area and I realize it is open to the outdoors somehow and I can hear drums and see banners in procession beyond the crowd, colorful banners and flags of red and white coming towards us.

Joy erupts from the crowded worshipers and shouts of “The Marians are coming!!! The Marians are coming!!!” Are repeated all around me and many are rushing to greet the latecomers to worship and joyfully embrace them.

And my own beloved Margie breaks out from behind me and runs forward yelling with the rest of them! And I say to her “I knew it! I just knew it!! Father told me they would come!” And she keeps running and without looking back says “you didn’t have to tell me that” [I was just showing off with my knowledge, after all] and she keeps running ahead to welcome them with the rest, leaping with joy.

And then the scene changes.

————————

I am now a man with a withered hand. I can see my hand at the front of my right arm and it is dangling almost detached and utterly useless. And I am somewhere perhaps in Ireland or England on an ancient cobblestone road leading up a hill and I am walking up toward a temple and someone is narrating in old Gaelic? About this road and the temple. I come into this temple and there is a pantheon, a collection of various deities to go to and I go to one of them and I start praying for healing and I am miserable and in rags.

In my prayers I am leaning on stone steps, old and dirty steps stained with blood and who knows what else and I am there face down on them praying and behold! My hand has been fully restored and I am bursting out loud with the words that are flooding my heart with joy “It is Jesus that has healed you! It is Jesus that has healed you!”

But I don’t know of this Jesus and I ask the attendants at the temple to lead me to the shrine of Jesus and they are flummoxed and wander around consulting one another of such a deity and they are becoming agitated and a man whom I somehow recognize as a friend takes me by the hand and says, “You must flee from here at once for they will chase you down and harm you if you do not leave… come with me I know a back way out through the priests’ area” and he leads me out and I’m running through parking lots? Where people are already fanning out seeking the stranger that was healed by some unknown and forbidden deity for they want to detain me, but they don’t know… they haven’t been given a good description of me and I escape into the fields beyond and I am free.



[This is all I can remember of my dream. I have done my best to write it down as I was instructed. Perhaps my beloved will help me process it more in the morning. It is 2:11 am, Sunday, September 28, 2025. We are heading to Ludington in about 4 hours to catch the Badger (car ferry) to Manitowoc, Wisconson. We’ll have some time to chat about it then perhaps.]

The Barefoot Bellarmine Labyrinth

First of all, this wasn’t my idea.

I mean my retreat at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House was not my idea. I am here because my current course of study required that I participate in a five day guided Ignatian retreat. Bellarmine was one of the closest and most cost effective options, so here I am, in my fourth day.

One of the Beautiful Bellarmine Gardens

I showed up on this beautiful secluded campus and the first thing I find out is that it is a ‘silent’ retreat. I must have missed that detail somewhere. So at our evening meal as we are chatting away, I’m told that after 8pm that Friday evening we are to go silent if at all possible until our last lunch together on Wednesday.

Well aaaalllrighty then! 

Five days where the only words I utter are the responses during morning prayers and Mass or chatting with my Spiritual Director during our daily 45 minute sessions. Hmmmm… I’ve never done this before.

It isn’t a vow of silence or anything that drastic. One can speak quietly if one must. The idea is simply to give each other (there are around 50 or 60 of us here) the gift of quiet to build an atmosphere in which introspection, reflection and maybe even listening to God can flourish.

Then, during our brief dinner conversation that Friday evening, someone mentions that there is a labyrinth on site. 

The labyrinth inlaid in the floor of
Chartres Cathedral in France

What?! Really! I LOVE labyrinths! Ever since I discovered that Chartres Cathedral in France had one inlaid in their sanctuary floor and did some research on them, I’ve always walked them whenever possible.

I’m told that unlike the one in Chartres, this one is outdoors and designed to be walked barefoot because the path between the inlaid stones is grass. 

GENIUS!

The Barefoot Bellarmine Labyrinth

I didn’t find it until my second day here, hidden in plain sight as it was. But at every sunset since then I’ve walked it. Barefoot. With my travel sax set to ‘pan flute’ playing some of my favorite haunting melodies and whatever else came to mind. (Quietly played music away from others is not frowned upon at a silent retreat.)

My trusty travel sax helped me set the mood

Which haunting songs?

My very favorite is from an obscure Irish alternative Celtic rock band called Iona. The opening theme to their 1992 album “The Book of Kells” is absolutely stunning. The album was made to draw attention to the 1200+ year old Irish Illuminated Gospel manuscript which is now safely housed at Trinity College in Dublin.

Five years ago I put together some hi-res images of this beautiful document with Iona’s opening theme and this is the result (best viewed on the largest screen possible with a subwoofer in the mix):

Another of my most favorite haunting melodies is from an award winning animation called “The Secret of Kells”. Hear and see the beautiful scene here:

On my little travel sax, the simple pan flute voice helped pretty much anything I played while walking the labyrinth feel mysterious and haunting.

I am feeling extremely blessed and grateful to be here. 

Maybe I will get to return someday.

Will the Real Multiverse Please Stand Up?

Ever since I encountered the concept of a multiverse years ago I’ve found it quite intriguing. My first real exposure to it was in the ‘Bright Empires’ series by Stephen Lawhead. In this five volume tale the lead character Kit Livingston stumbles into the realm of the multiverse via ley travel. I found the story to be an entertaining romp through various alternate terrestrial histories which though complex was actually easy to read. Even on my second time through (this time on Audible) I am finding it enjoyable.

My first deep dive into a multiverse.

I also found the recent film ‘Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’ very entertaining and even a bit thought provoking… but more in the vein of a strange acid trip or perhaps being absorbed into a Salvador Dali painting than anything else…. a bit surrealistic to say the least.

I’ve come to understand that the idea of a multiverse in one form or another is centuries and even millennia old. Over more recent decades it has fallen in and out of favor with astrophysicists from what I can tell. Some people would say it was only hypothesized to explain how our universe came to be and how life could possibly occur on our planet against impossible odds. 

Whatever the reasons for the idea, whether ancient or more current, it doesn’t ruin the fun of imagining a multiverse for me. I am still very much enjoying my second time through Lawhead’s series in any case.

This morning however, I was wondering if there might actually be a more complex and infinitely more interesting multiverse to consider.

I’ve been on vacation with my beloved for over a week now and this morning we were on the train to Groningen here in the Netherlands and I was saying my prayers. It was then that I felt a strong surge of  good will for my fellow passengers… perhaps I was channeling a bit of God’s love and light for them… I don’t know.

Sort of like the train ride to Groningen, Netherlands
this morning where a new and more interesting
concept of the multiverse grew in my mind

At that moment the thought struck me that every one of the persons around me is in fact a compact universe of sorts. In my mind at least, every person is a seeming boundless array of light, energy, spirit and matter with thoughts wizzing around and through it all… a tiny microcosm of our known universe in a way. Every person has a whole complex history that affects everything within them all at once whether they admit it or not. Every person is absolutely unique, unrepeatable and irreplaceable… and in my cosmology, infinitely loved by their creator.

In such universes, just like the stories of things long ago in a galaxy far, far away, actual battles are continuously raging. Some of them may seem insignificant, like what to wear or who to call on any given day. But some battles are life and death decisions which affect the flourishing or withering of multiple universes. Each universe (remember we are talking about an individual person here) has complex battle lines drawn between decisions for good or ill within them. 

What if every person that existed were actually a
Compact universe that intersected other universes
Like so many bubbles… a multiverse worth considering.

As they interact with other universes, they consider thoughts outside themselves to adopt or reject as their own. Some universes intersect more or less permanently and share thoughts continuously like two bubbles intersecting. Imagine a cluster of bubbles intersecting and multiply it by the number of humans that have ever existed and you get a glimpse of the most amazing multiverse imaginable.

Now add the multiverse of the spirit world with the Holy Trinity and all the angels both faithful and fallen and you have an astonishingly dazzling site indeed. Perhaps now you have a model that actually explains the complexity and beauty and at times, yes, terror of our existence.

As for me, I tend to see things this way with an unabashedly optimistic hue. No matter how complex reality may be, I believe in a personal God who is madly in love with each person and would do anything, including becoming one of us and being killed by us in order to prove his love.

The more grim things may seem for the moment, I remind myself that the darkest hour comes before the dawn. This version of the multiverse will not be here long. It will be renewed beyond our wildest dreams for a truly good and beautiful existence. This is what is meant by the beatific vision. May we all catch it and believe in it in spite of this present darkness.

