ROAD REPORT: TEXAS TOUR

APRIL 27, 2007

Peace and Good in the Risen Christ!

We are having a great tour of Texas in this Easter season!

We started slowly in Houston at Christ Covenant Church for an intimate environment for a video shoot with Stage Directions. During the two days of shooting we were treated to an NBA Playoff game between the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz. This was my first NBA game. My friend, Mark Lanier, let us share his corporate suite. But the highlight was getting to trade off quarters in the first row floor seats! It was great hearing the conversations of the players, coaches, and referees. Plus, those guys are REALLY TALL!

In Houston our sound and lighting engineer, John Cotton, received word that his mother had passed away, so he needed to return home to Buffalo, New York. Richard Hoggatt, president of Stage Directions, volunteered to help us out for the rest of the tour. He did a fantastic job and was a complete joy to work with. Thanks, Richard! We also continue to pray for John's mother and the family members who survive her.

From Houston we went on to the Victoria Diocese in Ganado for a more typical JMT concert. Then we were off for two days WAY down south in the Valley where we were received with unusually great enthusiasm by the sponsoring Class of Deacons and their teachers. This included a lunch with the Bishop and other diocesan officials. I will remember my time there for many years to come. It was good to go back to Corpus Christi after a decade. They were most hospitable, and we were most warmly received. Next we were in Austin for a nice concert last night.

We concluded in Wichita Falls. It was my first time to this city, and the reception was much like that of my first concerts in many cities where I later returned many times. There is always such a sparkle of enthusiasm in these concerts. We were also treated to the birthday celebration and first communion of one of our nieces. This made that stop especially fun and meaningful.

Through it all, offerings for the Brothers and Sisters of Charity and Mercy Corps were high. This always humbles me and makes me feel most honored to participate in such great ministries.

Of special note is my addition of a vocation appeal during every concert. This begins with an invitation to pick up some of the informational brochures about our Brothers and Sisters of Charity community. But I go on to encourage all vocations in the Church, clerical and lay, celibate and married. I can tell that people are being challenged and touched by God's grace from this appeal.

In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot

Founder, Spiritual Father, and General Minister
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage

BECOME ROOTED IN JESUS

John 6:22-29

This is the work of God: have faith in the One whom he sent. v. 29

Today’s reading cautions us against two common forms of idolatry: sign-seeking, and workaholism. Signs and wonders are gifts from God, promised to the followers of Jesus. Jesus himself performed them, but they are not Jesus, they are not God. We should be careful to seek the Giver, not the gifts.

Jesus' Miracles Were Acts of Love

Signs and wonders can degenerate into spectacles that create religious fanatics rather than authentically radical (or rooted) followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ miracles produced tangible results for the needy: healing the sick, feeding the hungry, or raising the dead. These were acts of love and mercy.

Center on Jesus and Jesus Alone

As a reaction against abused signs and wonders, some dig into corporate works of mercy in an attempt to be an “authentic” Christian. No doubt corporate works of mercy are important because Jesus tells us we will be judged according to the mercy we have shown others. I, myself, am an honorary chairperson for a relief and development agency called Mercy Corps International. However, many times we become workaholics for Christ and miss Christ himself. We can also become self-righteous as we snobbishly look down on the more charismatic followers of Christ. If we instead center on Jesus and Jesus alone, then our works of mercy will really do the work of God, and they will also include the miraculous.

Do we sometimes seek the gifts and miss the Giver? Do we get stuck in signs and wonders and miss the Wonderful Counselor? Do we perform works of mercy and miss the Merciful One? If we simply have faith in Jesus, we will find signs and wonders present in our life, and our ministry of mercy will be more effective.

John Michael Talbot

Photo: Roots by Michael Lore

LOVE FREELY
John 3:16-21

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life. v. 16

Today we reflect on this classic scripture for salvation in and through Jesus Christ. Out of it, there are two words that say it all—“loved” and “gave.”

Love Gives

Jesus came forth from love in order to love and to enable others to love: love is the reason for the incarnation and the whole point of Christianity. The word “love” is essentially connected to the other key word in our scripture: “gave.” Loving and giving are inseparably bound together. If we love, we must also give.

The world’s kind of love agrees with Christianity’s only to a point. Worldly love is a selfish love that gives only to receive. This is not true giving but instead is investing. Jesus’ love is radically different. It loves and gives simply for love’s sake, without expecting anything in return. The irony of the gospel is that when we love His way, we get more back from God than we ever could from someone else.

Possessiveness Chokes Out Love

Human love is also set free when love is pure. When we love another person expecting to be loved in return we choke the love out of the relationship through possessiveness. When we let go, we are freed from the sin of possessiveness, and the other person can now return love as an act of free will instead of out of guilt and compulsion. This moves the relationship into real freedom and Christian love.

Choose Love and Gain Life

Do we love God for love’s sake or in order to gain salvation? Do we love people for an expected return? This is not love but selfish ambition. Love God and receive eternal life as a free gift from God. Love people and gain healthy relationships. Those that try to possess or command people or God will end up with nothing. So, choose love and gain real life.

John Michael Talbot

HOLY WEEK AT LITTLE PORTION

SHE LOVED MUCH
John 20:11-18

"I have seen the Lord, "she announced. v.18

To whom did Jesus first appear? An apostle? A man? No. He appeared to a woman--one of ill repute, a converted prostitute. Today’s Gospel challenges men and instruc­ts us all in the role of women in ministry.

The Women Were Faithful

Because the male apostles scattered in the hour of trial, it was appropriate that the resurrected Jesus appeared first to the faithful women. With the exception of the traditionally teenage John, the women around Jesus, not the men, were the most faithful. A woman stood at the foot of the cross. Women watched faithfully as Joseph of Arimathea and Nico­demus prepared Jesus’ body for burial. Notice, too, that it was Mary Magdalene who first an­nounced the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.

Mary Responded from Her Heart

There is a two-fold lesson in Mary's relationship with the male apostles and disciples in this episode. First, even though some of the apostles, like Thomas, doubted the resurrection, she was fearless in speaking the truth. Second, she worked in union with the male apostles even when they were uncooperative. She faithfully reported to them all she has seen and heard. In this she sought their authority, despite their doubts. She knew her own unique authority as a woman and was confident enough in that not to usurp theirs. She was fulfilled, confident, and unafraid.

Last, she wept at the foot of the cross and at the empty tomb with her whole heart. There was no masculine “objec­tivity.” Since the heart is the place where the New Covenant is first written, it was appropriate that Jesus would first appear to those who responded with their whole hearts.

This Simple, Penitent Woman Challenges Us

These important lessons were taught not by an apostle or prophet, but by a simple and penitent woman; they challenge us to give our hearts to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus instead of merely treating Holy Week and Easter as objective historical and theological drama.

John Michael Talbot

Dear Friends,

Peace and Good in the Risen Christ!

I get to peruse the blog sites regularly, but I cannot respond to all of you personally. Please forgive this group response.

I looked over the comments a few days ago, and am deeply touched that so many of you have found meaningful in your life the music God has let me make. I am also touched by your brief stories. I read them all.

I am a hermit when I am not on the road or recording. As such I take the ancient caution about too much correspondence seriously, though I do respond to a handful of trusted friends and associates regarding community and ministry. I really believe that a discipline against too much computer and e-correspondence is absolutely necessary for a good monastic contemplative life, especially in hermitage. But please know that this does not mean that I am blocking any of you out. It is through this discipline that I can still my body, emotions, and thoughts enough to actually carry you more deeply in my heart in meditation and prayer. I promise you this during this Easter season, and beyond.

I hope that all of you have a happy Easter season!

In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot

Founder, Spiritual Father, and General Minister

The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage

AN EASTER MESSAGE

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Peace and Good in the Risen Christ. Christ is risen! He is truly risen!

We now reach the greatest gift of Jesus, and of Christianity: The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have already celebrated the great gift of God's love for us by sending His own Son to die so that we might live. After all the theological and scriptural references and reasons, this is the ultimate truth of the cross of Jesus: God's overwhelming love for us. But there is more.

Jesus is Risen from the Dead

As a final declaration of the victory of love over hatred, gentleness over brutality, humble meekness over arrogance and pride, forgiveness over judgment, justice over revenge, and all the similar manifestations of light over darkness, Jesus is risen from the dead. Yes, on a mystical level the paradox of these realities is seen in the cross alone. But such mysticism is usually perceptible only to a few who have so purified their bodies, emotions, and thoughts so as to be able to intuit this great mystery of love. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was one final revelation of these truths. God has raised His Son from the dead so that there will be no misunderstanding or doubt, not only for great mystics, but also for the average person who sincerely loves God. Light is ultimately triumphant over darkness.

A New Way of Life is Possible

But this is true not only on the corporate level. It is also very personal. Most of us struggle with this, that, or another recurring sin or frailty in our life. All we need do is look at the Ten Commandments, or St. Paul's various lists of vices to find ourselves described there. Some of us have come to settle for a way of life that God never intended for us. We have settled for a second best life, and a second best self-identity. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is God's final and unquestionable seal that there is a new way of life possible for all who believe. As scripture says, "With God all things are possible."

Victory Will Come

What is this new life like? The paradoxes mentioned above, the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, the fruit of the Spirit, and the love chapter of St. Paul in Corinthians all describe aspects of this wonderful way of life we all hunger and thirst for deep within. These scriptures demonstrate for us that the sins we have struggled with most of our life can be overcome. Victory is possible. No matter how great the sin, or how deeply ingrained the behavioral pattern, Christ has shown us a way to defeat them. The person we have settled for need not rule over us for months, years, or even for decades of our life. The resurrection of Jesus is God's promise and seal that victory is possible in Christ. It may come after many crosses, struggles, and setbacks, but it will come. Some of us will battle some of these things all our lives, but through Jesus we can gain substantial freedom from them on this earth, and complete freedom in the life to come.

Dare to Believe the Impossible

So this Easter let's not settle for the negative and the seemingly impossible anymore. Let's dare to believe the impossible. Let's dare to continue the struggle against darkness and sin with the assurance that there is victory in the end. We need not remain defeated forever. And once we realize at least some of this in our own life, let's begin to share that faith and belief that something as wonderful as the gospel of Jesus Christ can really go out to all peoples and set them free as well.

Have a most blessed Easter this year!

In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot

Founder, Spiritual Father, and General Minister
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage

EARLY SPRING AT LITTLE PORTION

All photos by John Michael Talbot

HOLY TRIDUUM 2007

Peace and Good in Christ!

And so it begins, the culmination of Lent and the high point of our whole liturgical year: the Holy Triduum. Its name refers to the "Holy Three Days" when the last three major events of Holy Week are celebrated. These consist of The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday; the Lord's Passion on Good Friday (the reading of the Passion, Solemn Intercessions, the Veneration of the Cross, and a Communion Service, but no Mass); and Christ’s glorious resurrection at the Easter Vigil. Liturgically, this is what the whole year has been anticipating and preparing for. The wait is over. It is upon us.

Prepare and Do Your Best

To make all these celebrations come off smoothly, a lot of planning, preparation and hard work is necessary. The Triduum can be every liturgist's greatest dream or worst nightmare! Their dream comes true if all goes fairly well, and their worst nightmare is realized if something goes really wrong. But I always tell our monastic community that the worst thing that can happen is to really screw things up! Then we discover that things still get done, Jesus still works in our midst, and forgiveness is readily given. However, this does not mean that we do not prepare and do our best.

Enter Into Incarnational Reality

The Triduum lets us really enter into the incarnational reality of what the historical Jesus and His disciples went through. It is a drama in which we now participate. For Jesus and His disciples, it was non-stop for three days, and excruciatingly painful on the spiritual, emotional/intellectual and even the physical level. During the longer services we experience something of the real life drama they went through. It is no longer limited to a one hour Mass on one day of the week. It is three days of intense prayer and work. It does not let up until after Easter Sunday, though Easter itself is filled with overwhelming joy. It is our liturgical way of sharing at least something of what He went through.

What this holy season brings out more than anything is the paradox of our finding relief from human suffering through Jesus' entrance into suffering. Religions such as Buddhism are based on overcoming suffering. This is not a bad thing, but it can never be complete on this earth. Suffering happens. It is part of the human condition. One way to alleviate suffering is to simply make things better. Feeding the hungry, comforting the sorrowing, and practicing other great spiritual and corporal works of mercy are certainly a big part of any good religion. This is true especially for Christians who follow a Jesus who taught that we must "love one another." This is good in so far as it goes. But in this world there will always be things that we simply cannot fix. Suffering will still continue.

Make the Leap Into Mystery

This is where most great religions, including Buddhism, make the leap into mystery, where we move from objective doctrine and morality to the mystical experiences of meditation and contemplative prayer. This place of mystery is built upon that which we can understand, but it must go beyond human comprehension, at least in its fullness, to a truth beyond ideas, images, or words.

What are these mysteries? That we free ourselves from suffering by embracing it; that we find life in death. That we find ourselves by losing ourselves; we find wealth in voluntary poverty. The list of paradoxes goes on. Every religion has its own version of this mysticism, with correlating practices for those who seek a deeper spiritual way than the popular norm. These mystics can usually be found among the monks, ascetics, and renunciants of all faiths—among clergy or laity—from the greatest to the simplest of believers. These mysteries and mystical practices cannot be confined within any religion’s strict boundaries.

Jesus Loves & Respects All That Is Good

What makes Christianity unique is that these mystical paradoxes are not just taught, or even partially lived and modeled by our founder's example. Jesus actually EXISTS as the paradox. He IS life through death, comfort through suffering, wealth through poverty. He simply IS this paradox. In this He complements the good in all other faiths (and there is much), and completes them, yet without religious self-righteousness. He loves and respects all that is good, for He is the ultimate author of all good.

Among the many Christian saints who followed this way of Jesus radically, I am reminded of St. Francis of Assisi. He had a fear of lepers. The smell of their infected open sores made him physically nauseous. He did not overcome that fear by healing all lepers. He overcame his fear by embracing one leper at God's command. Likewise, he had a fear of what was found in their begging bowls. The mixture of often spoiled leftovers made him ill. He overcame that fear by dipping his hand into a leprous beggar's bowl, and eating from the same dish. In both of these experiences he was enlightened and expanded spiritually. Only then was he able to really minister to beggars and lepers.

Enter Into the Triduum

So as we enter into the Triduum, let's embrace the suffering of Jesus by working with and for our brothers and sisters, and so come to more fully understand His resurrection. Let's do the external practical work assigned to us to make these celebrations go well. But let's not forget the more important inner mystical work. Let us make the journey through Christ's death and resurrection internally, and so come to know of and share His greatest gift of salvation for all the world. Then we can share this gift with others.

In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot

Founder, Spiritual Father, and General Minister
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage

HOLY WEEK 2007

Peace and Good in Christ!

We enter into Holy Week starting with Palm/Passion Sunday, going through Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and culminating with Easter Sunday. It is a journey that most of us have made many times. Yet each year the Lord has something new for us.

SET ASIDE THIS WEEK

The word "holy" means "separated, set apart." In that spirit, this week we are called to set aside time and space to walk through the Passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, both as a gathered Church and in a very personal way. We are to "set aside" this week as a special time of prayer and conversion.

RELIGION VS. SPIRITUALITY

This year I have read much in the religious press about "religion vs. spirituality" and how religion can sometimes actually hurt humanity. Some statistics show that the more religious a culture is, the higher its crime rate (especially drugs and sex), and the more warlike that culture tends to be. This is shocking. It is true that religion either brings out the best or the worst in human beings. When it works it can be wonderful. When it does not work, it can be like a bad dream.

