Fr Charles
07.23.05 (6:03 am) [edit]There is a Monastery not too far from where I live, about 45 minutes more or less. The abbot there gives some good homilies. Below is one of them given about Fr Charles, one of the monks that died. Hope you all enjoy.
peace
mitch
First of all, I want to thank all our guests who have come this morning to celebrate the funeral Mass of our Father Charles, especially his nephew Robert, son of his sister Mary, and Monsignor Reynolds, who is here, representing the archbishop in the archdiocese. I think that Father Charles of St. Pius is also here in the back of the church. Also, I want to thank our other friends. I just heard before Mass started that there are two other family members coming over. I don’t know who they are, but they hadn’t arrived as we began to process in.
& nbsp; I think Father Charles is a good example to us of conversion, which is something that all Christians are called to, what Jesus came to preach and call us to, a conversion of heart, to turn back to the Lord. Charles, I think, was a pretty clear, almost black-and-white example of that at times.
& nbsp; I think the reading from St. Paul to the Romans gives some insight into it, too. It’s a beautiful reading. Creation waiting with eager expectation. All creation, including ourselves, waiting for the revelation of the person God created us to be, who we strive to be, but often fail to be. And St. Paul here says clearly—and it’s kind of mysterious—for creation (that’s us) was made subject to futility, not of its own accord, but because of the one subjected it. And that’s how somehow God in God’s providence allows us to be in this state of futility, striving, hungering, and thirsting for a holiness that we can’t attain. And that all creation is part of this: yearning, longing to be brought into the freedom of the children of God. And so that even we, even the monks, even priests, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, as all Christians do, continue to groan and strive and struggle. And, as I say, I think Father Charles was a good example of it.
& nbsp; He didn’t have an easy childhood. He lost both his parents before he was—well, I guess—a teenager. And had to cut his own education short to go out and work to help support seven brothers and sisters. I think he was the second oldest, I believe. And at some point in God’s grace, he got it into his head to come to a Trappist monastery—Gethsemani, Kentucky. And after just a few years there, he was sent to Conyers, unfortunately a few weeks late because he had to make his simple vows back at Gethsemani. And so for the lack of two weeks, he never got to be called a founder. God knows what he was.
& nbsp; And among his many works he was a carpenter, and some of his works you can see in front of you: choir stalls, this podium, I believe, certainly the bier that he is laying in (not a beer that you drink, but a bier that you lay in after you die if you are a monk) all crafted by him. I wouldn’t say he was an artist, but I would say he was a craftsman. He did very beautiful work. He was a perfectionist in his work. And I think maybe that was part of the problem—is that he was a perfectionist also and wanting everyone else to be perfect. And, of course, we are not. Nor was he.
& nbsp; And so I don’t think we have to hide that fact that Father Charles at times in his life was very, very difficult. Not an easy person to live with. He could easily be provoked and get angry and say hurtful things. Unfortunately, he often wrote hurtful things. And was hurt in return. Yet, even in that I would say he was quite childlike. Almost like a child, like a hurt child who would close their eyes and flail their arms and God help you if you got in the way of the arms.
& nbsp; After many years as a lay brother, Father Charles started doing studies for priesthood and was eventually ordained. There were folks in the community who didn’t think he should be, and that’s okay, too. That’s understandable. But enough were, and he was ordained, and his priesthood, I think, was very, very precious to him. And, I think, as a priest he served very well. He touched the lives—much to the astonishment of some of his brothers—of many, many people, many people who would come and tell us the kind words, the beautiful advice, that he gave them out at our welcome center. Again, I don’t think that we should be flabbergasted by that. It’s in the text: All of us groaning, all of us wanting to stretch forth and be the perfect, holy people God created us to be and not being able to be that.
& nbsp; Fortunately, Father Charles got to live to a ripe old age of ninety-two. And so, age of itself slowed him down some, mellowed him some, so that certainly in his last years, certainly his last year and months, he became very sweet, I would say. Not that he was incapable of on occasion getting upset with somebody in the infirmary, but in general very sweet. He was sweet all his life in one way. He loved the pious poems that you can find on Hallmark cards. He probably could have written them. He loved the beautiful, loved the true, loved the good, all the transcendence that show us God. And just two or three days ago, just before I left for a meeting, we anointed Father, and almost the entire community was there. We anointed him. We said the prayers. He was conscious; he was awake. I said to him, “Look, Charles, here you are surrounded by all your brothers who love you.” I think he realized the importance of that, that there were years and days had he died he might not have been surrounded by his brothers’ loving. But God worked it that he was. And so, as I say, I think all of us can take courage from Charles as an example of a good, simple man, who with all his brokenness gave himself as best he could day by day, trusted in God’s mercy and, in God’s time and by God’s power, was transformed.
& nbsp; So as we celebrate Eucharist, as we lay him to rest, let us open our own hearts because all of us are called to this, not just monks. We are all called to this conversion, to this mystery of being transformed into the children of God, into His image and likeness. This is not something we can do, but it is something that we can give ourselves to, and it is something that we can pray and give ourselves to for others.
posted by: dattaswami (reply)
post date: 08.05.05 (5:01 am)
Matthew – 6 : 19 to 22 (Luke - 12 : 33 to 34)
“Do not Lay up for yourselves, treasures on earth. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also”.
Matthew -7: 21
“Not everyone who say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of My Father in Heaven”.
Hindus, particularly, are sacrificing words through prayers and feelings through expression of love for the sake of God. When the question of wealth or money comes they sacrifice it for the sake of their families only. This is the reason why India suffers with poverty. Swami Vivekananda wept loudly facing the sky asking; “Why India with such high spiritual knowledge is suffering with poverty?” The foreigners are not so well in prayers and expression of love or meditation compared to Indians but they sacrifice their money for the sake of God with full vigor. Therefore God blesses the foreign countries with wealth and prosperity.
Indians sacrifice words and mind only to God. Therefore Indians are blessed with very good pronunciation of language and excellent knowledge, which are connected to the words and mind. Gita says ‘Ye Yatha Mam Prapadyante’ which means that God gives you result in the same way in which you worship Him. If you worship Him with words (prayers) only He will also appreciate you with sweet words. If you love Him with your mind and concentrate with meditation, He will also love you in turn with high concentration of mind. If you sacrifice practically, He will also do everything to you practically. Indians must learn this practical sacrifice from foreigners as they have learnt the science and technology from the West. Even in the olden days, Indians were always doing exercises in theoretical knowledge of God and in composing lot of poems on God. Therefore the same attitude entered even their education of science. They have become theorists even in science.
Today, in the world everybody agrees that the real power is the money only. Money is the fruit of work and Bhagavatgita calls sacrifice of money “Karma Phala Tyaga”. In Bhagavatgita it is said “Dhyanat Karma Phala Tyagah” which means that devotion is greater than Knowledge and sacrifice of the fruit of the work (money) is greater than the devotion. Knowledge consists of intelligence and words. Devotion consists of mind and words. Sacrifice consists of heart and love. The proof of the love is the practical service, which is the practical sacrifice of work or money. For the propagation of the divine knowledge and devotion the money is needed to publish the gospel in the form of books. When you sacrifice your money for the divine work your treasure in the heaven is built up. This means that God will help you after your death and you will enter the kingdom of God.
You are giving your earnings to your family only and so your real love is on your family only. There is no need of any further argument on this point because it is very clear proof. This is the real fire test for your love. You are sacrificing valueless words and valueless mind in leisure, which is valueless time. This cannot prove the real value of God. You must give real value to God. You are finishing your prayers and meditation on God as soon as the time to go to job is nearing. Similarly when some work for the family is approaching, you are immediately leaving the presence of God. Therefore you are not giving any value to God for all practical purpose. But you are telling lies in your prayers that God is everything for you. The money is the final test and it can be the only test also since all the family is associated with you for money only and the family serves you in your old age for your money only. If the money is sacrificed to God your real color of love can be seen.
Holy Jesus says that when you donate the money to God by one hand the other hand should not know about that donation. Since it is stolen money it should be returned secretly. A father purchased some sweets and gave to his child. The father is asking for one sweet from the child just to test the attitude and the love of the child on him. Even if you are not returning back the God’s money to God, you are leaving that money here only and you are quitting this world with vacant hands. That extra money is left in this world only, which is the bank of the God. The devotee who donates the extra money to God for His divine work is also quitting this world alone with vacant hands. The former is going to Hell as a thief but the latter is going to the Kingdom of God because he returned the stolen money of God. When you are returning this extra money, you must be very careful to see that this money reaches God only and not others. God dwells in two places 1) In the body of human incarnation (Son of God) 2) In the heart of a real devotee. When the money is donated to such God man or the real devotee, that money is properly used to uplift the humanity. In such social service the God-man or the real devotee will use lot of discrimination due to their divine knowledge and the money donated by you will be properly spent.
Without the practical sacrifice of money or at least the work, mere prayers, love and meditation are only the side pickles in the plate without the central bread or rice. When God eats the pickles only which you serve, His stomach is burnt with high acidity and God becomes furious. Due to His anger the extra money stored by you goes waste through diseases etc., Your children may loose that money also and they are also not blessed in any way in their lives. This gospel of Holy Jesus should open the eye of knowledge of all the Hindus to learn the practical sacrifice from foreigners. Holy Jesus referred to such people who do not give up their extra money for God’s work saying that they can never reach God even if a camel passes through the eye of a needle. His Gospel refers to such selfish rich people only who are caught up in the net of their limited families.
at the lotus feet of shri datta swami
surya@universal-spirituality.org
http://www.universal-spirituality.org