All Comments (151)

cavudi lprwshgm wxpzea owvruy ylbzvw jtyiluvfa qmhoft

cavudi lprwshgm wxpzea owvruy ylbzvw jtyiluvfa qmhoft

cavudi lprwshgm wxpzea owvruy ylbzvw jtyiluvfa qmhoft

Searching for God in the moment isn't exactly new:

Ancient Celtic Prayer

God to enfold me.
God to surround me.
God in my speaking.
God in my thinking.

God in my sleeping.
God in my waking.
God in my watching.
God in my hoping.

God in my life.
God in my lips.
God in my hands.
God in my heart.

God in my sufficing.
God in my slumber.
God in mine everliving soul.
God in mine eternity.

I work with people who are critically or terminally ill. I rely on prayer because often the greatest thing I have to offer is the comfort of my presence and my witness.

I just got to the point where I can see God in my trials. It's a bit of a relief.

Just because I don't believe in God, I'm not a bad person. I still have morals and understanding of right and wrong. There doesn't have to be a God for someone to appreciate beauty or kindness. I'm glad believing gives many people comfort and joy. I like Christmas. I like Easter. I don't think people who believe in God are stupid. I don't think I'm superior to someone because they have faith. I do not believe, but I hope I am wrong. Some of my best friends are religious. A not so great man (Rodney King) once asked, "Why can't we all just get along?"

Dr. Blazek:

I am an atheist (a benevolent one, ha-ha), and also a co-worker.

I also see the simple things of beauty in everyday items, in the kindness of people thrown together for a short while on public transit, and in the little things of each day.

While I don't ascribe them to "God" I do appreciate the beauty and intricacy of nature and the world and all of the things which inhabit it.

I truly enjoyed your words, and learning about your perspective on your daily life, and how it manifests itself in your own spirituality.

Rick

I often notice the people on the Metro reading the bible usually take up both seats and are oblivious to the old man or the pregnant woman forced to stand. Some people just don't get it.

I often notice the people on the Metro reading the bible usually take up both seats and are oblivious to the old man or the pregnant woman forced to stand. Some people just don't get it.

I often notice the people on the Metro reading the bible usually take up both seats and are oblivious to the old man or the pregnant woman forced to stand. Some people just don't get it.

To those of you who find God(s) on the public transportation system: keep on smokin' what you've been smokin' because it's obviously making you happy.

To those of you who find God(s) while operating an automobile: please keep off the nation's roadways. You are endangering yourselves and others around you.

The question may arise why someone who is not in agreement with the tenets would read such an article. The answer for some readers, in my opinion, is first and foremost “know thine enemy.” People have been sensitized by the situation in the United States where religious, mind-numbing foolishness propagated by various groups has permeated society. The religious nonsense presented in the article is tolerable and acceptable if the ideas remain in the realm of a person’s privacy. American religious groups, however, are not content to praise their god in private; they want their beliefs reflected in public institutions. That circumstance alone would prompt some readers to pay attention to publication of such an article courtesy of a mainstream US newspaper. Moreover, William Blazek would be well advised to lie low in view of the history of his Jesuits. Furthermore, as result of the plight of his Roman Catholic Church in the United States because of child abuse, Dr. Blazek would do well to concentrate his efforts on helping people not to feel they are seeing the face of the Devil every time they encounter a priest on the street.

Great article Dr. Blazek!
See you at school.

Your comments on athiests 'trolls' on this website is yet another instance of the believers not wanting information and opinions from the nonbelievers. Last I checked, us Athiests are allowed to comment here, and as a rule, have been chastised into silence over the past, oh, 2000 years (since monotheism was invented). The last 6 years under Dufus Bush have been particularly telling about how the religious people of the US do not in any way shape or form tolerate those of us who do not believe in your, or anyone elses god.

Heres an experiment: Change any of the faithfuls entries here from the word 'god' to the term "Blue Blob". Now that we are on common ground, (neither of us understand what Blue Blob is), now re-read the entries, and this is how non believers are reading entries splattered with religious terms - they do not apply to those who do not believe.