The journey through the Passion of Christ also addresses this reality: Jesus was rejected by the most "religious" people of his time and handed over by them to be crucified by the Roman government. Indeed, as the gospel stories unfold during the last days of Lent, we see a growing confrontation between the spirituality of Jesus and the religiosity and legalism of the Jews of that time.

Would You Crucify Him?

This conflict gives me pause to reflect on a song I recorded on my first Christian recording in 1976 entitled Would You Crucify Him? I must ask myself: "Would I crucify Him if He were among us today?" Each of us must ponder that question during this Holy Week. Of course, Jesus founded the Church and her "religion" and bestowed upon us the Holy Spirit to guide us. Yet, there are plenty of examples from Church history of terrible popes, bishops, clergy and laity who were obviously very far from the teaching of Jesus in their own lives. So none of us are above the question.

Law or Love?

Religion can tend to rely upon zealous fanaticism and legalism. In contrast, spirituality relies on enthusiasm in the Spirit and divine love. Simply said, religion is about law, while spirituality is about love. Religion tends to judge, while spirituality forgives. Religion, especially fundamentalism of any kind, can breed religious fanatics. Spirituality calls its followers to be wholesome and balanced radicals. While religion tends to produce fundamentalists, healthy spirituality develops solid fundamentals. There is a huge difference between the two. Most of us can tell the difference in the inner recesses of our heart, even though it is sometimes hard to verbalize. Somehow we just "know" when a thing is right - when it is in balance. This is the work of the Spirit within us.

Expressing True Spirituality

How do we get to that righteous balance that is true spirituality? I get there through personal and communal prayer that is confirmed and strengthened by good teaching, receiving the sacraments, and dedicating myself to a life of prayer and charity. For me this takes on the expression of daily charismatic thanks and praise that fills me with positive rather than negative thoughts and emotions, and seated meditation using what I call "breath prayer," which allows me to physically, emotionally, and intellectually become still enough to allow the last vestiges of self-preoccupation to simply fall away from me. These practices give a whole new meaning to my daily life, permeating everything from doctrine to sacraments. Then doctrine, sacraments and daily life are "born again" as I am born again daily. These help me to more totally let go of my old self so that my actions in daily life slowly become more like Jesus. Though there may be initial periods of breakthrough, these practices are most often part of the normal lifetime journey toward deeper spiritual growth. For me, this is a powerful process.

It's a Matter of the Heart

After much reflection, I realize that what many others might deem a dichotomy between "religion versus spirituality," is in truth more about "vain religion" versus a "spiritually rich religion" that comes from and glorifies God. The true issue is not so much a matter of semantics or doctrine as it is a matter of the heart. It is upon the human heart that the new covenant of God is written by real relationship with, and in, the real Jesus.

What then is the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Remember, it is good news! We have only to look at the Beatitudes, or St. Paul's chapter on love in I Corinthians 12, or to the fruit of the Spirit in Paul's letter to the Galatians. These scriptures describe the divine gift that every human being longs for in the depths of the heart. We are created for such God-glorifying love.

I believe in the wonderful news that the old man or woman can die with Christ on the cross and that we can be totally forgiven our sins. Then the person God really wants us to be can be raised up as a "born again" child of God through the resurrection of Jesus. The essential message of Jesus and call for Christians is nothing more complicated, but nothing less challenging.

MAKE A DECISION

This year we must make a decision: Are we going to settle for just being "religious," or will we really be born again, and let Jesus make us into the person God originally meant us to be? Will we crucify Him by our stubborn adherence to vain religion, albeit under the name of "Christian" or "Catholic," or will we "let go and let God" by allowing Him to raise us up as a new creation-- a new man, a new woman? That process will help bring about a return to the original purpose of spiritually rich religion.

I will pray with you this year as we all make the journey through this Holy Week.

In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot

Founder, Spiritual Father and General Minister
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage