Fr. Don – Isle of View

Hope in 2021 

Everyone is talking about the “new” year as promising a better future. When things are bad, one tends to look at the future as fulfilling a promise to come to make existence better. If this is alone is true, then Christmas, Incarnation, Christ coming into the world, Emmanuel is all for naught! 

Hope is in Emmanuel 

God with us 

Word from before the beginning 

Existing before space and time 

Word spoken in space and time 

Escaping the confines of space and time 

The Word, through whom all that exists comes to exist  

in the Here and Now 

Not in some unforeseen, unpredictable and uncertain future. 

God is with us Right Now! 

Faith does not limit God’s presence to some future fulfilment. Our hope is here today. Just because the number of year changes does not mean that things will go better or how we would want it to go.  Our heart’s Desire and the Source of inner peace is in the here and now! Really! Hope for the future is only possible when we truly believe God, in the here and now. 

Fr. Don 

Blessings to all as you celebrate this unique and extraordinary Christmas season! This will be a time that will be held deeply in our memory. I say this in the hopes that the disease and the distress aren't the only marks that make such an impression on the history of our lives. This hope is truly based on the experience I have, being a priest at St. Joseph the Worker parish. I see wonderful Evidence of the Christ Light born among us shining so brightly in the faith expressed in the generous love of this parish. I have felt and seen the manifestation of Light within darkness in the persevering and generous support by so many!

How awesome you are has personally touched me this Christmas season. The many encouraging Christmas greetings and generous gifts sent to me over the past few weeks are cause for my overwhelming gratitude and ever-growing appreciation of the beauty of our deeply connected relationship of love! I'm so grateful for you and the kindness that you've shown me personally this Christmas! Thank you! Thank you! Merry Christmas all year long!

Father Don

Oh dearly beloved who dwell in the daunting darkness,
 
In the strength of our constant contact of the communion we share, I know that you are deeply aware of the overshadowing gloom of which I speak. Of course, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. (I can imagine people think I'm speaking of the advent of the vaccine). Whatever the case, I know the more powerful message of Christmas is that there is a Light in the midst of the tunnel. We don't have to wait for any promising medical discovery to give meaning to the challenges and problems of this life. We already have the reason for our Hope!
 
For: "Those who have dwelt in darkness have seen a great light." Matthew 4:16.

And: "The light shines on in darkness, a darkness that did not overcome it". John 1:5.
 
Oh boy! we Have been so aware of and threatened by the overpowering darkness of the past months! Faith gives focus to a Light brilliantly illuminated because of the contrasting tenebrocity. All too often have we heard that we need to have darkness to see the power of the light. Who welcomes that message? Who would acknowledge our need for darkness? What purpose does darkness serve?
 
Who would ever say that the pandemic was good for us? Forget it! And yet, could this be something that can serve a purpose that would never have been attained otherwise? When we are forced to admit our lack of control and the uncertainty of the future, the nature of our faith takes on deeper meaning. With belief that God is in the midst and is experienced because of the depth of suffering, pain and loss take on a powerful Light. 
 
 
Light shines on when: 
-One admits they had never known how precious their loved ones are to them.
-One sees the eternal significance of strengthening the communion connection between loved ones with window visits, phone calls, letters and tech messages.
-One experiences the invincible strength of knowing God's eternal Life has come to dwell within them especially in their last gasping breaths. 
-One is grateful for any moments shared in deep love, creating an awareness of giftedness with others even though there is so much sadness and grief from so many losses.
 
Stories of sadness, darkness and gloom are plenty. And yet within them is The Great Story telling of the Light, the Christmas Emmanuel, who has come to dwell so brightly in the midst of darkness!
Merry Christmas to all, all year long!

Father Don

Until further notice, the View of the Isle will be honing in and sharpening the focus by taking a hiatus.

In the next few weeks, I will be pulling up the tent stakes of my summer residence and moving back to Maple Grove to be closer to the Church of St. Joseph the Worker. I have been enriched by a sense of solitude while living at the family summer place in the St. Cloud vicinity.

I consider the disruption of another move to be worthwhile. I anticipate a deeper and more involved participation in the activities that are beginning to take place once again in the church building.

I am praying and trusting that this break from writing regular reflections for the Isle of View will be a time for all of us to become entrenched with the insights that this Isle has given us over the past almost 7 months.

I am so blessed by living in the Isle of View, in I love you!

Father Don
 

Sunday of the 27th week of Ordinary Time

“Lord, make me an Instrument of Thy Peace.” St. Francis of Assisi. (Today, October 4 Feast Day)

Sabbath Day.

The search for the power of love and the avoidance of love of power is the beginning of Peace.

Let the moments of Peace today become hours, days, months, years and ways of life.

Pray that the Peace from within exude, emit, and execute Peace throughout the world.

Let silence, stillness, seclusion and solitude be a rootedness in a Peace that nothing and no one can disturb or take away.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you.” John 14:27.

On the Isle of View, it is the Lord, Himself, who gives us this Peace.

Father Don
 

Friday of the 26th week of Ordinary Time. 

“In the case of the Eucharist, it is not we who would simulate Christ but Christ assimilates us in Himself. We become conformed to Christ, a member of His Body, one with Him. Christ, who, in the Eucharistic Communion, changes us into Him.” Pope Benedict XVI. June 23, 2011 on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. 

One in the Spirit. 

How many times have you “received communion”? 

We have been taught to see ourselves as taking Christ into us. In this teaching, when we say Amen, we are saying yes to accepting Christ into our lives. 

Isle View changes the dynamic to be one of being consumed not consuming. Our Amen is saying, “Yes, I will let myself be consumed. I will become absorbed into Christ.” I become what I receive. 

In becoming one with Christ, we become one with each other. We are no longer divided but one in Christ. The communion of the Eucharist not only unites me to the person who is beside me and with whom I might not be on good terms, but also with my distant brothers and sisters in every part of the world. 

Isle of View lives in a communion with everything. One in the Spirit means that, even though I am living alone in my house and feel very alone, I am always one with all of creation. No longer can I say, I am alone. I am one with all that is because I have “received communion.”  
 

Fr. Don 
 

Wednesday of the 26th week of Ordinary Time. 

“Humbly we pray that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we may be gathered into One by the Holy Spirit.” Eucharistic Prayer II. 

One in the Spirit. 

Many prisons are built on islands like, Deer, McNeil, Rikers, Alcatraz and Robben. Some prisons are better known because certain famous prisoners stayed there, for example, Al Capone at Alcatraz, Nelson Mandela at Robben and the apostle John at the island of Patmos. Interestingly, islands were the best geographical design to isolate certain kinds of citizens from the rest of the population. The island is an extension of the prison. Fewer structures were necessary to contain the prisoners. 

Even though Nelson Mandela and St. John were on islands because of imprisonment or exile, they were able to stay connected with the people they loved. They manifested this connection in their letters. 

The 27 years of isolation of Mandela and the exile of John the apostle did not detour them from being one with their people. The suppression of apartheid and the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Domitian could not rob them from knowing deep, loving Communion. 

We have been given a place on the Isle of View because of the communion we have shared. We have partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ and have been made One in that Communion. That unity has existed for the last six months of the isolation of shelter in place. Isle dwellers know this deep connection no matter how long the virus keeps us physically isolated. We are One in the Spirit! 

Father Don 
 

Monday of the 26th week of Ordinary Time.

“There is an appointed time for everything and a time for every purpose under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1.

A season of change.

In the last years of my parents’ lives, they would say that the only new thing they had to look forward to was a new ache or pain. Some look at the changing colors of the trees and begin to think of the impending cold. With increasing experiences in life, memories of hardships can give seasoning to the present perspective. Change will bring a suffering in the loss of the past.

In viewing change, one can easily focus on looming doom. Human nature needs pattern, predictability, and plan. This especially becomes the stance of life with aging. Stiffness of body only reflects the stiffness of mind and heart that can settle into the elder perspective. With increasing aches and pains, elders come to a deeper awareness of the ultimate loss of the past as well as the present.

On the Isle of View, true assessment of the reality of loss in every change does not bring discouragement or distress. Even though there is a twinge of pain in the acknowledgement of loss, there is also a more overriding sense, even excitement, in the emergence of the Fulfillment of the Promise.

Father Don
 

Sunday of the 26th week of Ordinary Time.

Sabbath day.

Being at home in your home.

Admit shortcomings with the freedom that Mercy brings.

Be content in the place that you are.

Know there is no need to be anywhere else other than the place where you already are.

Discover the Beauty that surrounds you.

Grow in gratitude for the Goodness of your existence.

Being at home on the Isle of View.


Father Don
 

Friday the 25th week of Ordinary Time. 

“I love you, O Lord, my strength. O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2,3. 

A season of change. 

Is the Isle of View just a mountain with water up to its neck or is it a boat floating on the waves of time and drifting with the winds? 

We can perceive life to be one or the other. With the pressures and stresses of daily life, we can feel that we're just trying to keep our heads above water.  With the roller coaster of daily news and changing weather, we feel we are being tossed about helplessly and aimlessly. 

The Isle of View is a mountain. Being a mountain, it is solid, stable and secure. Firmly planted, Isle dwellers do not falter with the rising tides of fear driven speculations. They hold fast and are not washed away with the relentless barrage of idle talk and slanted opinions.  Inner strength and peace comes from knowing their foundation. 

The Isle is a boat. It is mobile and therefore gives multiple views and facets of how faith faces the challenges of time and the buffeting of wind. The flotation device of faith gives buoyancy and flexibility to maneuver. Changes in life, whether it be from the media, the weather, or anything else that disrupts it, give the boat power and perspective. O Lord, the Isle of View, my strength. 
 
Father Don  
 

Wednesday the 25th week of Ordinary Time. 

Are we in Heaven yet? 

“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the City that is to come.” Hebrews 13:14. 

“There’s no place like Home.” Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. 

“Home Sweet Home.” Henry R. Bishop. 

 Though we crave the adventure of going far away on a trip, there is a relief in arriving back home.  We often take something from the comfort of our home with us such as our pillow. Could the human being be like a homing pigeon?  We long to be home. 

We have spent much time in our homes these past months. “Shelter in place” has had the walls closing in on us in this practice of social distancing. We experience an unrest even while at home. This restlessness might cause a self-reflective questioning of: is this really my home? 

So many have told of their dying loved ones speaking of the need to  “go home,”  even though they may be in their own bed in the house they’ve lived in for years. While in a dying state, some manifest unbelievable physical strength in struggling to get out of bed to “go home.” 

On the Isle of View, we see ourselves as pilgrim people. This Isle is mobile. We are moving towards something unknown and yet innately planted in our soul to be drawn to where we truly belong. Our soul longs to be home at home. Isle View sees, believes and is always living and longing for Heaven, our true Home.  

Father Don 
 

Monday of the 25th week of Ordinary Time. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Have faith in God and faith in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places; otherwise, how could I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you?” John 14:1, 2. 

Are we in heaven yet? 

So many people yearn for the place they call, “new normal.” They are “so done with that,” referring to the “old normal.” Could this longing be the desire to be in heaven? Is there no normal until we are in heaven? Is this what heaven is? 

On the Isle of View, we begin to satisfy the longing for heaven by discerning and bringing with us what is truly appropriate to this new normal.  By resisting the temptation to bring with us everything that was familiar and comfortable, we are more able to enter into heaven. This is how a place is being prepared. Isle View sees what is essential and eternal getting you into the life of heaven.  

Father Don 
 

Friday of the 24th week of Ordinary Time. 

“I long to depart this life and be with Christ for that is better.” Philippians 1:23. 

“As the deer longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?” Psalm 42:2, 3. 
 

Are we in Heaven yet?  

The main emphasis of the reflections of the Isle of View has been seeing God in the midst of our earthly existence. The Kingdom of God is in our midst. We belong to and are part of that Kingdom here are now.  

Yet, so much evidence around us tells us that we are not in heaven yet. So much suffering, violence and pain only tell us that this cannot be what a loving God wants. There has to be more. We pray for the kingdom to come. It seems the more uncomfortable we are, the more we yearn for a life that is yet to come. 

More than any other malady, the virus seems to have caused a deep discontent. Lamenting, moaning and groaning within our conversations express a longing for what is yet to come in the promise, power and presence of our God.  

