remnants

it's a strange morning. my girl sings christmas carols in the kitchen (she loves them, as do i), while playing the keyboard. the sounds seem to enter my head and ricochet around. there's a vast emptiness in there today. the weather's changing.

all is still. heavy and moist. the ground slick from a midnight sprinkling. the upstairs neighbor's ac drones on. i shut ours off after feeling a chill set in. there is little worse than being ac cold. its refridgerated coolness bites into your being.

the barometer is shifting around, i know this because i've had splitting headaches the past couple days. feels like God is squeezing my head like a grape. making wine i guess.

i've no great inspiration today. but i am reminded of a priest i met on sunday. he said such beatuiful words, let me share them:

we have homeless people sleeping under our high altar on the floor. i tell them, it is like being in the arms of God.

i thanked him for this image. telling him, we've so sterilized the church, i hadn't believed any churches still opened their sanctuaries for refuge. glad to hear there is at least one. a remnant is all God has ever needed.

communion is used as a weapon.

yes. we were talking about various branches of the church and how one can't receive at certain places unless you are a member there. that is why i like the parish i stumbled in to. they keep no one from the Body and Blood. all are welcome. as all should be.

the ministry of presence

he said so many beautiful things of this type. i can hardly remember the context because i grabbed my journal to write it down (no i don't remember everything i hear by memory, i write some of it down). we were talking, i believe, about being present to people. his phrasing above, though, was just lovely.

we discussed the stations of the cross. he said:

we live in a rough area. we have motels that charge by five minutes. so when we did the stations this year, we made each station, one place of great concern to the church. we couldn't pray at the motel though, because we couldn't afford the rate.

this takin' it to the streets attitude is what the church is supposed to be about. and actually making the stations places of ill repute, is just brilliant. such a lovely idea. that is the church being light in the world. not just trying to see who's light shines brighter than the other lights.

i'm off. praise God for the remnant.