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If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see
there;
second, to miss some that I had expected to see there;
and third, and the greatest wonder of all to find myself there. (John Newton -- 1725-1807 -- English
minister)...
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(This was written for the wonderful young women of Sacred Hearts Academy -- it is here because it has wider
application)
I would only add to that that I used to be sort of curious about what angels look like. When I was considerably
younger I had these pictures of angels that sort of corresponded to the things that were painted on the walls of the Sistine
Chapel, you know the cherubs or cherubim (winged heavenly beings)and seraphs or seraphim (highest order of angels having three
pairs of wings). I had as little basis for
that as the renaissance painters who painted that stuff with the white feathers and pink faces, torsos,
arms and fingers. And, certainly I was far less creative. Now that I am older, I have begun to rethink that concept of angels
that I had so many years ago. I have given up all the "whiteness" and "pinkness" that I had previously associated with those
beings. I have also given up the idea of wings -- despite the enduring popularity of that image. I have also -- reluctantly
-- canned the idea of halos. What I have
not given up, however, is a basic concept of innocence, goodness and spirit that I associate with angels.
Hmm now this innocence thing. Sorry ladies, but that applies to all of you , despite the fact that you
may think that it does not. Wait, don't get excited, innocence is a good thing. I was innocent once and I remember, even
though that is well over 30 years ago, well okay almost 40 years ago. But, ladies, innocence is not the critical factor.
Goodness is the critical factor. Goodness has nothing to do with
what you say and everything to do with what you do. Goodness and action are as essential to each other
as yin is to yang.
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I know angels who use four letter words. Yupz, I do. However, their use of four letter words or even their
possible fantasies does not disqualify them from goodness. What qualifies them (and you) for goodness is that you care for
each other and fellow members of the human race. That is what goodness is and it is that simple. And, for goodness, I keep
coming back to the ancient Hindu concept, so perfected by the Jains, of Ahimsa. Hey if it was good enough for Gandhi (you
know Mahatma the 'great soul'), Tagore and Martin Luther King, it is good enough for me. For the Hindu's it was simply the
absence of a desire to injure any living thing, in other words the desire not to hurt anything that is sentient (capable of
feeling, perceiving). For Jesus, it comes to the injunction to do onto others as you would have them do onto you. (Check
the Beatitudes if you need amplification.) It
is that simple. It is so deceptively simple and sooo hard to do. None of us are really perfect at this
business of Ahimsa or doing onto others. But we do try and try again. Like my buddy, Father Russ Becker, said, "A Christian
is someone who stumbles, falls, and then gets up again, knowing that he/she
will probably stumble again." It is a desire to practice Ahimsa, to do onto others what is right.
Finally spirit. For me, spirit and spirituality are inextricably linked. I don't understand this as much
as I
feel it. I observe that spirit is the continuing desire to be as good as we can be at Ahimsa and goodness.
I also note that spirit is fragile, it needs nurturing and once broken it is hard to regain. I have seen too many adults
(twenty somethins to fifty somethins) whose spirit has been broken or misplaced. You all have so much spirit. Please do
not let others take it form you or downgrade you for having that spirit and spirituality. There are so many who are only
too willing to trample on your spirit. In other words, don't let the naysayers grind you down.
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(Oh, if you would like to substitute a five letter 'b' word or a seven letter 'b' word for naysayers on
which ends in 'h' and the other in 'd' then by all means feel free to do so.)
So having thought these thoughts and having found myself thinking them more as I get older, I have come
to another realization. It began to happen a long time ago in Vietnam when I heard a French Jesuit priest talk about Confucianism
and I think it only recently came to full flower at the Academy. My realization is simply this, angels are not associated
with 'whiteness' or 'pinkness,' they do not have
feathers and -- ready for this -- they are not in heaven. They are here in this world. Their average ages
vary from 14 to 17, but they seem to be more numerous at 16 and 17. In lieu of whiteness, they tend to have black hair and
brown eyes with a slightly Asian cast. No feathers, no halos. Oh, and yes, they have names. I can't name them all, but
they have names like Debbie, Joy, Emelyn, Sara, Sookie. Oh, and Jennifer is common, Jane, Teli, Leslie, Karen, Routhie, Chatess
and even Stacey and Lucy... possibly even a Mary. Oh yes, there was a Diana too. Now by this point, you are thinking mr
g is even crazier than usual. Sorry to disagree ladies, I am not crazy. You are angels. Hang on to your innocence, goodness
and spirit as long as you can.
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There are two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
~ Albert Einstein
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For angels
Half remembered halos,
furrowed brows,
bruised egos,
pensive minds,
anguished souls,
how
melancholy
a time
for
angels.
Why can't I
lift their
pain?
If.... If,
I could
show them
burdens
will
lessen.
They will.
If....
But,
I cannot.
I am,
just
a man.
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daofucian001@earthlink.net
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