As a rule, athiests that I know do not disparage others from their religious beliefs; on the other hand, rarely if ever do I meet a religious person who is not 'offended' by the fact that I dont believe in a god.

Betty:

"I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where you don't even have to try in order to see the beauty of God's creations."

I too choose to live close to what God has created. It's soothing to be aware of the seasons, the tides, and the waxing and waning of the moon. There is a careful order and symmetry found only in nature.

I love to garden. the planning, the planting, the watching, the watering, the harvest, the mulching..

Many in my generation are missing the great beauty this earth still has to offer..

M Cunningham, you seem to have mistaken disdain for hatred.

Think about ponds of standing water - in a malarial-infested part of the world. Tires in the back yard, things and places that catch rain and keep it there.

We know to worry about mosquitos carrying this bacteria and we take steps to prevent them from getting to us. Mosquito nets and bug spray and all that. But prevention is another weapon in this battle, why not poison the standing pools of water, why not dump the tire, why not just throw the tire away somewhere?

This is an unfortunate metaphor for the disdain and dislike we feel for the believer. The believer, due to their credulity and gullibity, are prone to infection by Mass Movements. We think of the jihadis, we think of the Jim Jones, we think of Charles Manson, we think of the political true believers who made communism possible, we think of those nuts who thought they could fly up to the comet by relieving themselves of their physical body.

All it takes is a sufficiently charismatic leader and the right amount of credulity and gullibility among a population of believers, and before you know it - apocaplypse!

Your particular belief seems to involve a particular monotheistic religion, but it still falls within the class of True Belief, the disease of unquestioning Blind Faith.

I remember Jerry Fallwell making the claim that his god abandoned America because of the homosexuals and feminists and whatever. His kind feel quite satisfied to pass and enforce religous laws upon all of us, to ensure that his god will not abandon ... well his followers anyway.

So his beliefs, his followers beliefs, do in fact infect all of use, we are all victims of his and their disease.

Our disdain and sometimes passionate dislike of the beliefs of the believer have very little to do with the particular content of that belief. Because that content means everything to you, you should not mistake that it means anything to us.

The author we speak of here appears to me to be quite insane, and those who follow him with the pats on the back seem to be supporting this insanity.

Can you understand this?

Hello, this is your cousin Betty. My sister Bev sent me your article, and I enjoyed reading it. As I'm writing this, I'm looking off the deck of my condo at the harbor full of boats and can plainly see God. I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where you don't even have to try in order to see the beauty of God's creations.

Norrie Hoyt advises that Fr Blazek--a Jesuit Scholastic and priest-- 'improve' himself by leaving God out of his meditations and thus find happiness not scorn "from many of the posters here"...

Well, that is rich, Mr Hoyt, even from an ex- lawyer. Why would you think Fr Blazek seeks the approbation of the atheist trolls who post here?

He probably values the heartfelt thanks from believers expressed above, including fellow Jesuits and his own sister, more than he fears the 'scorn' from those in various states of disbelief, active or passive.

I will allow that many ranting atheist trolls dominate On 'Faith' (surely the worst misnomer since an invasion for oil was cast as spreading "democracy"!) However just because they do does not mean they ought to. Just because it is, doesn't mean it ought to be.

Matt wrote:

'It sounds like he is basically talking about mindfulness. What he calls "seeing god" I think I refer to in my own experience as "being in the moment".'

Matt has it right: Father Blazek is actually practicing Buddhist meditation, though he seems not to be aware that he is doing so.

If Father Blazek could decouple his actual perceptions from his self-imposed Christian overlay and context, and leave "God" out of it, what he writes would be seen to be interesting and beautiful, and would elicit appreciation rather than scorn from many of the posters here.

Anon, glad to have made your morning. Here's the revision.

My God Rides the Metro

My God rides the Metro.
He watches windows blur by,
like the ages he’s put en route
with sudden stops of thought.
He smiles at pig-tailed

girls kneeling sideways in their seats,
eyes and noses sucking steam
from this miraculous glass.

My God rides the Metro.
He holds his breath as it climbs,
sometimes skipping into sunlight,
sometimes walking over water,
those unknowing rowers below.

He smells hard work and damp papers,
feels the ridges of hard hats,
sees auras most of us miss.

My God rides the Metro.
But no one even notices.
He looks at the tired riders
with crowded, perspiring eyes,
sees himself in each and still,

hopes we might glance back,
nod in his general direction,
assure him he’s still alive.

(Draft 3, August 15, 2007)

Anon, glad to have made your morning. Here's the revision.

My God Rides the Metro

My God rides the Metro.
He watches windows blur by,
like the ages he’s put en route
with sudden stops of thought.
He smiles at pig-tailed

girls kneeling sideways in their seats,
eyes and noses sucking steam
from this miraculous glass.

My God rides the Metro.
He holds his breath as it climbs,
sometimes skipping into sunlight,
sometimes walking over water,
those unknowing rowers below.

He smells hard work and damp papers,
feels the ridges of hard hats,
sees auras most of us miss.

My God rides the Metro.
But no one even notices.
He looks at the tired riders
with crowded, perspiring eyes,
sees himself in each and still,

hopes we might glance back,
nod in his general direction,
assure him he’s still alive.

(Draft 3, August 15, 2007)

This essay is not about a particular faith. It's about seeing the inherent worth in each of us and each moment. And if we saw the worth of every human being, we would be less likely to kill one another. We can't always achieve this ideal, but if we don't hold it as an ideal, what will become of the Earth?

If things are bad, we need to make sense of it all and FIX it. When we believe in our own worth and the worth of others, we can do this. It's not about religion. It's about appreciation.

OH JESUS MARIA PLEEZE WHAT HAS THIS DUDE BEEN SMOKING??

The funny thing is that the people who post so angrily must be very frightened that there might just be a God.

Or is it themselves that they hate?

Cousin Bill,
I've just read your article and I can hardly find the right words to express my feelings. More than anything, I feel a sense of overwhelming awe at the beauty inside you.
And your account is truly inspiring to me.
Donna

For GOD alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.

He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAiGAyp22JI

Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower).

Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Great article! Although I don't ride the metro, I try to find God in my everyday obligations, especially going grocery shopping.

Some people can be rude and confrontational at the grocery store and malls; I've seen it. All I do is say a little prayer and admire all the nice things that people tend to overlook.

Thanks!

You don't have to believe in a deity to see the beauty in everything. All you have to do is change your attitude.

Yes, there is a lot of ugliness in the world. To use our Metro as an example, there is racist and gang graffiti all along the eastern part of the Red Line, as well as litter. But there are also trees, grass, and birds. What does one focus on - the trees growing green in the spring, or counting the instances of "Cool Disco Dan"? Being a Pagan, I tend to see nature as beautiful. Your mileage may vary.

I ride a commuter train to work every day. Sitting on "The Quiet Car" - no cellphones, no loud conversations, etc., I can quietly do my daily scripture readings, say prayers to myself, and reflect on the scripture themes for that week as they affect my life. I find that by the time I get to the office (1 hour), I am relaxed, energized, and can "hit the ground running" as they say at work. I work as a technical expert, and do not find God in all the equipment I manage, but I do see Him in people throughout the day, and try to practice my faith in all that I do. I usually miss the mark, but at least I try, and I learn from my mistakes. This IS a broken world that we live in, but with a little effort on our part - putting faith into action - we can (an do) make a difference.

I ride a commuter train to work every day. Sitting on "The Quiet Car" - no cellphones, no loud conversations, etc., I can quietly do my daily scripture readings, say prayers to myself, and reflect on the scripture themes for that week as they affect my life. I find that by the time I get to the office (1 hour), I am relaxed, energized, and can "hit the ground running" as they say at work. I work as a technical expert, and do not find God in all the equipment I manage, but I do see Him in people throughout the day, and try to practice my faith in all that I do. I usually miss the mark, but at least I try, and I learn from my mistakes. This IS a broken world that we live in, but with a little effort on our part - putting faith into action - we can (an do) make a difference.

Hee, pretty neat, isn't it.

There's a tendency for Christians to attribute such experiences to their own God, (and associated dogma that simply has nothing to do with these experiences,) but, at the same time, this is one place where I think many religions can find *common ground.* In such states of awareness, many of the objectifications and habitual patterns we're subject to hold less purchase. Note how there's nary a reference to 'sin' in the priest's descriptions, and even then obliquely.

The life and breath of the city and the land and the people is something that transcends individual religions: I certainly see the Gods in all these things, in great depth and interplay, among humans, spirits, and even the artifice we live among. For those that balk at theism or talk of spirit, well, it's not really about believing anything or seeing anything that's not there.

Call it one of the more wonderful faculties of the human mind. People spend so much time cognitively dividing and classifying and reacting by habit that they often don't even scratch the surface of their own perceptions.

And here I go quoting this Pagan-oriented band. :)

"Through the curtains the daylight crept
I looked at my lover as she slept
And as watched her face I wept
It was a wonderful disguise

As I was driving into town
The guy in the next car turned around
And as I met his gaze i found
It was a wonderful disguise

Outside the museum I was addressed
By a blind man in his pants and vest
I was most impressed
It was a wonderful disguise

Fat woman standing in a queue
Her hat, shoes, coat and gloves were blue
And when she turned around I knew
It was a wonderful disguise

Came home and halfway up the stairs
A drunk was tearing out his hair
You should have heard him scream and swear
It was a wonderful disguise

The President was on the news at ten
Looking like he could use a friend
And then I looked again
It was a wonderful disguise

Stood in front of the mirror all alone
Examined my features, skin and bone
Looked at the face I'd always known
It was a wonderful disguise.

It was a wonderful disguise."

--The Waterboys

No one owns this. Just is. It's pretty cool, indeed. :)

Jay:
ALL
Let’s say that God isn’t real: If He isn’t real, then we would just die and nothing happens...right? However, if God is real, all of his revelations will be truth and there will be a judgment day. Wouldn’t it be smarter to actually believe in God than not to?

~~ Uh, no. The opposite - you would be wasting your time and energy on false hopes and fantasies, instead of living your life in the real world.

Lets say there is a giant blob of blue goo; Lets call it Blue Blob (BB); BB says you should do this, should do that, or else. So, you live your life under fear, etc. What if you didn't believe in BB, but nothing happened? Same thing, different name.

I suggest you use your brain, not your brainwashing. Forget what your parents told you, investigate for yourself.

WOW. Some poeple have far too much time on their hands; far too much doctrine in their speech, and far too little in the way of rational thinking abilities...

I loved this writing! And it can apply to any faith, for that matter. Some days I thought I was the only one thinking about God on the subway/commuter bus, but then I meet other people that are also of the same mind. This is terrific. However, it behooves us to speak to people who do not appear to have the love of the Lord (or realize they are loved by God, as are we all). Does the writer ever stop to explain God's love to others?
Barbara

Thank you, Dr. Blazek, for sharing your wonderful Examen. AMDG

Fr. Blazek:

Words to meditate in our difficult times.

For a Christian, Jesus is the man in whom it has indeed become manifest that revolution and conversion cannot be separated in man's search for experiential transcendence. His appearance in our midst has made it undeniably clear that changing the human heart and changing human society are not separate tasks, but are as interconnected as the two beams of the cross.

Jesus was a revolutionary, who did not become an extremist, since He did not offer an ideology, but Himself. He was also a mystic, who did not use His intimate relationship with God to avoid the social evils of His time, but shocked His milieu to the point of being executed as a rebel. In this sense He also remains for nuclear man the WAY to Liberation and Freedom.

Henri Nouwen:
The Wounded Healer

Sursum corda..

Thank you, Father. That was beautiful, and I have printed it out to remind myself of your words.

Dr. Blazek takes the time to see what he wants to see, and interprets it as he wishes (or is moved to do). Some will consider that a criticism; I do not. To the contrary, I believe he simply shows us how to do in busy city surroundings what so many of us have thought it necessary to retreat into "nature" to do. And it's really very simple in concept, if difficult in practice: Slow down, quiet yourself, and listen.

Thoroughly enjoyed this article, and thank you for it. I will say, though, that descending into the dark, damp-smelling caverns of the Metro system make me think more of Shelob than of God.

