Pilgrim Notes 8/18/08

Reading 1
Ez 24:15-23

The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, by a sudden blow
I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,
but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,
bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,
do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will now desecrate my sanctuary,
the stronghold of your pride,
the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.
The sons and daughters you left behind
shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:
all that he did you shall do when it happens.

Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
You shall do as I have done,
not covering your beards
nor eating the customary bread.
Your turbans shall remain on your heads,
your sandals on your feet.
You shall not mourn or weep,
but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.


I made it early and was praying the Rosery
with two ladies before Mass.
I was having a very nice time, a bit nervous
reciting the prayers outloud cause I am still
fuzzy on them when I get going. I was in a
deep state of concentration when my hands
were knocked and my eyes poped open to see a
child clambering up the pew its mother close
behind. In the nearly empty
church they chose to sit directly infront of me.
This was a total disruption of my prayer
and a violation of my space.
My Sanctuary was desecrated.
My temper was flaring while I was praying the rosary...
my voice wavering with emotion.
I tried to channel the prayer...
Pray for us SINNERS NOW...
and at the hour of our DEATH...
said right to/for this woman sitting in front of me,
her son making a terrible rukus.
I remained on my knees in the
deepest prayer I could summon.
I was determined to fill the space
with the Holy Spirit and bless this
family if it killed me.
This child actually began to calm down a bit...
but this is only after rapping on the
pew inches away from my kneeling self.

When this child recieved the blessing
from the Priest I saw him touch the
child and draw the tau cross on his forehead.
I felt a wave of joy and blessing. There
is a mercy in the Holy Spirit that
alone can comfort the children who
have grown in chronic mortal sin of
their parents. Their nervous systems
are incapable of focusing because it
has not been nutured. The power of the
Holy Spirit, the giver of Life, it is
Nature that can heal the "sick"...
even a small child. The child has
seen me praying as hard as I can,
asking God to radiate the Holy Spirit
to him and he has sat and wondered...


Truly painful to me to lose the quiet
holy time that I love so much from daily
mass but this is not only charity but is
the voice of the Holy Spirit that
continues to speak through the Prophets.
I was warned before hand, I knew
that I was not to over-react to
the desecration but I had no idea
that it would appear so suddenly
and actually desecrate my sanctuary.
I failed in speaking the Rosary to her...

"Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead"