RIP Pope Benedict XVI

 Hope everyone had a great Christmas.  As I read about Pope Benedict I was struck by his deep faith.  While he was pope I actually hadn't heard much about him.  I knew he was conservative in his views but that was about it. His decision to step down I felt was courageous.  I looked up quotes in preparing for this post and there were many good ones.  Here are my top three:

"We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution.  Each of us is the result of a thought of God."  

Wow.  This summaries my Christmas post perfectly.  God sending His son down proves the above statement.  " I am a thought of God!".  I like that.

"If we let Christ into our lives we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great.  No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide.  Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed.  Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. "

Faith is liberating.

"The world offers you comfort.  But you were not made for comfort.  You were made for greatness."

I really like this one  Need to remember it when the going gets tough.  

RIP papa.

Pax

Joe

 

 

A Child is born in Bethlehem

 Have you ever wondered why God sent his son into the world?  To teach us?  To show He loves us?  To forgive our sins and reunite us with the Father?  I have been given all those answers and they all make sense to a point.  But God, being God, didn't need to send His son to accomplish all that right?  

As a surgeon I have learned a great deal of science.  Now science teaches you how wonderfully complicated and orderly every thing in nature is.  As you learn about all this wonderful stuff that explains how everything works you can look at it in one of two ways; either " see there is no magic.  Science can explain everything." or " look at how complex yet orderly God set everything up."  

As we learn more and more about the universe we are learning just how BIG it really is.  It staggers the mind.  Scientists calculated there are 50 billion planets, that is billion with a "b".  When I read this I thought of God as a scientist with 50 billion petri dishes each as a special experiment.  " Gee I thought Earth was big but it is not even 1 in a million.  What does that make me?"  Then I remembered, "God does care about this particular planet.  He sent his only son here to save me!" I get it now.  As we learn more and more how small earth is and how vast and magnificent God is what better way to say,

 " No, this is not just an experiment and I am not a heartless force of nature.  I am a living God and I so loved this world that I gave my only son."  

Thank you God for caring enough to send your son to us this Christmas!

     Merry Christmas!

Joe

Do dogs go to heaven?

 Shortly after my dog died my mom asked me if I thought Turner was in heaven.  I immediately said "yes".  I admit it was an emotional response rather than a theological one and I have since given it a lot of thought.  If you google "Do dogs go to heaven?" you will find a fair amount out there.  It breaks down into two main thoughts.  

The first is the traditional Catholic view which says "no" at least not on their own accord.  This is because heaven is for mankind.  Mankind has the capacity for greater understanding of God and freewill so therefore has the capacity to either be closer to God [heaven] or farther away [hell] than animals when they die.  Animals, by acting in their nature, praise God automatically and therefore lack the capacity to be closer or father away.  One of my heroes, St Thomas Aquinas, was a big proponent of this in the Summa.  

The second view says "yes" dogs will be in heaven.  The thought here is if we are in paradise of course our dogs will be there; otherwise it wouldn't be paradise.  For people very close to their dogs [ like me] this makes sense and is actually not at odds with the traditional catholic view.  The dog is not there on its own accord, it is there to make us happy.  I think this is what Pope Paul VI meant when he told a little boy that we would see our animals in heaven.  [ Pope Francis is often mis quoted as saying this.]

The bible is pretty silent on this question. We know for humans heaven is suppose to be awesome, hell is suppose to be bad and that the lion and the lamb will lay down together.  Not much to go on.  

So after a week of meditating on the subject here are my thoughts:

When we die we are invited to be closer to God and to praise Him like never before.  If we accept that is heaven and sounds awesome.  If we decline then God grants our desire and moves us far away from His presence. [ hell]  Now if I am that close to God will I need Turner there?  Maybe not, but I think it would be nice.  At the resurrection we will raise bodily so should be able to talk to people and animals. 

But I am not sure Turner would need me there to be in heaven.  If God is all loving and he created Turner, why would he not allow Turner some form of heaven when he died?  If I would do that how much more would a God that knows "when a sparrow falls from the sky."    

So to answer my question, "Yes I am confident dogs go to heaven."  I just can't see how a loving God would not allow animals who have done His will to not continue to experience His love when they die. And my buddy Aquinas before he died said of the Summa, " Burn it, it is straw."  He was referring to the Summa as compared to a personal relationship with God. For theology, like everything else in this world should lead us to God. And I am confident a loving God would love Turner at least as much if not 100 times more than I do.  