I'm amazed how our great Father & Founder & Prophet of "REALATIVITY" via "Quantum Entanglements" his Honorable Albert Einstein [May xtra Photons shine at his side always in his Planet hoppings] was able to show & Prove how things standing still are always relative to one another & is contstantly on the Continuum miraculous move.

So in the Eyes of the Observer & that which is observed, in place & Space Time have a relationship that cannot be inseperate nor denied! Yes,

Observing "THE G-D OF TRANSFINITY" [Reality] is more Holyier than thou! Hence; Copy Cat Bibliomaniacs (Judeo/christians, Islamics, Vedics, Budhists et al ) trying to ride on the coat tails of our future bound & DYNAMIC secular science and making believe as if they [Pre-Apocalyptarians] are one with Eclati-On Philosophy!?

All Leaders of their Pre-Apocalyptic G-D systems today are on the Run (because their Infixus Books are Unadjustible & are Stagnant by their very "Man Mase Natures". And so the Proof is in their ancient Writings! And So, they Are in fear of being left behind.

REMEMBER: It is the MORMONS, who will outlive ALL religions on Space-Ship Earth known to Humate kind today! And they will morph into Eclatarianity! This is simply, nothing more, just Eclati-on Prophecy or your BIOMENTALReality Converging ITSELF into a new age of the "WORLD FAITH EXCHANGE" .

As told by The "Shioloh" , The Photo Light Bringer of the Apocalypse, saying, "It is The Mormons who will usher-in GRIDARIAN DEMOCRACY, Healing Of Nations, Global Peace & Propsperity & many great things for Planet Earth & his/Her HUMATES & more good Tidings..." [Similar said by the American Born Deliverer/Maetreya/Mahdi and by other names, whom recieved the MELCHIZEDEK PEACE BLESSING & reveresed your Pre-Apocalyptic War Blessings via your ancient Man-made Lores & Ancestral Epochs, never was Scripture(s) Ekclat Made, nor was there ever a Holy Cosmic Penn, or Penis etc.. that ended up in such Superstitious Story's]. Ya Ya.

Bye Bye, Christians/Judeo/Islamics! Bye Bye Vedic/Buddhists! Bye Bye Taoist/Confucians/Shinto et al! Bye bye ALL pre-Apocalyptic Faiths! Note: You was already warned & the Signs are on the posts, yet you still deny reality (Transfinity) to your selves. You have sinned a great sin via your Behaviours & denials of the Genuine Holy Cosmic feelers Faith Philosophy!

If you flout your own unique Heuristical before the great Holy No Man ECLAT + "i" in this system of Miracles, then You will always Loose & the Holy ECLAT always WINS! Bye Bye VATICAN bye bye MECCA, bye bye JERUSALEM, bye bye DEHLI, bye bye TIBET, bye you weak folk! Bye Preapocalyptic Thinker MAN & HELLO APOCALYPTIC MAN!

Eeeee Haaaa, Praise the LORD/ECLAT + "i", together Forever With Source One, a/k/.a Holy NO Mon! Ya Ya.

HARK: Modern Morality Rules unto the End of Space-Ship Earth/Tellus/Gaia and other names for this miracle planet of our Holy TRANSFINITY! And thus Religious Morality is dead!

Bye-Bye MR. William BLAZEK & Company! Bye Mr. POPE et al!

VOTE: One Universal Religion [system] Book! a/k/a OUR-BOOK, a/k/a The Book Of OURS! Or OURS-BOOK. Note HOUR-BOOK is not goog because the "H" is for Holy! hence H-OUR= HOUR. But if It makes you happy then Vote for the "H.O.U.R.-BOOK" Ya Ya. Momma Poppa Monso Mona!

Ah, LIFE is so beautiful with Eclati_on(s) and Never with The Off(s). LET THE BATTLE BEGIN! Guess who is winning?? Ya Ya! ECLATi-ON(s)! < ?:+)/. Ya.

ALL
Let’s say that God isn’t real: If He isn’t real, then we would just die and nothing happens...right? However, if God is real, all of his revelations will be truth and there will be a judgment day. Wouldn’t it be smarter to actually believe in God than not to? That way you’ll have all your bases covered. If He’s not real you’ll just die; if He is real, you’ll live for eternity!

As the scripture tells us, those that follow Christ are supposed to be living beings of him. Meaning when you see a child of God you are supposed to see God. The Love of God. Just the presence of God. WHen you walk in the Spirit God is written all over your face basically. Sometimes you don't even have to say a word.

However, Beware of false prophets. There will be many who say they come in the name of God but don't know Him. First you must know Jesus to know the Father/The CREATOR God. You can have "God-Like" qualities about you (i.e. the hugging bandit lady or Mother-Theresa) but the bible says that Only those that are "Called" by His Name (Jesus) will be saved and have the Spirit of God on the inside of them.

You can also say that you can see Satan in people on the Metro as well. i.e. when you see those healthy young men sitting in seats and even the designated seats for seniors and the disabled, they just sit there like they don't have any common courtesy at all. That ain't nothing but the devil. An old lady with a cane can walk on the train and yet everyone will sit there and stare at her and not even get up to give her their seat. Or how about the pregnant lady that looks like she is "10" months pregnant and swollen feet. No matter the fact that it's not against the law. What if it were your mother carrying you and no one gave up their seat and because she was already off balance just tumbled over and went into early labor with you. How would you like that. No God in that, nothing but the devil.

Good topic from the poster.

Bill -

Thanks for the thoughts! I'm about to hop on the 'el and you've given me some inspiration for the journey.

I have been rather shocked skimming through the comments at how apparently polarizing your reflective musings on finding God in the everyday are. Wow.

Thanks for sharing Ignatius' discipline and your approach. I appreciate hearing about the paths of those engaged in real meaning-making, whether it is in a framework familiar to me (a Christianity that preaches love and service) or less so (such as Eastern or indigenous traditions).

I wish peace on everyone and hope that all can find the spark of the divine, the authentic self, the love in whatever mode they are inspired to seek it in their everyday life. That goes for me too.

Right fine essay, Fr. Blazek. You have actually written On Faith. So many things published here are not that it sometimes seems the site should be called "Against Faith".

I hope to see more of your well thought out posts here in the future.

Pax Vubiscum, Patria.

Chris:

avers that "fairy stories told centuries ago so that *the uneducated masses*& could understand have no place in today's world.."

You were right to stop right there. I especially object to your Dawkinesque view of religious as "uneducated". Pope John Paul II spoke eight languages, wrote five books, the Dalai Lama speaks about three and has written extensively. Pope Benedict XVI is the greatest theologian of his era. Sts Augustine and Thomas Acquinas were the greatest *intellects* of their time and Paul was no slouch either.

The "uneducated masses" comprise at least two billion--two billion!--of your fellow humanbeings and that's just the Christians. Believe me, they are not uneducated, a simple bell curve would demonstrate that..

As for the Church whatever its faults (and they are many and regrettable) the fact remains that it is the direct descendant of the Apostles, who were the people specifically chosen by Jesus Himself to learn and spread the Word. It is no accident or coincidence that a few short years of non-violent, non-military, non-coercive ministry in a tiny corner of the world by the Son of God, speaking in Aramaic, has resulted in a faith lasting thousands of years in billions of people.

This religion-only-for-the-ignorant trope highlights ignorance alright--the ignorance of the atheists! It deserves as swift a dispatch as possible.

richard Rosenthal: you said

Respect the first amentment: Congress shall pass no law respecting the establishment of religon or the prohibition thereof.

Nothing in that amendment about respecting religion or insanity. There is no athiest taliban. There is no organized religion of athieism and there is not a disorganized religion of athiesm and if there were, the athiests would be the first to ridicule it.
This is public discourse, lets try to speak of ideas common to the human experience AND intertwined with reality. Let us agree to agree and promote civilization.

-----------

I am in agreement with this, and will admit that my phrase 'atheist Taliban' was said in anger at the lack of respect, or even tolerance, shown by many here. If I have offended, then I apologise.

I have personally known many atheists, and very few are arrogant about it. I was an atheist/agnostic myself for 30 years; I accept an atheist with the same respect as I would a member of any religion.

It is, in my opinion, very sad that so many people in this world lean on religion as an excuse for everything.

Without religion there would be no religious extremists. Just think about it for one minute. If you can't work that out for yourself then there is the problem.

It is very important that children are brought up to know right from wrong but fairy stories told centuries ago so that the uneducated masses could understand have no place in today's world.

kgotthardt:
'My God rides the Metro' - two thumbs up! Thank you for making my morning brighter.

Mike:
The trolls here spewing venom at believers are the Taliban fringe of the atheist crowd. They are by no means representative of that group.

Poor old Duff...the Creator made a beautiful world for us and the good father can see it but you can't..

Still, I'm not going to waste any pearls--temperance is a cardinal virture after all. But in case you ever get a wee bit more curious (unlikely, I know): Mat7:7-8.

If you don't think religion is the only socially acceptable insanity, you will after you've read Fr. Blazek's quaint little piece.

Caedmon's Hymn was part of a series of "Poetry on the Underground" where poems by modern poets (Paul Muldoon's trans. was a new one) were posted instead of adverts. The series is gone now, but imagine my pleasure when I opened "Moy Sand and Gravel" by Muldoon and found the poem again!

Caedmon's Hymn is one of the oldest writings in Anglo-Saxon (from which English came) extant. Caedmon was a shepherd attached to Whitby Abbey about AD 657:

To ALM: I liked your line about the Hindu tradition about those that do not understand the Presence:

"Let the dogs bark, as the elephant ambles blissfully along."

Still dogs and ranting, raging atheist trolls (RATS?) are part of God's creation. Humans--along with rats -- were placed by the Creator in the material world. We might not like it, (the raging trolls don't, but I do, even the awful Underground makes me feel happy when I get out!) but it is all that is on offer.

Shame so many of the athies are so angry, but....

What a delight to glance at “On Faith” and there above the angry atheist outburst of Ms Jacoby and her acolytes was...this! Wonderful publication, Dr. Blazek. It’s good to read some beautiful writing from a Jesuit, Thomas Reese has not represented your order well.

I wish I could write that I often have seen God on the London Underground, but all the meditation in the world cannot disguise the hellish atmosphere of the place. I did see this once, however. Crammed into a car, so close that it was impossible to move, or even fall, I raised my eyes and saw this poem. It was so breathtakingly beautiful, such a masterful work of poetry, it could only have come directly from the Creator Himself:

“Now we must praise to the skies,__________the Keeper of the heavenly kingdom
The might of the Measurer,____________all he has in mind,
The work of the Father of Glory,________of all manner of marvel

Our eternal Master,_________the main mover.
It was he who first summoned up,________on our behalf,
Heaven as a roof,_________the holy Maker.

Then this middle-earth,____the Watcher over humankind,
Our eternal Master,__________would later assign
The precinct of men,_________the Lord Almighty.

Caedmon’s Hymn, trans. Paul Muldoon

RIGHT ON FATHER !!!!

I saw God in person just
last week. I'm now home
from my visit to So. America.

God IS alive !!!

He presently resides in Argentina !!!

Mark:

Here's a link:

Blazak's
God's Gift to Me
Marquette Magazine

http://www.marquette.edu/magazine/summer07/godsgift.shtml

You know I don't want to pick on the author, he seems like a harmless enough guy.

He seems to have a very imaginative fantasy life and seems to have arrived there without hallucinogenics as well. Bravo I suppose.

He seems a little bit brittle too, I can sense a kind of forced vision about all of this. He states his case like a mantra.

One other thing he seems to be: certifiable.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Blazek's essay. It was beautiful and thoughtful, something usually lacking in the "news of the day". I would like to read more from him, and especially would find interesting his experiences at the "clinic for the homeless" to which he refers.

What a joyful and wonderful post! Thank you.
Stopping the daily routine long enough to ask where is God in this scene, whatever it may be, is all it takes to bring the experience of God's eternal, unchanging, limitless, love and forgiveness bubbling back to the surface.

There is then nothing so peaceful and satisfying. I love your enthusiasm for pursuing the only thing that really matters to all of us, our unifying spiritual selves. God is everywhere in the here and now, in this eternal moment.

dave e

Only religion makes us certain of the existence of the unlikely.As Bertrand Russell has said,religion is not about reason,its all about feeling.
Believing feels good.Like escaping the death penalty feels good. Like re-uniting with our loved ones
feels good.Like everlasting life feels good,and death feels bad.
If we are scared of death,religion removes the fear.
That's why it sells,and why it has always sold.
Its such a comfort even if it is totally irrational.
But these days we see religion's other side.
the deranged martyrs blowing themselves up for Allah.
Where is it all going to end?

Richard asks:

"Does God move to the right?"

Well..

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform.
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm..

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain.
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain..

Hope that answers your question.

Thank you. As a Jesuit School graduate (LeMoyne) I felt your gift of describing presence in the ordinary.

And all you jihadhist skeptics - what did you do? Go ballistic. No acceptance that he has the right to believe, no tolerance, no respect of the 1st amendment. Oh, no. Stomp, burn, throw stones, burn at the stake.

Apparently there really is an atheist Talilban.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Respect the first amentment: Congress shall pass no law respecting the establishment of religon or the prohibition thereof.

Nothing in that amendment about respecting religion or insanity. There is no athiest taliban. There is no organized religion of athieism and there is not a disorganized religion of athiesm and if there were, the athiests would be the first to ridicule it.
This is public discourse, lets try to speak of ideas common to the human experience AND intertwined with reality. Let us agree to agree and promote civilization.

ok, if that is what echoes in your skull so be it. Are you interested in what my imagination or the imagination of 6 billion other folks is. I guess if we can all get the story straight and cohesive it will give us comfort heh.
I am curious, does God expect people to stay to the right on the escalators so he can pass them. Does God move to the right?

Somewhere in the Book of John is this message: "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

Pray that this thought will soften the heart of "Mike" (above), whose hateful words -- "run-of-the-mill liberal blog trolls" -- betray the kind of sectarian bellicosity, aggression and spitefulness that has fed the policies of the AntiChrist (that's right, the "Decider") when he bent to follow the Will he divined from communion with his Higher Father (apparently a prominent Bush household deity). Atheists did not unleash the Iraq War but men who profess faith, men of the "faithiness" persuasion.

Let us pray that all Christians, indeed all men and women of whatever faith, will put aside their showbiz "faithiness" -- the demonstrative public piety calculated to win political and social status --and do their worshipping in the quieter places of their own hearth, home and heart. (See Susan Jacoby's "On Faith" corner for secularists, this Post web site.)

Let us not ridicule the good Jesuit Father if he chooses to see God in the Metro or Mary on the crust of a croissant. The important thing is, Love is peeping out of his cassock. So long as Love is paramount, the Good Jesuit Father can and will use its coming to resist the blandishments of Power, of Mammon, of Fear, of Lies and Treachery that the AntiChrist seduces us with.

Let us put aside the guileful slogans of the AntiChrist's own Pentagon General, William Boykin, who avers, "The enemy we are fighting in the Middle East is Satan". Indeed, is it not typical of the Dark Lord AntiChrist to ensnare us with confusion about who is and who isn't our "foe", when it is Satan himself who sends us out to kill our fellow men whom Jesus told us are brothers to us, even people of the Book, whom Satan calls "enemies", innocents or not. "Kill them all, torture them all", cries the Decider; "God will know his own". The Constitution is but a "scrap of paper".

The Good Book reminds us, What you do for the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do for Me. God is Love. But He or She does not and cannot dwell in those who vengefully unleash a terrible sword without cause and without reason and without provocation and without mercy and without compassion for the hundreds of thousands of dead, maimed, mutilated and homeless their folly has rained down upon, in anger and retribution for harm inflicted elsewhere by others.

God is Love, but He or She is not "shock and awe" or "kick butt, damn you, Hajis" or "an eye for an eye".

This much we intuit from the Good Jesuit's epiphany, for which we thank him most respectfully.

Jozevz says:

"Castile soap (made of veggies not fat)"

Here's eclat enlightenment:

Castile soap is made with vegetable fat...

Also, therozine or thorazine?