Living between the old normal and What is yet to be a new normal is living in limbo. This unsettling stance, seeking stability in quicksand, is nerve-racking, exhausting and life draining. How long will this go on? 

The View on the Isle sets sights on what is to come. The Promise is a Presence that sustains us for What is yet to come.   

Father Don 
 

Wednesday of the 24th week of Ordinary Time. 

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3. 

“Love never fails.” 1Corinthians 13:8. 

New means new. 

The filters of suffering and sacrifice purify love. A couple growing old together is always interested in each other and enlivened by each other because of what they have mutually sacrificed for the sake of the other throughout the years. Selfless giving, willfully and freely chosen, has offered new vision of self and other. With each day, they are more in love with each other than the day before. Their love is ever young and new. Therein lies newness; nothing is ever old. 

Pure love is always new. Pure love is never stagnant or boring. Pure love is always curious and dynamic in nature. Pure love is ever fresh and finds energy in learning and growing. Pure love cannot be held on to, only given. 

Pure love is everlasting. Pure love is eternal. “You can take it with you.”  Pure love can only be found on the Isle of View. Only pure love exists on the Isle of View.  

Father Don 
 

Monday of the 24th week of Ordinary Time. 

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19. 

New means new. 

We get use to what we are used to. “Used” means breaking it in, taking the sharp edges off, getting the bugs out, and getting familiar with it.  We know how to handle those things that we have adapted to our preferences.  It simply means being downright comfortable with them. It could also mean entrenchment, close-mindedness, and myopia. 

How does one leave the old to enter into the new? How does one let go of what is known to receive what is unknown? It is just so difficult to leave the comfortable and familiar. 

Life on the Isle is one of trust and abandonment. To leave the old is to lose oneself. Isle vision does not base its choice on convenience or comfort in letting go of the old. Isle dwellers believe, just believe, that, no matter what, the Divine is to be received and welcomed even in the strange and uncomfortable, but ever New. Isle View sees the Promise of the Goodness in the New. 

Father Don
 

Wednesday of the 23rd week of Ordinary Time. 

“No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The new wine will burst the old skins and both the wine and the skins will be lost. No, new wine is poured into new skins.” Mark 2:22. 

New means new. 

Is the yearning for the end of the virus a longing to return to the old ways of life? 

Resurrection can only happen when there is a complete death. “New” can only be new when there is no “old.” Nothing of the old can be held onto or brought along. “You cannot take it with you.” There cannot be a going back to the old. 

All is made new on the Isle of View. Isle dwellers do not grasp or cling to the old.  

Isle View believes Love freely and totally given and received is always eternal.  Love abiding in the soul exists forever. Transformed love is the View of the Isle.  

Father Don 

Monday of the 23rd week of Ordinary Time

“Indeed, when we were with you we instructed you that if anyone who was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.” 2Thessalonians 3:10. 

“Finally, going out later in the afternoon he found still others standing around. To these he said, ‘why have you been standing your idle all day?’ ‘No one has hired us.’ He said, ‘you too go in my vineyard.’” Matthew 20:6, 7. 

Labor Day. 

A Day to celebrate, rejoice in and be grateful for the gift of labor. 

A Day to expand the concept of labor beyond getting compensated with paycheck. 

A Day to be aware of how labor is the opportunity to: express inner creativity, participate in community, and be nourished in interconnection and interdependence within the community. 

A Day to remember the sacrifices, sufferings, and exhaustion entailed through intense experiences of labor borne of love. 

A day to realize that all labor needs love as its purpose. 

A day to understand how fulfillment (nourishment) comes from labor exercised mainly from pure, selfless love. 

Father Don 
 

Sunday of the 23rd week of Ordinary Time. 

 “It has been the interruptions to everyday life which have most revealed the Divine Mystery of which I am a part.” Henri Nouwen, Beyond The Mirror. 

Sabbath Day. 

A Day to rest, not out of tiredness, but to celebrate, delight in, behold, and revel in the goodness of existence. 

A Day to practice attentiveness to the Divine in everyday life. 

A Day to let rest be a celebration of God present in every moment of life. 

A Day of acceptance and gratitude for all that is. 

A Day of just knowing God is in everything! 

Father Don. 
 

Friday the 22nd week of Ordinary Time. 

“Oh, I wish I would have visited my father more often and told him I loved him before he died.”- A son, lamenting the fact that he neglected his father. 

“With God there is no time.” Dorothy Day 

Going forward by stepping back. 

The past can be a source of regret and seemingly unrecoverable loss. Living on the Isle of View is an existence that is time-less and space-less. Isle dwellers participate and even contribute to this eternal reality. As such, it is possible to do so in the past and in the future.  

In this faith perspective, one can “be” in the event that happened in the past in a way that does not change it but can still contribute to it. Life on the Isle means being able to imagine talking and being with the deceased, loved one. This conversation is real and true. This is exactly how the Catholic Church speaks of praying with the Saints. The communion of saints allows the entering into a dynamic, interactive, effective and eternal relationship in the here and now. 

Participating and contributing to the future is difficult to imagine. There is a statement that says, “One can act ones self into a way of being.” Imagination of faith helps guide one’s earthly actions.  Isle View is a way to see actual events of this world as an eternal reality.   

Father Don 

Wednesday of the 22nd week of Ordinary Time. 
 
“For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is ever before me.” Psalm 51:5. 
 
Going forward by stepping back. 
 
Oftentimes, remembering brings back the bad times. 
So much energy is spent trying to forget, suppress or deny them. Many  are trying to erase the past, tearing down statues and attempting to eliminate the sin by destroying sinner. The response to a hurtful past is to repress, regret, resent and/or even retaliate.  Is the past too painful to look back on? 
 
On the Isle of View, honesty with self and others is a requisite. It is impossible to ignore the truth that all have hurt and have been hurt. Injustices, evil and sin are interwoven into human existence. Admission of this reality is the first step to healing. The courage to do this only comes from living on the Isle. The strong acknowledge weakness and the presence of sin. Strength comes from knowing and believing in the Mercy of God, not to erase the sin but to transform it.  Mercy uses sin to be an occasion of education, salvation, and reconciliation. 
 
Isle living exposes the hurt allowing it to be healed. Isle view brings sin to light, not to shame, embarrass or diminish the sinner. Rather, it is a time for the brilliance of Mercy to transform the darkness and destruction of sin into the wonderful Light of hope and joy. This is exactly why Catholics do not pull down crucifix in their churches simply because it shows forth the oppression and the racism of the Roman government on the Jews. Catholics throughout the world venerate the crucifix. It is a sign of Power to bring healing from within the hurt. Remembering, although difficult and painful, can be a process bringing all into wholeness and holiness on the Isle of View. 
Father Don 

Monday of the 22nd week of Ordinary Time. 

“This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 1Corinthians 11:25. 

Going forward by stepping back. 

Is remembering going back into the past and living it all over again? Is it a nostalgic activity of trying to re-create the past? Is it a déjà vu experience? 

On the Isle of View, remembering is calling to mind the past in a way that brings its presence into the present. It is actually bringing forth the same reality from the past into the here and now. It is entering timelessness wherein the past, and even the future, can be brought into the present moment. In this way, the Last Supper is always our First Supper and heaven is already here on earth. 

In this sense, Jesus could have said it this way: “when you remember me, you are doing this.” Isle View is remembering (seeing) so powerfully that presence escapes the confines of the physical, material world. Remembering is a time-less, space-less presence.  

Father Don 
 

Sunday of the 22nd week of Ordinary Time. 

“Are you able to do what you need to do without being able to do anything?” -Mike Lentz, administrator of St. Joseph the Worker parish* 

Sabbath Day. 

A Day of rest. 

A Day of not “not being able” to do anything. 

A Day of knowing “the imposed restrictions” can be a permission for God to do something. 

A Day of knowing that God can and will do what needs to be done. 

*This quote is taken from what I overheard Mike say to Natalie, the parish, receptionist/secretary when the computer system of the parish was down. 

Father Don
 

Friday the 21st week of Ordinary Time. 

 
“The reign of God is like a mustard seed which someone took and sowed in the field. It is the smallest of all, yet when fully grown it is the largest of plants.” Matthew 13:31, 32. 

Going forward by stepping back. 

Reflecting on these reflections, I wonder if I was on the Isle of View when I was younger. If I was, what was that the View like? Looking back, I only see a young man struggling with and working mostly out of an ego driven energy in serving others. So much was about me. Yes, I was that praying that God was working through me. Now, I wonder, was it to bring attention to me, the agent not the Source? 

How much growth time is needed to really see what the Isle brings into focus? My aging process, which has involved paralysis, disability and intense ministry with numerous sufferings and setbacks of others, has powerfully and richly contributed to this perspective of the Isle. This process has taught me the dynamic of letting go and seeing beyond what is perceived in the physical, material world. 

How much time and experience is needed for the mustard seed to be fully-grown? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that the time I have spent in this life was needed for me to see what I now see on the Isle of View.

Father Don

Wednesday the 21st week of Ordinary Time. 

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 1Corinthians 15:55. 

Closeness within Distance. 

Why is death such a surprise? Why does it always come so soon? Why do we hold on to physical presence when we know there will be a time when we will be physically absent? It’s not like God has kept this a secret. 

Maybe it’s because we do not want to be let in on what we think is a secret. So many signs of death are around us. The virus powerfully  contributes to physical death. It has also caused loss of the life as we have known it. We can ignore these signs. We can deny them. We can run away from them. We say we do not want to be morbid, pessimistic or depressing. However, there is always loss in the physical world, always death. It is time to pay attention. 

On the Isle of View, death is looked at square in the eye. Death simply does not just happen at the end of life but in the midst of life. This View always includes death. Isle living enters into death not as social distancing nor any kind distancing other than physical distancing.  

Father Don 
 

Monday of the 21st week of Ordinary Time. 

“I believe that appreciation is a holy thing-that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at that moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.” -Fred Rogers. 

Nearness within Distance. 

Mr. Rogers speaks of looking into the soul. Peering into and expecting to see what is beautiful, true and good in the soul of a person is indeed participating in something eternal, divine and transcendent. This appreciation or realization is an experience of intimacy. 

Intimacy is looking past what is immediately visible. It is with Isle of View that one sees with intimacy, pronounced “into-me-you-see.” This goes beyond any restrictions or focus on what is physically present. This type of vision sees past immediate judgment about behaviors to the understanding of motives. This requires deep reflection, honest conversation and trusting self-revelation. 

Mr. Rogers refers to appreciating what is holy in the person that we happen to be with. The “being with” is a calling to mind in deep meditation who that person is, the true soul; the person is with you but not necessarily physically. “Being with” is THE Soul Experience which is only possible with the View of the Isle. 

Father Don
 

Sunday of the 21st week of Ordinary Time. 

“Beside restful waters He leads me; He refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23:2. 

Sabbath Day. 

A Day to rest. 

A Day to purely enjoy the divine goodness of delightful earthly existence. 

A Day to notice, appreciate and behold that which is out of the ordinary. 

A Day to let the unusual change patterns and routines. 

Father Don
 

Friday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time. 

“The church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God. It is not produced by the parents. It is also immortal. It does not perish when it separates from the body at death.” Catholic Catechism Paragraph 363. 

Nearness within Distance. (Soul-to-Soul.) 

Every human being is a soul. What makes up each individual is the soul of that person. The soul is what makes up who he or she truly is. The body puts “flesh” on that personality, character and unique understanding of the world. The soul reflects and is in the image of God. It is what the Catholic Church calls the spiritual principle of the person. Being immortal, it lasts forever and is free from any earthly, material restraint. 

The Isle of View is a dwelling place within our soul. We can always be near to our loved ones when it is a soul-to-soul connection. This closeness is only possible when it is a soul communion. “Being with” the ones we love is always and everywhere possible in this soul awareness. 

Understanding, awareness and acceptance of one’s own soul is necessary for a deep spiritual communion with all that is. Life on the Isle is Soul  (sole-pun intended) Existence. This life demands knowledge of and authentic fidelity to revealing soul to one’s self and to others. 
Father Don 
 

Wednesday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time. 

Nearness within Distance. (soul-to-soul connection.) 

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” John 14:11. 
 