Pax

 

Joe

 

My dog died monday; Turner RIP

 I apologize about this blog.  It is suppose to be about helping others but too often it is about what is happening to me.  I apologize because here we go again.  I mentioned in Oct that my dog had terminal cancer and how I was trying to deal with it.  I think I did pretty well realizing that Turner was a gift from God and it was part of God's plan for him to die.  It is still very sad at the end and that is part of the plan too.  To accept the grief and go through it.  

It of course reminded me of Lao Tsu.  In chapter 14 of Tao Te Ching he is talking about the Tao.  What we christians call God the Father, the Alpha and Omega.  He states,

Stand before it and there is no beginning

    Follow it and there is no end

Stay with the ancient Tao

    Move with the present.

 

That is what I am doing, "moving with the present."  Being alive in the moment, accepting the grief knowing I am not going through it alone.  It is still sad though.  

Turner my friend you were a great dog!  I will never forget you.

Pax

 Joe

A Grateful Thanksgiving

 I hope everyone has a wonderful, grateful thanksgiving tomorrow.  The holidays can be hard for many folks as our lives don't live up to what we see in movies and in books.  I think that is where people with faith have a huge advantage.  Life has inherent meaning and purpose.  Also faith gives one a sense of gratitude.  After all, George Washington set aside a day for "Thanksgiving and prayer" which has become our Thanksgiving.  My favorite quote of thanks is:

 I love this quote!  It is so full of faith.  Can you actually imagine thanking God for everything that has happened to you?  All those bumps in the road?  I think not.  

And to unabashedly tell God, "Yes God, Bring it.  Your will be done."  Wow, scary stuff.  

Intellectually I get it and am fully onboard but I confess this is aspirational stuff for me at this point.  So I pray for God to deepen my faith and work at it everyday.  But I am thankful that I have enough faith to truly be grateful this Thanksgiving despite all those bumps in the road! 

I hope each of you have a grateful Thanksgiving.

Pax

Joe    

I need to Listen better

 No post last week because my mom had the flu and I was quite busy as she was pretty sick.  Happy to report she is getting better.  I did get to read about St Loyola though and how he was a terrific listener.  Apparently instead of correcting people he would hear all they had to say.  "When he would get to know the person better and the person felt more at ease, the Father would slowly proceed and, without any violence, change the whole game."  from Fr Goncalves de Camara.

In an earlier post I mentioned the importance of "being right" in an argument and as I got older that became less important.  I think the older I have gotten the better I have become at listening as well. It is still hard if we are busy or stress about something else.  To actually try to listen and understand what someone is trying to tell us takes concentration and commitment; it is hard.  

 It is much easier to tell someone your ideas,problems and stories than to try to understand where they are coming from.  That is why I love the above proverb.

I think I am pretty good at listening to people in the clinic.  It's what I have been doing for 30+ years and have received an awful lot of training in how to do it. But with my family it can be hard sometimes because I want to help but they aren't ready to listen; or perhaps I am not listening well enough to understand them.  That is why I need to listen better.

 

Pax

 

Joe 

Let us not be distracted

 Sorry I did not post last week.  I moved my mom into her house and there was no time for meditation.  This week it was chapter 12 of Tao Te Ching. It still amazes me how closely this a lines with the Judeo-Christian message.  Here it is condensed:

The five colors blind the eye.

   The five tones deafen the ear.

        Precious things lead us astray.

Therefore the wise are guided by what they feel and not by what they see.

    Letting go of that and choosing this. 

 So let us not be distracted by things of this world.  As we have talked about before, things are meant to bring us closer to God but they can also have the opposite effect.  A nice car may bring us pleasure but if it becomes an obsession or us coveting it leads to bad decisions/interactions then it becomes a, "Precious thing that leads us astray." 

 

It is so easy to fall off the path with marketing and all the material goods we are blessed with in the US.  I need to constantly remember that "My ways are not your ways" says the Lord.  I need to constantly be reminded to stay on the path and play the true long game.  

Pax

Joe

 

How "the world" thinks

 I read Chapter 11 in Tao Te Ching this week and it was the focus on my meditations. I condensed it here:

               Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;

                  It is the center hole that makes it useful.

              Shape the clay into a vessel;

                  It is the space within that makes it useful.

 

               Therefore profit comes from what is there;

                    Usefulness from what is not there. 

 

 The world so often focuses on "profit".  What is tangible is easy to measure.  You can create metrics/ worth and value.  What is less tangible is harder to measure so is often ignored or relegated to lip service. Yet culture and integrity are very "useful" to an organization though almost impossible to measure.  There are a couple of great companies and leaders that understand this but they are few and far between.

If you can make more money that is what you should do regardless of how you do it.  That is how the world thinks.  But God doesn't think like the world.  He lives in the hole and the space.  He wants us to bring His kingdom a little closer to the world today by helping others.  That is how we are useful.  

 

 

Pax

 

Joe     

My dog has cancer

 This will be a different post today because it is more of a self help for me.  My 15 year old dog was diagnosed with an inoperable mast cell tumor on his paw Friday.  I saw it coming and appreciate the vet's honesty but it was still a shock when it arrived.  3-6 months and will necessitate at least daily dressing changes of his paw and a boot when he goes out. We have talked about suffering on this blog before, but my dog??  So here is how I am working through this...

All creation was created to praise God.  Hence that is why Turner was created. He has done a good job at this.

Mankind was charged with being good stewards of God's creation.  I think we have done pretty well with Turner; he got to 15.  Of course he has gotten old enough to develop cancer.  

God is good and wants the best for His creatures and for me.  When man turns to evil he can create pain and suffering that God allows but God ultimately causes good from it.  I don't see how this is good.  I don't think this cancer has anything to do with man's evil.  Thus this must be part of God's natural plan. Turner is wearing out after 15 years.

The fact that I don't understand God's plan is what bugs me.  I want to know!  This is where pride comes in.  

So if this is suppose to be good; where is the good?  

  

 This is where faith comes in.  I have to trust God and look for the good.  How can I take this time and this experience and find good?  Is it treasuring the dressing changes with my wife and dog?  More ardent prayer?  Appreciate life more?  There is good here; I just need to find it while acknowledging the sadness as well.   This I am attempting to do.

Pax

Joe   

 

Old Friends

 The invitation came in the mail.  A friend's daughter was getting married in the Catskills.  My wife hadn't seen her friend in 18 years.  I hadn't seen her in 28.  I told my wife she should be flattered she was invited after all this time.  "We're retired; let's go!" So we did.

She looked about 20 years older but sounded the same.  My wife and she started talking as if we were living next door again and had just seen her 2 days ago.  I felt it too.  Amazing.

 Why would it be that way after 20 years?  What makes certain people "impossible to forget".  

I  do think good friends are hard to find.  Someone that you are honest with [ and is honest with you] and have shared experiences with and that builds a bond that doesn't get broken through the decades.  That love makes your friend impossible to forget and allows you to literally pick right back up where you left off. 

So lets be grateful for the friends we have and always be willing to cultivate new ones.  And if you are able, don't wait to see your old friends; twenty years is a long time!

Pax

Joe

 

Moderation

 Two separate events combine for my post this week. I have been meditating on chapter 9 in Tao Te Ching. It reads:

Better stop short than fill to the brim.

Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.

Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.

Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow.

Retire when the work is done.

This is the way of heaven.

I was focusing on the later half because I recently retired from hospital administration.  The people there are doing great which makes me happy.  I believe I trained them well so my work was done.  

Then my wife and I saw the following bumper sticker:

Now this bumper sticker says a lot on its own. But it really opened my eyes to understand more fully Chapter 9 of Lao's book.  In our culture, why not "fill to the brim"?  You have to get your money's worth, right? But Lao is warning us that if we fill to the brim we can spill it and loose more than if we stopped short.  

We all know people who over think things.  You can over train as an athlete and I know you can over study as a student or overwork as an executive.

So I think Lao is reminding us about moderation; whether in sharpening a sword, amassing gold and jade or thinking about a problem. 

So the message for today is moderation is the way to happiness. 

Pax

 

Joe 

You can pick your friends...

 As I stated last week we had a family reunion at the beach.  I was hoping for the best and things went very well.  There were a few hiccups but they were remarkably mild for 10 adults in 1 house.  I meditated most days and focused on family.  Now some people really don't have family but for most of us what IS the difference.  I think the difference is:

 There is a bond there that is forever.  This leads to a shared history and much more important, a safe space of acceptance.  For whether king or pauper, peacemaker or pugilist, at the end of the day I am still part of my family.  There is comfort in that. 

Of course family can also be a source of frustration because acceptance goes both ways.  After 24 years in the military I am punctual and this was tested during the week at the beach house.  However, we then played a trivia game and much to my chagrin, I became a "know it all". When I apologized the next morning for being annoying I was told, " You weren't too bad, don't worry about it."  Yes acceptance does indeed go both ways. 

So I am very glad for my family and consider all of them a blessing.  For while you can't choose them, they are a source of strength and a safe harbor where we are accepted unconditionally.

Pax

Joe   

Family reunions

 I am in the midst of a family reunion this week so this will be short.  Last Memorial Day I talked about how it is important to be fully present at these gatherings. So that is what I am doing.   Pray for me and for all those without families.

Pax

Joe

What do thoughts and words mean?

 Heard an interesting homily from Fr Ivan in Orlando on Sunday.  He stated that ultimately we have to make a choice; either for God or not. If we say we chose God then we should act like it.  It reminded me of one of my favorite Lao Tzu quotes.

 Much to my chagrin I recently found out this isn't from Lao Tzu but from an Episcopalian bishop from Georgia who lived at the end of the 19th century named Rev John Beckwith. It does line up well with Lao except maybe for the destiny part.  So Rev Beckwith I want to give you your credit.  

Regardless of its origin, the thoughts here are profound.  Our thoughts and words, which we think don't mean much, become our habits and ultimately how we live our life. Wow; simple but makes so much sense.

So I need to be more cognizant of my thoughts and words if I want to set my own destiny.  Otherwise I might end up acting and being who I don't truely want to be.

 Pax

 

Joe

   

More of the Tao Te Ching

 Since I have been quoting Lao Tzu for years I decided to go back to the source.  I am reading and meditating on Lao's great work, Tao Te Ching. It is amazing that it was written around 400 BC.  It is also amazing that it dovetails so nicely with Christianity.  You have the great spirit (or energy ) of the universe called the Tao.  Everything moves according to this energy and if you accept this and get on board by trying to understand it you will be happy.  This isn't far removed from God the father.  Christianity has the benefit of a personalized relationship with this energy in the form of Jesus Christ. Amazing stuff!  So today's quote is from Chapter 8 of Tao Te Ching.  I think it is pretty self explanatory.

In meditation, go deep in the heart

In dealing with others, be kind and gentle

In speech, be true.

In ruling, be just.

In business, be competent.

In action, watch the timing. 

Other than the last line which probably sounds better in Chinese, this is all straightforward and could be found in any of the gospels.  I will be working on the first 3 lines this week.  Simple concepts but hard to master!  How about you?  What will you work on this week?

Pax

 

Joe 

The Wise stay behind

 Sorry I have missed the last 2 weeks.  I got Covid. I tried to use the time as a mini retreat.  I focused on Loyola's phrase that we should not wish for sickness nor health but whatever brings us closer to God.  

But I won't bore you with that today.  I was reading Lao Tzu over the weekend and came across this phrase

     The Wise stay behind and are thus ahead

           They are detached and thus one with all

               Through selfless action they attain fulfillment.

 

I really wanted to focus on the first line.  So if you are working 40-50 hours a week what does that mean?  Well first, realize why you are working.  Your work should be helping to bring about God's kingdom here on earth in some small way, it is part of God's plan.  If you sell insurance; good.  You are trying to protect people.  Don't cheat them anymore than the company makes you.  Second, don't get so caught up in "making it" that you forget who you are.  If there is a terrible bundle the company wants you to push and you can get a big raise or promotion if you do, don't.  While the world may see you as falling behind you are staying true to yourself and God.  It takes courage but remember "The wise stay behind and are thus ahead."   

If you are at home raising a family, taking care of elderly you already see you are doing God's work.  It is easy to get discouraged because society says you are falling behind.  It takes courage but remember "The wise stay behind and are thus ahead.

If you are fully retired what are you doing to bring God's kingdom here?  Realize you have a part to play.  Praying, volunteering and helping out family members all play a part. Hugging your grandkids so they see God's love mirrored through you is important.  It takes courage to get up everyday but remember "The wise stay behind and are thus ahead."

Through our selfless actions may we attain fulfillment.

Pax

 

Joe 

Don't rush!

 This week I continued to meditate on God's plan.  I remembered a quote from Lao Tzu:

This really fit in with the whole God's plan thing.  It reminded me of a story I heard.  A New York City marketing exec goes to the midwest on vacation.  He wants to buy fresh corn "wholesale" from the source because it will be the cheapest.  He comes across a roadside stand near a cornfield selling "fresh corn".  The man selling the corn is dressed like a farmer and certainly looks the part. He asks the man selling the corn, "Did you grow this corn?" "No" replies the man in a straw hat.  So our New York city man starts congratulating himself on not falling for clever marketing when the other man states, " God did, I just helped." 

We create artificial timelines and stress.  Certainly things need to be done and timelines are often helpful in accomplishing items but often we carry things way overboard.  An item needs to be done this week and it should.  But if there is a good reason that it can't is it really going to ruin God's plan if it doesn't get done right now?  Really?  It is that important?  Now of course we need to be careful of sloth as well.  If we have 18 items that we have really good reasons that we can't accomplish we might have to make a good examination of conscience with God!  

One last story.  I was having a bad day at the Pentagon and my boss came to me with an "emergency tasker" like she seemed to almost everyday.  "Dr Legan here is an emergency tasker that I need you to do right now."  I snapped and said, " Colonel, this is not an emergency.  If I am in the OR and looking into a deep hole rapidly filling with blood and I can't find the source, that is an emergency.  Anything I can take into the bathroom and read is not an emergency."   I apologized later of course but it does speak to how we set artificial timelines.  

So at work there is little we can do with these crazy timelines except try and keep perspective.  When we set timelines, hold others accountable but be reasonable as well.  Remember, Nature does not hurry, yet everything gets accomplished.

Pax

Joe

Constipation and God's plan

 I had surgery last week and used narcotics for 3 days which has constipated me something awful.  This week my meditations have been back on Lao Tzu.  I focused on these phrases:

    The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used but never filled. 

            Oh unfathomable source of ten thousand things!

and

     Oh hidden deep but ever present! I do not know from whence it comes.

              It is the forefather of the ancestors.

So I meditated on "The Tao" or "The Way".  This concept is akin to God saying, " I am the alpha and the omega." He was here before our ancestors, before the earth; mind blowing!  [ The narcotics may have helped a bit!]  And this all powerful, unfathomable being wants to have a relationship with me; again mindblowing.  

The more I meditated the more I realized this being has a plan for the world and for us.  With our free will we can fight it with wars, killing and selfishness but His plan will come to fruition in the end. It is like constipation.  I like to think I am in control of my own bowels.  I can willfully take drugs to change the speed of the colon either working with or against God's plan.  I can control the external sphincter of the colon.  I can move my colon where I want but in the end the colon is going to function the way God intended it to function as part of His plan and stuff is going to come out in the end!  

So I think  we will be happiest if we realize God has a plan and try to plug into that plan.  We do this by trying to do God's will.  In the East this is finding "The Way".  God's plan is good for us and good for the universe.  We just have to be humble enough to find it and then have the courage to help execute it.  Easier said then done I know!

Pax

Joe

Talking less

 Very busy week; I only meditated once this week.  It was a section from Loyola to his followers on how to act.  the first line is:

 Preserve yourself in peace and true humility of the soul,

     keeping silence when silence should be kept and,

              when you must speak,  speaking with discretion.

It made me think of a Yoda type character who never speaks but when he does every word is golden.  My dad was like that.  I am not.  I am getting better at only speaking when " I must".  I am working on listening.  

There is the other side of the coin here too. Some people are uncomfortable speaking up.  Loyola is telling us that there are times that "we must".  As always we should speak with discretion and not give in to gossip and idle chatter.  

Finally, all of the above needs to be grounded in peace and true humility of the soul.  With this as our ground, when we do get into a discussion with someone, it will be for the good of everyone involved.

Pax

 

Joe  

Get it done

 This week I was reading St Ignatius Loyola and ran across this line:

           if you can, do today

                            what you promised tomorrow

He was telling his followers to not shy away from unpleasant tasks but to get them done quickly and to be reliable.  This makes sense because if we are always striving to do God's will with all our work and tasks we should want to get it done.  Part of bringing the kingdom of God a little closer today.  

Now I am definitely a procrastinator when it comes to tasks I don't like.  I am always they will be magically done before I get to them.  Clearly, if they are the right thing to be doing, and are part of God's plan, then I should be doing them promptly and joyfully.  Certainly a mindset I will need to work on but it gives new meaning and status to many things I don't like to do.   I just need to get it done.

Pax

 

Joe