Not Me!

Watching television today leads me to believe that all I have to do to be happy is to buy the right car, live in the right neighborhood, eat the right food or take a particular pill–the list goes on ad infinitum. I don’t think so, in fact I truly doubt that any of that will make me happy. I believe that grappling with life’s struggles, even when I feel completely helpless and abandoned, rewards me and all of us with life.

That seems to be the theme of  Andrew Solomon’s new movie “Far From the Tree”. With this movie Solomon examines life as lived through the lives of five main characters, none of which claim to have any of the above.  I watched, I laughed, I cried and I left the theatre understanding a little better what it means to truly live and not run away, my first choice of action when confronted with a challenge.

Dan O’Donnell, a layman has covenanted with the Chicago Community. In addition to the standard covenant, Dan promises to work at connecting all partners known and unknown, to a conscious following the the way of Jesus, the way of the cross which Dan believes transforms all failure, democratizing the human journey

“Why Wonder Why”

“Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man…”   (Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving)

Sometimes I just wish I could be a great singer, or a famous writer, or just anything but me. At those times, I turn to my old buddy Kermit the frog and listen to his words of wisdom, especially his: “…why wonder why…”

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
And I think it's what I want to be

Thank you Joe Rapozo, Jim Henson and Sesame Street.   It’s Not Easy Bein Green.

Each day each of us get to be who we are and that’s enough.

Posted by Dan O’Donnell, a layman who has covenanted with the Chicago Community. In addition to the standard covenant, Dan promises to work at connecting all partners known and unknown, to a conscious following the the way of Jesus, the way of the cross which Dan believes transforms all failure, democratizing the human journey

We Are All Called to be Builders

Can you imagine a world “of hopes, dreams and visions…where prophets speak…where peace and justice meet…where outcasts and  strangers bear the image of God’s Face and the cross stands as witness”?

Posted by Dan O’Donnell, a layman who has covenanted with the Chicago Community. In addition to the standard covenant, Dan promises to work at connecting all partners known and unknown, to a conscious following the the way of Jesus, the way of the cross which Dan believes transforms all failure, democratizing the human journey

Remembering Our Baptismal Call on the Anniversary of Dr. MLK’s Death

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King on the 50th anniversary of his death, Tony Magliano of Pax Christi shares Dr. King’s warning: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” in the following post. He goes on to point out that this is exactly where the U.S. and many other nations are, citing facts to support his claim. Luckily he doesn’t leave us with that sad news, but shares another King quote: “The time is always right to do what is right.”

PAX CHRISTI USA

When a disciple of Jesus takes his or her prophetic baptismal call seriously, that person’s words and actions live on long after he or she leaves this world.

An outstanding example of this truth is found in the prophetic discipleship of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who, with selfless courage, faithfully lived out his God-given mission 50 years ago – albeit ending tragically too short.

For on the evening of April 4, 1968, after preaching and being present in solidarity with poorly paid African-American sanitation workers, King, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., suffered a fatal bullet wound – leaving this world at the young age of 39.

On that sad day America, and indeed the whole world, lost a powerfully prophetic voice and courageous witness to the social justice and nonviolent peace teachings of Jesus Christ.

But a fatal bullet coming from…

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A Sign of Hope

As students at Immaculate Conception grammar school, we would say the “Stations of the Cross” on Fridays during lent. I kind of liked them as a great diversion from the classroom. Like many of the pre-Vatican II devotions in the Catholic Church, this practice has lost its appeal and I sometimes wonder if younger people even know what those fourtreen paintings or bas-relief sculptures adorning the church walls are doing there.

The Passionist, a Roman Catholic monastic community commit their lives to keeping alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus and one of the ways they do this is to continue to encourage people coming to their retreat centers to join them on that short pilgrimage. Today in honor of Holy Week, Brother John Rockenbach, of the Passionist’s Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center near the Los Angles area leads a group on their journey. It’s a twenty-five minute trip, one that promises not only to inspire, but also to give you a chance to “retreat” to a much more peaceful and hopeful time. Happy Easter!

Dan O’Donnell, a layman has covenanted with the Chicago Community. In addition to the standard covenant, Dan promises to work at connecting all partners known and unknown, to a conscious following the the way of Jesus, the way of the cross which Dan believes transforms all failure, democratizing the human journey

 

The Power of Asparagus

My mother assigned daily chores to each of us. I remember periodically having to pick some wild asparagus that grew in our rock garden and bring it in for dinner that night. I never dreamed that this simple act was unusual or that it would ever become a means of fighting climate change or of building community.

Tim Rinne in a 2014 TEDx talk Growing food, growing community — the example of the Hawley Hamlet, shares a charming story of how the fear of missing a meal at some future date, led him to revolutionize what his neighborhood looked like and how he grew from knowing just three of his neighbors to now knowing all of them. As a result of their combined work, they lessened their carbon footprints and learned to grow food, much like that asparagus I picked when I was five years old in 1950.

I’m meeting with an activist group leader tomorrow to talk about what we might do to fight the bad effects of gentrification in our Chicago north side neighborhood. Maybe we will plan a demonstration in front of the alderman’s office, or maybe we will organize individuals asking them to stand on corners requesting people to sign petitions. Both ideas I suspect have been successful in the past, but I’m hoping that we will come up with something more revolutionary like the Hawley Hamlet. Thanks Tim for the idea.

Dan O’Donnell, a layman has covenanted with the Chicago Community. In addition to the standard covenant, Dan promises to work at connecting all partners known and unknown, to a conscious following the the way of Jesus, the way of the cross which Dan believes transforms all failure, democratizing the human journey

Why Blog?

People who know me, know I’m always pushing blogging. I push it because I believe it will lead to more face-to-face meetings and allow all of us to overcome our time and space limitations as well as provide a venue for people with differing opinions to come together to share them.

In the above TEDx talk, Celeste Headlee presents ten ideas on how to be a good conversationalist. While I think they are all effective strategies, one in particular impressed me, number two: “Don’t pontificate.” In her comments about this suggestion she says, kiddingly I think: “If you want to state your opinion without any opportunity for response or argument or pushback or growth, write a blog.”

Unlike simply listening to a homily or watching a program on TV, blogs do offer the reader an opportunity for response, argument, pushback and growth. As a blogger, I appreciate someone taking the time to respond, whether with an Emoji or a comment. Both communicate, and after all, that’s the whole idea.

Finding the time and space to meet face-to-face limits the number and variety of people with whom I can converse. The blog opens up many more possibilities for discussions with people. If we apply Headlee’s ten suggestions for conversation to blogging, I think we will enjoy blogging and be better prepared to effectively participate in face-to-face conversations.

Any comments?

Dan O’Donnell

Dan O’Donnell, a layman has covenanted with the Chicago Community. In addition to the standard covenant, Dan promises to work at connecting all partners known and unknown, to a conscious following the the way of Jesus, the way of the cross which Dan believes transforms all failure, democratizing the human journey