Since the beginning, these Isle of View reflections have focused on a deep communion beyond any physical presence. This communion involves a perspective, an understanding that is only possible from the View of the Isle. It is a stepped and a faithful practice done with much patience. 

The first step is a willingness to be honest and open with self and with others. True communion is only possible by viewing self with total abandon, complete trust and fearless transparency. God’s mercy can make this happen. Meaningful connection with others, free from any physical restrictions or restraints, can only happen with this type of freedom to face the true self. 

Once one is willing to do this without being embarrassed by any falls, failings or vulnerabilities, a grounding or launching pad is established enabling connection beyond physical presence. Taking this first step is a constant and continual process of being authentic, creating the possibility for soul-to-soul presence. 

This is the essential basis for true communion on the Isle of View. 
Father Don 
 

Monday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time. 

“The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his or her own; rather, everything was held in common.” Acts 4:32. 

Nearness within distance.  

An enormous amount of resources and energy is spent on a controlling persuasion. Earthly, surface and physical perspective seek conformity of feelings and thoughts. Division and derision arise from difference and diversity. Disagreement is seen as an attack on personal security. 

The faith View of the Isle understands that union of heart goes beyond the feelings and mindsets existing within difference of experience and thought.   

Having a heart for one another involves being concerned and striving at all costs to seek the good of all. Love is the lens and motive to provide for the safety, health and welfare of all creation. Love understands we exist within a commonality, seeing beings not only as beloved objects but as the dwelling places of the Divine. Union is derived from the mere existence of all that is. 

Being of one mind is an understanding rooted in Isle View, which goes beyond opinion. It is a perspective, a way of seeing the world in the way that God thinks of it (Isaiah 55:8). This is thinking shaped by the value and worth of beauty, truth and goodness; going beyond the rational. It is thinking beyond the opinions, positions and platforms of the mind. Here is an understanding that beauty, truth and goodness are in all that is. This realization shapes the way thoughts and opinions are expressed and shared. 

This is connection, commonality and communion on the Isle of View. Father Don. 
 

Sunday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time.

Sabbath day.

“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the abyss…” Genesis 1: 1, 2.
 

Today, let nothing be.

Today, let nothing be in your life.

Today, let nothing be God’s invitation to be something.

Today, let nothing be God’s something.

Father Don.
 

Friday of the 18th week of Ordinary time.

Nearness within distance.

“The eye is the body’s lamp. If your eyes are good, your body will be filled with light.” Matthew 6:22.

“Social distancing” seems to imply social distancing. Have you noticed interactions between persons in public settings to be more impersonal these days? Before the constant barrage of this phrase within the media, there seemed to be more of an exchange of pleasantries. For instance, in the grocery store, being in someone’s way would be an occasion for a smile and courteous apology. Now, because people believe the mask covers the smile there is no need for any kind of “excuse me”.

The language being used and the protective wear seem to contribute to a lack of social interchange that used to happen. Interaction and interconnection seem to be disappearing.

On the Isle, “the eyes have it.” The term is not social distancing but physical distancing. Accordingly, eye contact, which can be made from a distance, becomes a significant connection to the soul. Mask wearing need not involve empty, hollow and downcast eyes, while shuffling a shopping cart along without acknowledging the other with smiling eyes.

Isle View is eye contact. Fr. Don.

Wednesday of the 18th week of Ordinary Time. 

“God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27. 

Dilemmas of the day. 

On the matter of young people or people of any age losing contact with the five portals of our senses, there is hope within the View of the Isle. 

It is definitely true that technology, even before the pandemic, was pushing all human beings into an illusionary sense of connection with creation. The dynamic has been more evident among young people who only text to communicate. This stunted and often times bland manner of expressing oneself short circuits the possibility of going beyond the surface. 

Elders are frustrated in trying to reach out to the younger generation. Without the intermediary and distancing technology, they are left out of any connection and leaving their legacy for the future. 

The answer to this dilemma is not immediately given or obvious. On the Isle of View, the belief is, that because human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, some inner design will develop a way for connection. The image and likeness of God is triune. God is three persons interconnecting with deep, intimate and unitive communication. Because God is social, human beings are social. Human nature demands connection with creation. 

Within the loss that technology creates, a whole new way for human beings to express this interconnection will develop. This is Isle of View. Father Don. 

Editor’s note: Isle of View will be at sea and in fog (without technology) until August 12. Therefore, there will be no reflections for the next week. 
 

Monday of the 18th week of Ordinary Time. 

 “For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39. 

Dilemmas of the day. 

My priest friends and I were talking about the future of the church. Among the many concerns we have is for the dynamics of faith for young people. We are very much aware these days that sacramental experience and practice depend largely on the conferral of grace through the five senses. Before the pandemic the young have taken to technology in a way that distances them from direct experiences through these five senses. (Of course, sight and sound are involved in modern technology. It still them from direct contact with reality.) 

Now with the virus, technology pushes not only young people but all of us to be more removed from the elements of nature and the person. As spiritual leaders, we, as priests, are very concerned about the impact of not only the virus but the prevalent use of technology to replace direct experience. Our lengthy discussions reached no conclusions. 

What do we do with these types of dilemmas? Sometimes they cause sleepless nights. Isle View gives not only great consolation, but also knowledge of the power of God’s love which permeates all existence, even things that seem to be to the detriment of the development of the human being. No distancing caused by virus or technology can separate us from the power and presence of this gracious and good God who always loves and lives within us.  

This is Life ON the Isle! 

Father Don

Monday the 18th week of Ordinary Time. 

“Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work He had been doing, He rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work He had done in creation.” Genesis 2:1 –3. 

Sabbath day. A day of rest. 

Rest makes today holy. 

Rest proclaims termination, end and a finish. 

Rest is a release from the rigorous rat race. 

Rest lets it be enough for now. 

Father Don. 

Friday of the 17th week of Ordinary Time.

End of the World of surface view.
 

“The One who sat on the throne said to me, ‘See, I make all things new!’” Revelation 21:5.
 

Tremendous amounts of energy, skill, study, and resources are spent to preserve and conserve the five senses. This is a noble and edifying cause. In and of itself, it is surface view and therefore shortsighted.
 

Developments in science, technology and engineering have discovered ways for God’s creatures to live longer enjoying the wonders of this life through all the senses. I am deeply grateful for these developments. I truly believe that I’ve been able to live longer because of them. Isle view knows that the goal of these discoveries is simply not just to live longer.
 

Reaching almost 70 years has enabled me to push past portals of vision, smell, touch, taste and sound. Because of my stubbornness, ignorance and fear it has taken me this long to go beyond the surface portals. Now, because Isle View has been honed through receptive suffering, reflective prayer and radical attentiveness, I find I am able to dwell upon and live within the World that the wonders of this world open up to. I pray that today, while I am given it, I stay in that World.

For some people it’s not necessary to have that much time to break through all these barriers placed in front of the portals. 11-year-old Jesse said on the day before she died, “Father Don, you know what I’m going to tell Jesus when I see Him? I’m going to thank Him for letting me meet all the people I’ve met since I’ve had cancer!”

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh! The View from the Isle! Father Don.
 

Wednesday of the 17th week of Ordinary Time. 

End of the world of surface view. 

“You must be prepared in the same way. The Son of Man is coming at the time you least expect. Who is the faithful, farsighted servant whom the master has put in charge of his household to dispense food at need?” Matthew 24:44,45. 
 

People ask, “Will this virus ever end?” Isle View says, “Of course it will end!” Faith knows that all things of this world end. The world as we know it is ending every day.  

Living on the Isle means being IN the world but not being OF the world.  Being in the world means that we live in a world that’s permanent, eternal and unchanging. Our soul is not sustained b passing things. Rather, the deep love of God sustains us. This love is freely expressed in the present needs of this world. 

The farsighted View of the Isle sees through the passing world to an everlasting world beyond. It is a perspective that expects this world to end every day. Tomorrow will be different, changing and ever made new. (There is no normal.) 

Father Don
 

Monday of the 17th week of Ordinary Time. 

“For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen and being understood through what has been made.  Therefore, they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20. 

Depth Perception. 

Our five senses are portals. Isle View understands sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste as precious ways to perceive and know the eternal and divine nature of God. 

Surface view sees the five senses as mere ways to serve one’s own pleasure and purpose. They become ways to enjoy and be absorbed into earthly goodness and delights. Remaining on the surface lends itself to attachment by clinging to material objects perceived by the senses. With this perspective, the loss of just one of the senses causes great consternation and pain. Desperation and emotional turmoil sets in. Resentment and bitterness cause focus on loss leading to resistance to change. 

Isle View experiences the five senses as doorways to the divine. Passing through these doorways gives personal knowledge of the Divine that is still seen regardless of these senses. Isle View just knows that beyond the physical is the Presence of the Divine. It is free from the physical world, free to leave it without resistance, remorse or regret. It is detached and ready to enter the fullness of the Eternal, Divine Omnipresence. 

Father Don. 
 

Friday of the 15th week of Ordinary Time.

Depth Perception.

“Some were speaking of how the Temple was adorned with precious gems and votive offerings. Jesus said, ‘these things you are contemplating – the day will come when not one stone will be left on another, but it will all be torn down.’” Luke 21:5, 6.

Once, my mom said, “I’m going to the beautician today to get another permanent.” I asked her why she had to get another one if the first one was called, “permanent.” She responded that honestly she really didn’t know.

We admire the ornate of the surface life as something permanent: the beautiful churches of Europe, my comfortable home, my nice car, my good health, etc. Simply put – we want the good things, as good as they are, to stay the same for the rest of our lives – lifetime warranty. As a side note, we can easily let go and wish for the disappearance, disintegration and destruction of things that we call bad, like diseases, certain persons and other such problems.

With depth perception of Isle of View, one sees beyond the surface. This vision knows the dedication, devotion and craftsmanship of human ingenuity at work creating such things. It sees the Divine at work and present within this creativity at the surface. Deeper reflection and meditation hints at the motivation of why these things were created in the first place.

Rather than placing the focus on that which is passing, attention is directed to the Giver of gifts. Surface view transforms into the wonder, gratitude, intimate connection with and anticipation of admiring face-to-face the Source of all. Isle View gives glimpses of “the Precious Gem” who IS permanent.

Father Don
 

Wednesday of the 15th week of Ordinary Time. 

Depth Perception. 

“Then the Lord said, ‘go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by.’ After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah wrapped his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, ‘Elijah why are you here?’” 1 Kings 19:11- 13. 

Perhaps with the stay-at-home order in the last months you have had opportunities to experience silence.  We hope and plan for the day when we will able to worship inside the church building. However, on that day there will be no singing. There will be silence. 

At first, most, if not all of us, will not like it. There will be a tendency to avoid and run away, or enter into the pursuit of the “joyful noise” in the songs that we used to sing. 

On the Isle, we’ve been given the View to be able to see, that is, hear the sounds of the hidden presence of God. We are able to hear the movement of God in a way we’ve never done before through this entering into silence. God speaks loudly because our Isle perception is so attuned to the shimmering nuances within silence.

Father Don
 

Monday of the 15th week of Ordinary Time. 

Depth Perception. 
 

“I will give you treasures out of the darkness, and riches that have been hidden away.” Isaiah 45:3. 
 

The Red-tailed Hawk perched high on a freeway lamp sees movement of vetch indicating the presence of a rodent hidden in the underbrush. 
 

The American Robin tilts her head and dives to snatch a worm hidden deep in the earth. 

So much of our existence has been geared to focus on surface reality. Even the Catholic sacraments are designed with touch, smell, taste, sight, light and sound in the transmittal of grace and gift.  We have learned to lean on the sensate often times passing over the hidden reality within. Or at least, not remaining and dwelling in the depths. We always want to return to the surface.  

People of the Isle have find the treasure within darkness and the riches that are thought only to be known through the sensate surface. View of the Isle is not surface sight. It knows what is in the deep and what is will you will became thinking that when added to have an for you will will will will hidden. Blessed are those who believe and have not seen. 
 

This Faith View just knows and doesn’t need to “see” surface indicators. It just knows what it knows.

Father Don
 

Sunday of the 15th week of Ordinary Time. 

Sabbath. 

A place of rest. 

There is nothing I shall want. 

A time to find a place freed from want. 

A place of freedom from the tyranny of pursuit. 

Coming to know that enough is enough. 

Having all needs met gives freedom from the frenzy and the frenetic race. 

By Your Cross and Resurrection, You have set us free.  

Father Don
 

Friday of the 14th week of Ordinary Time  

“For you, O Lord my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you.” Psalm 62. 

Highways are busy. People are on the move. Where is everyone going when half the businesses are not open and there are no sports or school activities? 

Granted, the health specialists say that movement of the body is good. But the soul seems antsy. This is a stirring which disturbs inner peace and detours attention away from the Source of that peace. The Buddhists call this “monkey mind.” 

Racing thoughts prohibit rest and sleep. There is an uneasiness about staying with the present moment. There is an unhappiness with present being. There is a frenzied, frenetic and fanatic search for something more. There is a hurried pace to be someplace else other than in the stillness of here and now. 

On the Isle of View, one stays put. In stillness, one waits.

Father Don.
 

Wednesday of the 14th week of Ordinary Time. 

“When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘put out into deep water and lower your nets for catch. Simon answered,’ master, we have been hard at it all night long and have caught nothing; but if you say so, I will lower the nets.’” Luke 5:4,5. 
 

View on the Isle is depth perception. 

Life on the Isle is always entering into the deep over one’s head. 

It is living a life out of one’s own control in trust of the One who “has control.” 

It is: 

Life within death. 

Light within darkness. 

Gain within loss. 

Creation within chaos. 

Breathing underwater. 

Advantage while being attacked. 

Power within weakness. 

Presence within absence. 

Companionship within solitude. 

Rich harvest within the troubled and abandoned. 

Life on the Isle finds nets at the breaking point in deep waters.

Father Don 

Monday of the 14th week of Ordinary Time. 

“’Lord, are you going to restore the rule to Israel now?’ His answer was: ‘the exact time is not for you to know. The Father has reserved that for himself.’” Acts 1:6,7. 

So many are asking the question: when will this all end? Dissatisfaction with the present is pervasive. There is a yearning for radical change on so many levels: political leadership, medical development, human behavior, economic growth, and faith perspective. 

On the Isle of View, excitement, optimism, and hope thrive in this opportunity for the world to end as we know it. When there is satisfaction, contentment, and conformity to the comfortable and convenient way of life entrenchment and resistance obstruct change. But with this yearning, a docility in letting God’s power change us and our lives begins to take hold. 

Ready for change-whatever that means-whatever it takes, Father Don.
 

14^th Sunday of Ordinary Time. 

Sabbath day. 

Behold God’s dwelling place. 

How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord, Mighty God, Lord of all. Blessed are they whose dwelling is your own, Lord of Peace. Blessed are they refreshed by springs and by rain when dryness daunts and scathes. Behold my shield and my God. I would forsake a thousand days anywhere if I could spend one day in your courts, belonging to you alone.   Adaptation of Psalm 84:2, 7, 11. 

Behold yourself as God’s dwelling place! 

Behold God dwelling in you!    

Beholding to God dwelling in us, Father Don 
 

Friday the 13th week of Ordinary Time. 

Gain within loss. 

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. Sorrow is better than laughter because when the face is sad the heart grows wiser. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” Ecclesiastes 7:2-4. 

There is an acknowledgment of the importance of relationships more so than ever. Most of this stems from the sadness of not being able to see loved ones. Often times I hear children saying that they are so distressed at not being able to see their parent at the nursing home. Maybe this is a time for reflection about what all of us were able to do with our loved ones before the pandemic.  Just maybe this lament will go so deep into our heart of hearts that when we are able to visit our loved ones we will make the sacrifice to do so. 

We can learn from this loss. This learning can be our gain. I pray that this sadness reaches deeply into the soul of humanity to change values and lifestyles in a way that when it is possible to be with loved ones, it will actually happen. 

The View on the Isle brings into focus the significance of love within relationships. Living on the Isle, loss points out how precious the giftedness of present moments is. The more we look out from the Isle the more we can see how great, how wide and how deep this Love is without having to lose it in the first place or even in the second place. Father Don.
 

Wednesday of the 13th week of Ordinary Time. 

Value in the void. 

“I have come to rate all as worthless in the light of the surpassing value of knowing my Lord Jesus Christ. For His sake I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else as rubbish so that Christ may be my wealth…” Philippians 3:8. 

Looking into the world, we can easily focus on hatred, war and dissidence. Total disregard for each other’s needs and dignity reigns upon human dynamics. When will human beings learn to be considerate of each other? Emptiness creeps into human relationships. 

Living life from the Isle, the view could be on the emptiness of the ocean. Looking out from this point of view, the sight would seem only endless water surrounding the Isle. However, Isle sight focuses on the nuances of blue hues of sky and sea. There is awareness of newness of life in the mixing of elements of air and water. There is ability to enter the life of the plethora of plankton, porpoise and pisces. 

View from the Isle helps us to focus on what really matters and what is hopeful. The binoculars of prayer and reflection give a close-up to the divine spark within all of creation. To look at the nothing is to be blind to the Something. 

Our complaints and criticisms stem only looking at the loss and not seeing the gain within it. 

The View on the Isle always sees the wealth beyond the waste! Father Don
 

Monday of the 13th week of Ordinary Time. 

“Once they had climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat showed Him reverence, declaring, ‘Beyond doubt you are the son of God!’” Matthew 14:32, 33. 

Nature of Faith. 

We’ve been sailing through life on the Isle of View for the last few months. How did we get here? I mean, how did we even get into the boat called, “Isle of View?” We have been reflecting how faith gives us a point of view much like a boat gives a point of view from the water in a way that would not be possible otherwise. We see life through the eyes of faith.  

So, how did we get in the boat in the first place and why are we still the in the boat? How did we begin to believe and see the world through the eyes of faith? 

The story of faith is as unique and different as each of us. Often times the beginnings of believing start with being in an environment of believers. Thus, the statement: “Faith is caught not taught.”  

There is a point in time where we are not just taken off the dock to float along with the flock. We have made our own decision to stay in the boat even in the midst of storms. Actually, we’ve been able to brave the storms because of the boat that we are in.  