Do all you can to catch the beatific vision.

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My Necessary Focus

Time for a true confession. I have been the opposite of a news junky most of my life. My father was often baffled by my lack of interest in ‘what was going on in the world’ and would ask me why this was. I couldn’t explain it at the time, but looking back I see now the pattern of an empath, someone who absorbs and reacts to things around them with big feelings.

John Coffey helped me realize how being
An empath can have a deep impact on your life.

It was after I saw The Green Mile and identified with the empath on death row that it started making sense to me. I don’t claim to have any of the healing powers John Coffey had of course, but I could relate to being able to feel the pain and misery of others… to a fault. I know that my few forays into the news feeds of my teen and tween years elicited so much pain in my heart that I learned to simply avoid it altogether. Like John in the Green Mile, it was just too much to bear. 

None of this really changed over the next few decades of my life. I sampled news at times to try to be a responsible and knowledgeable citizen only to become overwhelmed and avoid it again for long periods.

Then, a few years back I encountered Fr. Jim’s “Praying After The Evening News: The Evening News As an Agenda for Prayer”. Having recently entered into the more ancient strains of my faith tradition, I was being overwhelmed with just how deeply broken and twisted our world is. I encountered even greater amounts of mercy and compassion in the midst of all this than ever before. At the same time, I was distressed at being able to perceive more clearly the degree of our demise, our rushing towards oblivion like lemmings to the sea.

Fr. Jim’s Booklet helped revolutionize the way I read
the news and became a slightly more informed person.

Fr. Jim’s booklet was an excellent step in the right direction, dated though it was. It posited simply using the headlines to pray not just generally for the situation, but also for one soul, one family in that situation to receive special grace and attention. This felt right and good however I was still being overwhelmed by the absurd amount of so-called news out there to consume and the ridiculous varieties of media slant that went along with it.

“This felt right and good however I was still being overwhelmed by the absurd amount of so-called news out there to consume and the ridiculous varieties of media slant that went along with it.”

Fast forward a few years to a session with my counselor. I told her of my predicament regarding my efforts to stay somewhat current and informed. She recommended the Reuters daily email and I jumped on it. This was perfect for me as it seemed slightly less biased than most news outlets. I could read the twenty or so headlines, pray, and perhaps click on one story of interest without getting so overwhelmed.

All of this was a step in the right direction for me, but alas there were deeper issues and more layers to peel.

I still found myself easily obsessing over how people did the most atrocious things, eliciting my anger which sometimes slid into rage. Being in recovery from multiple addictions, I knew that it is insanely stinking thinking to believe that the enemies of truth are ‘out there’… I knew that the battle line between good and evil run straight down the center of every human heart. No exceptions… including my own.

That fact didn’t stop me from getting angry at others however and obsessing over how I would correct or fix them.

What to do?

With no other ideas coming to mind, I started praying to have the same loving heart that Jesus had. It was then that I found there were centuries old devotional prayers of this exact nature (I’m a little slow on the uptake… all those Sacred Heart of Jesus icons and prayers I’d seen all of my life and was clueless what they meant). I began incorporating them into my daily prayers before Mass.

Call me clueless… I never knew this image
Went along with centuries old prayers of people 
Longing to have the same compassionate heart
That Jesus has… I never said I was quick on the uptake.

It helped. I began being a little less judgmental and resentful towards others.

But then one day something just clicked when I stumbled once again upon this beautiful verse:

“When He saw the throngs, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were bewildered and harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
- Matt. 9:36

This verse has been a fulcrum point for me, a turning of the tide.

I have found that I desperately and continuously need Jesus to save me from being overwhelmed with not only my own brokenness, but also the brokenness in individuals I encounter and the twisted thinking and hard heartedness I see every day in my news feeds. 

The key is, I’ve realized that in order to move forward, I need to channel HIS compassion towards both myself and others, because frankly I have none of my own most of the time.

I must remind myself to see everyone compassionately (including myself) like Jesus does… we are all sheep without a shepherd, harassed, distracted and bombarded with a thousand negative messages an hour in our social media obsessed world.

As I crawl forward in learning to channel his compassion and mercy I find it helpful to remember the following thoughts as well. If I do so it is easier to find the good in myself and other people and gently bless and encourage them and myself.

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”
-Phil. 4:8

“Focus your minds on the things above, not on things here on earth.”
-Col. 3:2

“…keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
-Hebrews 12:2

“We don’t focus on the things that can be seen but on the things that can’t be seen. The things that can be seen don’t last, but the things that can’t be seen are eternal.”
-2 Cor. 4:18

As powerfully good as focusing on Jesus and his compassion may be, merely thinking about it is not enough for me… I must consume him. I must become one with him. He is the ultimate manna that came down from heaven, the bread of life:

“He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
-Deut. 8:3

“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
-John 6:48-58

So, as an empath in my 61st trip around the sun, I’ve found a way forward through the barrage of daily negative messages about humanity that have otherwise threatened to overwhelm me. I have found a way to more consistently channel Jesus’ love to others without the extremes of burying my head in the sand or becoming obsessed and overwhelmed with our brokenness.

I am finally finding a way to join the dance, little by little and at times even see through Jesus’ eyes.

This beautiful song from Spielberg’s ‘The Prince of Egypt’ encapsulates that notion.

Baby steps.

I am grateful.

Remember, all produce on the farm is freely given

and never for sale. All donations to the farm

are tax deductible as we are a registered 501(c)(3).

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Redemptive Suffering Part III: Crazy Love

Over lent I was blessed to use the devotional created by Susan De Bartoli, "Carry the Cross with Padre Pio".

My lenten devotional this year

I wasn't planning on this lent being a foray into a deeper understanding of redemptive suffering, but apparently God had other plans. This book was given to me freely at the Parish where I attend daily Mass.

Add to this the video of The 21 that was shared with my by my friend and my required classroom assignment of "He Leadeth Me" by Fr. Walter Ciszak and you can see that perhaps the Lord was intentionally leading me to consider how love and suffering mix.

Love and suffering do mix linguistically at least. Take the word 'passion' for example. Its Latin roots indicate suffering, as in "The Passion of The Christ". However our current use of the word is more about our love for something or someone. We are passionately in love or I may have a passion for helping people find freedom from addictions.

Dig a little deeper however and one learns that love does crazy things, and I'm not just talking about the antics depicted in the much loved rom-com "Crazy, Stupid Love". Consider rather the extremes that Ivy goes through to save the life of her loved one in “The Village”: A girl blind, chased by a malicious being, traveling through a forest to fetch medicine to save a loved one’s life.

Ivy demonstrates CRAZY love in
M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village”

Consider what Ivy’s father Edward says about the love that drives Ivy to do such an astonishingly brave thing:

“She is more capable than most in this village. And she is led by love. The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.”

It is the same crazy love that impelled Christ to embrace the Cross, scorning its shame. Indeed, millions kneel before such a demonstration of love daily even today. Consider the words of Pope Benedict XVI on the matter:

On the Cross, God’s eros for us is made manifest. Eros is indeed — as Pseudo-Dionysius expresses it — that force “that does not allow the lover to remain in himself but moves him to become one with the beloved” (“De divinis nominibus”, IV, 13: PG 3, 712). Is there more “mad eros” (N. Cabasilas, “Vita in Cristo”, 648) than that which led the Son of God to make himself one with us even to the point of suffering as his own the consequences of our offences?

Dear brothers and sisters, let us look at Christ pierced in the cross! He is the unsurpassing revelation of God’s love, a love in which eros and agape, far from being opposed, enlighten each other. On the cross, it is God himself who begs the love of his creature: he is thirsty for the love of every one of us.—Pope Benedict XVI, Lent 2007, “Love Letter” 

(From an excellent article in Aleteia, I highly recommend it.) 

Then Fulton Sheen goes even further than St. Augustine on the issue and calls the cross of Christ a nuptial bed! What on earth is going on here?

Applying this to Padre Pio, who exhibited the stigmata for fifty years of his life, I've come to see him as more than just an extreme ascetic. He was so deeply in love with God and with Jesus on the Cross that he wanted to be one with him even there.

Insane? Yes, some would assert so. After reading some of the quotes from his writings I'm not sure myself.

But then there are these beautifully lucid and lovely quotes extracted from the same writings:

“This heart of mine is Yours… my Jesus, so take this heart, fill it with your love and then order me to do whatever You wish.” -p. 13.

“Remember that God is inside of us when we are in the state of His grace, and outside of us when we are in grievous sin; but His angel never abandons us. He is our most sincere and trusted friend even when through our fault, we sadden him with our bad behavior.” -p. 16

“You must speak to Jesus with the heart, besides with the lips. Indeed, in certain cases, you must speak to Him only with your heart.” -p. 38.

“Let us always keep before our eyes the fact that here on earth we are on a battlefield and that in paradise we shall receive the crown of victory; that this is a testing-ground, and the prize will be awarded up above; that we are now in a land of exile while our true homeland is in Heaven to which we must continually aspire.” -p. 41.

“How could the Mother of Jesus, who stood at Calvary’s foot, offering her Son for our salvation, not be present at the foot of the mystical Calvary of the altar?” -p. 46.

“May the Most Holy Virgin, who was the first to practice the gospel perfectly and in all its severity, even before it was proclaimed, spur us on to follow closely in her footsteps.” -p. 46.

“In our thoughts and in confession, we must not dwell on sins that were previously confessed. Because of our contrition, Jesus forgave them at the tribunal of penitence. It was there that He faced us and our destitution, like a creditor standing before an insolvent debtor. With a gesture of infinite generosity, He tore up and destroyed the promissory notes which we signed with our sins, and which we would certainly not have been able to pay without the help of His Divine clemency.” -p. 50.

“Follow the Divine Master up the steep slope of Calvary, loaded with our cross, and when it pleases him to place us on the cross…let us thank him and consider ourselves lucky to be honored in this way, aware that to be on the cross with Jesus is infinitely more perfect than merely contemplating [Him] on the Cross.” -p. 56.

“In all the events of life, you must recognize the Divine will. Adore and bless it, especially in the things which are the hardest for you.” -p. 71

“Let us, therefore, love to quench our thirst at this fountain of living water and go forward all the time along the way of divine love. But let us also be convinced that our souls will never be satisfied here below. In fact it would be disastrous for us if, at a certain stage or our journey, we were to feel satisfied, for it would be a sign that we thought we had reached our goal, and in this we would be deceived.” -p. 98.

“Don’t be afraid, then, that iniquity, will triumph over virtue. Iniquity will crush itself and justice will triumph.” -p. 129

“Your tears were collected by the angels and were placed in a golden chalice, and you will find them when you present yourself to God.” -p. 134.

“The enemy of our salvation knows only too well that peace of heart is a sure sign of the divine assistance, and hence he lets slip no opportunity to make us lose this peace. We must therefore always be on our guard in this respect. Jesus will help us.” -p. 138

“The more you are afflicted, the more you ought to rejoice, because in the fire of tribulation the soul will become pure gold, worthy to be placed and to shine in the heavenly palace.” -p. 146.

For me at least, these beautiful insights offset the more distressing passages, like the one where Jesus instructs angels to inflict suffering on some souls while being tender to others. Susan the author sums that passage up:

“In a divine vision, Jesus interacted with three suffering individuals: one received close comfort, another endured indifferent treatment with humility, and the third remained steadfast despite severe affliction. Jesus explained that their responses reflected their spiritual states: one needed affection, another encouragement, and the third was deeply devoted despite affliction.” -p. 134

As a follower of the little way of St. Therese I am the one needing affection and encouragement most of the time (see a prayer inspired by St. Therese’s here). After my journey through some of Padre Pio’s letters this lent however I am starting to understand how crazy love can cause us to desire to suffer with our loved ones and the God we love who suffers in a lovesick way for humanity.

Remember, all produce on the farm is freely given

and never for sale. All donations to the farm

are tax deductible as we are a registered 501(c)(3).

If you've been blessed by our produce and would

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use the 'Donate' button below to pay it forward. 

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What Books are in the Bible?

The issue of what books belong in the Bible has come up numerous times as I've chatted with folks who are curious as to why Catholics and Protestants differ on which books really belong in the Bible. I've never stumbled on a better article than the one inserted below from the March/April 2018 edition of the Parable Magazine. I post it here for my future reference and educational purposes which after all is the mission of the farm.

Dear Father Kerper: : A few months ago I joined a Bible Study group at my parish. I brought my grandmother’s Bible, which is called “The King James Version.” Some people said that I should not read it because it expresses Protestant doctrines, not Catholic ones. I’m confused. How can there be Catholic Bibles and Protestant Bibles? I thought all Christians use the same Bible.

[An interesting fact to be noted here before the answer given below, "The King James Version" referred to in the question above originally included the same books as the Catholic Bible. See this Wiki article.]

Your last comment is right on target: Sacred Scripture is essentially the same for all believing Christians. While this unity exists perfectly in the New Testament, Christians have never fully agreed about the contents of the Old Testament. Here’s what happened.

As God’s relationship with Israel, the Chosen People, moved forward through the centuries, always becoming deeper and more mature, written accounts of it multiplied. From the outset, Israel recognized Moses as an especially close and faithful friend of God. As such, the Israelites naturally regarded the writings of Moses as “inspired,” meaning that God had truly spoken through Moses. The Torah, which consists of five “scrolls” closely associated with Moses, is indeed the “original Bible,” and was quickly accepted as the Word of God.

With the passage of time, more sacred writings appeared, such as the historical books, psalms, and prophetic writings. For the most part, religious authorities had little trouble separating the truly inspired texts from questionable ones. This process gave rise to the “canonization” of Scripture, the formal act of declaring that specific books originated with God.

Among the Jewish people, the preeminent authority resided within the Council of Jamnia, a group of prominent rabbis who met in 90 AD. After much discussion, these rabbis ruled that only books written in Hebrew, used for many centuries in worship, and linked with credible Jewish figures would henceforth be regarded as inspired.

This decision undermined the practice of early Christians, who relied on the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. In effect, the rabbis declared that seven Old Testament books revered by Christians were not inspired at all, but merely “edifying.” The rabbis demoted Wisdom, Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees. These books came to be known as the “deuterocanonical” books or Apocrypha.

By and large, Christians continued to regard the excluded books as inspired, though some prominent Christian scholars, notably St. Jerome, sided with the rabbis. St. Jerome’s position, which dates from 390 AD, was mixed: he denied the inspiration of the books because they were not in Hebrew, yet continued to quote and venerate them as if they were actually inspired. Contrary to St. Jerome, St. Augustine thought the language of the text mattered not at all. Rather, he asserted that the frequent and widespread reading of the books at Mass indicated that the Church regarded them as truly inspired. The bishops of Northern Africa, much influenced by St. Augustine’s very strong views, formally endorsed his position at regional Councils held in 393 AD, 397 AD, and 418 AD.

In the 16th century, long after St. Jerome and St. Augustine had been dead, the so-called Protestant and Catholic Bibles emerged, each set against the other as dangerously wrong. In effect, however, the differences were really quite minor. Much more important, of course, was the issue of authority: Who, in the end, can reliably define what is and is not inspired by God? The Church! We must always remember that the Church existed before the Bible. Indeed, the Church selected the contents of the Bible, winnowing through many ancient texts and settling on the very few that reliably express the Word of God.

This brings us to the matter of using “Protestant Bibles” in Bible Studies and personal prayer. To be frank, “Protestant Bibles” are simply “Catholic Bibles” minus the seven deuterocanonical books. Moreover, no English translation, even the best, ever succeeds in getting the Greek and Hebrew perfectly correct. Hence, becoming familiar with other translations, especially the monumental King James Version (KJV), can enhance a Catholic’s own love and understanding of God’s Word.

And we must also remember that the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, a so-called Protestant Version, has been used in Catholic worship for many years and comes in two editions: one with the deuterocanonical books and one without. Likewise, the New Revised Standard Version is now widely used among Catholics and is approved for liturgical use in Canada.

I strongly encourage you to keep studying Sacred Scripture, experiencing it as a great unifying force among Christians rather than as a battlefield over a few points.

Fr. Michael Kerper is the pastor of
St. Patrick Parish in Nashua, NH

Remember, all produce on the farm is freely given

and never for sale. All donations to the farm

are tax deductible as we are a registered 501(c)(3).

If you've been blessed by our produce and would

love to make sure others get blessed too,

use the 'Donate' button below to pay it forward. 

Fiscal Transparency / Produce Distributed

Alternately, you may send a check to: 

Photon Farms, Inc.

PO Box 36

Grandville, MI 49468-0036

***Phone Browsers***

Contact Farmer Fred by clicking the ‘View Web Version’ 

link below. A form will appear in the right column 

when you do this which you can fill out to email him.