michal's musings

Richard Rohr wrote: One of the earliest accounts of Francis, the "Legend of Perugia," quotes Francis as telling the first friars, "You only know as much as you  do ." His emphasis on action, practice, and lifestyle was foundational and revolutionary for its time and at the root of Franciscan alternative orthodoxy ("heterodoxy").   You may be wondering, "How can Franciscanism be an  alternative  and still be called  orthodox  (right and true)?" Heterodoxy is precisely a third something in between orthodoxy and heresy!... The early Franciscan friars and "Poor Clares" wanted to be  Gospel practitioners  instead of merely "word police," "inspectors," or "museum curators" as Pope Francis calls some clergy. [1] Again, Richard Rohr challenges me to look at the Christian faith from a more Jewish perspective.  Right action, this is what is important in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. ...

Ramadam is a holy month to all people who consider themselves Muslims.  It is a month where they fast during the day and they break the fast at night.  Fasting does not only mean lack of food or drink. Ramadam means fasting from any pleasure.  That would include physical pleasure.  It is a holy time of purifying soul and connecting to God through every aspect of life. It is a month when we learn how to control anger, bad language, bad behavior, bad feelings, etc.  Some people choose to prepare themselves for that month by eliminating some food and changing the life style weeks or days before it starts.  The goal of Ramadam is that it should change people.  People after the Ramadam should be different than when they entered that month.   Even though I will not abstain from food and drink I will still connect myself with my Muslim brothers and sister and try in my own way to reduce some physical pleasure and to purify by soul. Happy Ra...

Father Gerdenio Sonny Manuel few years ago published a book “Living Celibacy: Healthy Pathways for Priests.”  This is what he said about this book: “I wrote the book because the life of a priest and our celibacy is not widely understood by the public, and what is understood, unfortunately, is the mistaken assumption that emerged after the clergy crisis, that priests are either dysfunctional and that if they aren’t, the life would make them so,” says Fr. Manuel. “People haven’t been talking about this aspect of our life and they haven’t talked about it in a way that is accessible and understandable. If we keep being told that our way of life is odd, we will begin internalizing that.” - See more at: http://www.jesuit.org/blog/index.php/tag/father-gerdenio-sonny-manuel/#sthash.EguXKEDh.dpuf Sometimes I wonder, how much do we us priests understand about celibacy?  How many of us are excited about it? How many of us know how to live it in a healthy way. When I was in the s...

I have been practicing Ignatian Spirituality/Exercises for the last nine years. It has been a powerful experience for me. Each year, practicing that spirituality helps me to go deeper and deeper in my life and relationship with God, the world and myself.  It is just amazing how much they help us to become a more independent person and make better choices for ourselves.  As a person who believes in God I know that God gave me all kinds of gifts.  One of them is my own mind.  I need to use it.  I need to make sure that it is being developed and nourished.  Ignatius wanted us to use that gift.  Also, he wanted us to look and learn from our own feelings and desires.  Sometimes Ignatius of Loyola is called a modern Catholic psychologist. Adlofo Nicolas, the Superior General of the Society gives one of the best explanations of them.   

Wojciech Lemanki is a Polish priest who got into trouble.  He has been involved in the Catholic Jewish dialogue and was outspoken about the abuses in the Church and the right for women/family for in vitro fertilization. Just to make myself clear here, I am not taking any stand on in vitro fertilization.   It looks like for some people there is no freedom of thought and speech in the Church.  The bishop of Fr. Lemanki did not like what one of his employees/coworkers was saying so Lemanski no longer works for him.  Yes, the priests should be instructing people in the teaching of the Church but there has to be a place and space for priests to verbalize their own thoughts and be able to think in a creative and a critical way.  I think we should be scared of theocracy in any form.  This idea does not want people to be able to think on their own and to have a space for  internal discussion.    

Last week I spent few days in Canada. I went to Hamilton and Toronto.  Canada is much more continental.  It is a county culturally between the “Old Continent” and the “New One.” Going to Canada gave me  great joy. I feel at home there. Why? Well, a big portion of my life (about 60%) I spent in Europe. I was born in Poland. But I also  have lived in the United States many years of my life – more than 15 years.  I am a product of both cultures.  I feel comfortable in both cultures.  During my time in the United States I have interacted with some other cultures too: Asian, Latino and Middle Eastern. In some way I like to consider myself a cosmopolitan.  I like to say I belong to the world.  Yes, I am Polish and I live in the United States but I believe I can feel at home in any place.  I think this is a gift that I need to use in my life.  My grandma told me that I need to cherish what is my own but respect and enjoy what...