by Howard Hain

“1010 WINS”

If you grew up in the Tri-State Region, commonly known as the greater New York City area, you know the sound of “1010 WINS”, the radio station that reaches millions living in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, especially those sitting in traffic.

“Traffic and Transit on the Ones”

Every ten minutes, “on the ones” as they say, comes the coveted traffic report, including mass transit (train and subway) updates, and of course all the action one needs to know about the “bridges and tunnels”.

What a nightmare commuting can be.

Stop and Go.

“YOU GIVE US 22 MINUTES, WE’LL GIVE YOU THE WORLD”

That’s what we hear, while sitting in our cars, or as we get prepared to sit in our cars—or perhaps board buses, trains and/or subway cars.

Twenty-two minutes, that’s all they need, and we’ve got it all: breaking international news, politics, weather, sports, culture, and of course, traffic and transit “on the ones”.

Of course those twenty-two minutes give us everything we need, except relief. Thanks to them we are now very well-informed people sitting in traffic, as opposed to complete and utter ignoramuses actively stuck behind Greyhounds.

“Top and Bottom of the Hour. The Beginning and the End.”

There’s another great news agency constancy at work in the Tri-State Area. Its broadcast begins at the top and the bottom of the hour. But there’s only one message. The news is always good. And it always leaves one relieved.

New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are filled with parishes. Most established by the immigrants of their time. And today they march on:

The Liturgy—The Great Prayer of God’s Church—won’t be stopped.

Day in, day out.

It is always the hour.

“YOU GIVE IT 22 MINUTES, IT’LL GIVE YOU MORE THAN THE WORLD”

(Jan/27/17)

Francesca H. (2017)

The Beauty of Solitude

The Beauty of not being afraid to be alone

Of knowing God always resides within

That His Creation rests all about

Inside and Out

Outside and In

Love God in all Creation.

Love all Creation for God’s sake.

Play

Draw

Write

Sing

Dance

Be Free

That’s why Jesus died

You are a Child of God

Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb

Co-Heir to Christ’s Glory *

* For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!”

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

—Romans 8:14-17 (NABRE)

by Howard Hain, drawn from the artwork above

The joy of finding oneself a simpleton

Of finding it all terribly complicated

I can handle only so little

Anymore than necessary seems such a bore

Almost as if complexities make me sneeze

Simplicity…simplicity…please…

Some may smirk

Or even find it quaint

But to me there’s no other way

The greater the grace the less the choice

I’m simply stuck on play

Can hardly see why it shouldn’t be

Interest rates?

Property values?

Health insurance?

Seems like such a waste of rhyme and reason

I prefer to not desire

Benefits package? O please

401ks and dividends?

Look at the birds and the bees

I’ve had enough to say

Chirps and buzzing are all I need

Enough, enough, with complexities

More mac and cheese, please

—Howard Hain

(Nov/17-Jan/18)

by Howard Hain

Jean Francois de Troy (1679-1752), Christ carrying the Cross, study

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

—John 19:30

———

The Cross is merely an instrument.

For there is nothing inherently painful about the trunk of a tree.

It is not the Cross itself that crucifies.

But there is something about the Cross that leads us either to death or to life.

It is our relationship with that piece of “wood” that ultimately colors our perception of earthly existence and its inherent sufferings.

And Christ shows us the way.

For there has never been a man more at peace than Christ Jesus upon the Cross—for there has never been a man more aligned to the will of The Father.

Yes, from the eyes of the world it was complete chaos. It was an utter mess. Destruction. Torture. Shame. Disappointment. A mockery. But from Heaven’s perspective it was complete fulfillment. It was utter completion. It was wholeness. It was oneness. It was unity. It was Shalom.

For Christ knew the joy set before Him.

Yet He who existed before time did not manipulate time in order to escape what was in reality unspeakable pain.

And that is what He teaches.

Not to deny the pain. Not to even to avoid it. But to experience it from within the realm of His Kingdom, and as He Himself tells us, that Kingdom “is within”, that Kingdom “is at hand”.

That Kingdom is here and now when there is no separation between God’s child and His will.

Christ shows us this through His Passion.

He shows us that it is our relationship with those crisscrossed beams that makes carrying them either hard and heavy or “easy” and “light”.

He shows us that all our joy depends on our relationship with suffering—with our relationship with The Cross—with our relationship with The Tree of Life.

Our Father has given us free will in order to make a simple choice. To love or not to love…and “greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”.

We love one another by dying for each other—by “spending” our lives in service of one another—and the Cross is the bridge that allows us to span that exchange.

The Cross is merely an instrument.

———

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

—Hebrews 12:2

(Jan/16)

by Howard Hain

Christ lives in the Eucharistic Prayer.

He listens carefully.

The Father listens too.

We listen with Them.

The Holy Spirit speaks.

He speaks a great silence.

He listens to the listeners.

We collectively hear.

God.

Three Persons.

His Entire People.

All Creation.

The Sound of One Breathing.

The Sound of Life.

Communion.

—

Amen.

(Jan/4/18)

by Howard Hain

Can’t keep it neat

Bunched-up cloth

Shifting sand

An avalanche of gifts

Those toward the outside move the most

The trough is fixed in place

“The world turns, the Cross stands still” *

Manger, manger, what happened to you?

Sprouted roots

Began life as a tree

…..A table

……….A sawhorse

……………A wagon wheel

Dusty bumpy road

Excitement of a coming feast

Not quite yet

To and fro

Which place is home?

Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem

The land of Cana

A wedding toast

Now a wooden throne

Plenty of wine to go around

“The world turns, the Cross stands still” *

Manger, manger, what happened to you?

Sprouted roots

Began life as a tree

* this line is a loose paraphrase of the Carthusian motto: “Stat Crux Dum Volvitur Orbis” (The Cross Stands Firm, While The World Turns)

(Jan/18)

by Howard Hain

What attracts?

What is it that truly attracts?

Is it:

“Innovation”?   “Fresh ideas”?   “Progressive thinking”?   “Something new”?

I propose it’s none of the above.

I say it’s Love.

But I also say that Love made manifest looks a lot like this:

Wisdom. Sincerity. Peace.

Integrity. Honesty. Candor.

Decisiveness. Kindness. Strength.

Courage. Perseverance. Sacrifice.

None of which are old or new.

None of which are innovative or progressive.

None of which are tied to one generation or another.

We are in trouble. Our nation. Our world. Our time. And men are to blame. For we are weak and timid leaders.

We are cut off from mankind’s head—from Christ—Who is living, breathing Wisdom, Sincerity, Peace, Integrity, Honesty, Candor, Decisiveness, Kindness, Strength, Courage, Perseverance, Sacrifice.

Christ is true manhood made flesh.

We simply need more men. True men. Who act like men.

May we discover our true voice.

Human history has great recordings.

It’s tradition that Saint Joseph didn’t say too much, but how come I’m pretty sure that when he did speak, he spoke with clarity and strength?

How come I’m pretty sure that there wasn’t much room left for elaborate commentary and subtle interpretation?

How come I’m pretty sure that he was firm and steadfast and kind, and truly thought of as a man?

Perhaps I am pretty sure because God chose this “just” and “upright” man to raise The Son of Man.

I’m sure both Jesus and Joseph looked you straight in the eye.

I’m sure both had blisters and well-lodged splinters in their enlarged, calloused hands.

I’m sure both had forearms that betrayed their time with raw lumber and instruments of iron: Hammers. Saws. Chisels. Axes. Not exactly the tools of men who whisper one thing but say out loud another.

Joseph was a man. Jesus is The Man.

Let’s stop with all the pretending.

The world has a problem.

The world lacks men.

Lord Jesus please send us some.

Lord Jesus please raise us to be more like You.

(Nov/17-Jan/18)