As we have seen, the boat not only offers security at times but challenges us to take risks beyond our feelings of security. 

Let’s keep sailing along together on the Isle! Father Don
 

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Sabbath Day.

Day of solitude and rest.

“At that point the Spirit sent him out toward the desert. He stayed in the wasteland 40 days, put to the test there by Satan. He was with the wild beasts and angels waited on him.” Mark 1: 12, 13.

In solitude, we encounter ourselves and all the demons within.

There is a wrestling within the resting. Tossing and turning.

Temptations by the demons occasion clarity for self-discovery.

Knowing our true identity gives us the freedom to live from the inside out.

One with all the children of God, Father Don.
 

Friday of the 12th week of Ordinary Time. 

God Justice. 
 

“Be assured, then, that faith without works is as dead as a body without breath.” James 2:26. 

God Justice doesn’t just happen.  

The kingdom of God is made evident by the works of human hands. 

Wednesday’s reflection talked about the connection of compassion and prayer with those who suffer injustice. People of the Isle, people of faith move to action. Remember, the Isle of View is like a boat. This Faith Boat never anchors. It never seeks a harbor. It never seeks security for its own sake. 

Faith is a verb. Its essence demands action. People of the Isle move towards the suffering of the world. Isle View focuses on changing systems which perpetrate injustice. 

Taking into account personal health capacities, we all need to act in the following ways: 

1. Donate money. Give to organizations like: CROSS, Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services; and racial justice organizations like: Minnesota Freedom Fund, Reclaim the Block and Louisville Community Bail Fund. 

2. Writing your own legislator especially noting that you are his or her constituent. Simply Google: “Minnesota legislature.” This will even give you specific information as to how to address a letter to your representative and your senator. State your concern regarding issues related to injustices perpetrated locally. If you can, it is helpful to elicit ways by which state laws, policies and funding can be directed towards establishing more just systems. 

3. With appropriate protocols and precautions which limit exposure to the virus, volunteer personally with organizations which provide service and work for social change. Personal contact with those who suffer injustice and poverty really help us to come to see and begin to understand how unjust social structures suppress capacities and participation. Volunteer with organizations like: Catholic Charities, Justice for Immigrants, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, MN Coalition for the Homeless, St. Joseph the Worker Parish opportunities- Social Justice Board, Families Moving Forward, Habitat For Humanity. 

4. Contact Alex Blechle, staff member at St. Joseph the Worker. Alex@sjtw.net 

Isle of View moves to action for God Justice. Father Don.
 

Wednesday of the 12th week of Ordinary Time.

God Justice.

“If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and you say to them, ‘goodbye and good luck! Keep warm and well fed,’ but do not meet their bodily needs, what good is that? So it is with the faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless.” James 2:15- 17.
 

With all this talk about injustice and the violent protests shouting out for justice to be served, how can little old me do anything about it? Besides that, I’m trapped in my “shelter in place” with the precautions that are needed for the sake of my and other’s health. What can I do to answer the cries for justice?

These days, it’s almost impossible not to have fatigue concerning trying to minimize the exposure to the virus with all the protocols and procedures with protective equipment, let alone having any compassion for those who suffer so much at the hands of the powerful.

And now, with these reflections from the Isle of View, I’m supposed to be able to see all of that in a perspective wherein I am empowered to help others along with taking care of myself. Whew!

Those on the Isle have the honesty with themselves to ask these questions and to speak these frustrations. At least there’s an admission that things are not as they should be. Not just for me but for everyone. This is an awareness of injustice. This is an awareness of our tendency toward ignorance and lack of compassion which cause such suffering to exist in the first place.

Prayer brings us into this place of the Isle where faith proclaims that God and God’s power fill our lack. Earnest prayer is not wishing well with an easy and flippant dismissal of the needs of others. True prayer in faith acknowledges God’s working within us where we know we come up short. God Justice makes an inroad with this humble self-assessment.
Father Don
 

“’My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection.’ That the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2Corinthians 11:9.
 

Monday of the 12th week of Ordinary Time. 

God Justice. 

The reign of God is like a buried treasure which a man found in a field. He hid it again, and rejoicing at his find went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Matthew 13:44. 

Reaching the balance between the survival of business and the safeguarding of the health of society has been one of the top news stories in the last month. All would agree that one does affect the other. The debate happens when one tries to emphasize one over the other. 

The United States, in fact in most countries throughout the world, the economy is definitely a focus. Most, in developed countries, would say that you need to keep the businesses heathy to ensure that there are healthy people. 

People of the Isle see a kingdom that’s worth great sacrifice. That sacrifice is necessary for the kingdom to come. The question in the context of our present dilemma is: What should give in this tension between business and public health? 

I would suggest, given our need for a change of heart for the Kingdom of God Justice to reign on this earth, that the focus of market should change from commodities to service, for buying things to helping others. Accordingly, some businesses which purely aim at entertainment could be sacrificed so that businesses for education and service to the vulnerable, disabled and the poor would be embellished. Thus, the economy may seem to suffer when certain businesses die. However, in death there is new life and growth. The area of service could be the new life of business. 

The View of the Isle brings into focus these values which are so prized that making such sacrifices is well worth it!  
   
Father Don 
 

“Terrorism grows when there is no other option, and as long as the world economy has as its center the God of money and not the person… This is fundamental terrorism against all of humanity.” Pope Francis.
 

Sunday the 12th week of the Ordinary Time.

Sabbath Day.

“For the Lord takes delight in his people; He crowns the humble with victory.” Psalm 149:4.

A day of rest. A day to stop. A day to pause.

A day of an awareness that my identity comes from being a unique child of God. I have no need to consume, to achieve, to produce, to be busy, or to earn.

My energy, my experience and my existence is defined by Divine Acceptance.

I am fully alive in God!

Father Don.

“As for you, every hair of your head has been counted.” Matthew 10:30
 

Friday of the 11th week of Ordinary Time.  

“….what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18. 

God Justice.  

In the sacrifices we have had to make with the appearance of the virus, have we learned what things we can do without? 

Many are going through their closets, shelves, and garages finding things that are forgotten about. It is said that if it’s not used within the year it is not needed. The question would be: why was it procured in the first place? Why is such an abundance hoarded? How much money are we storing up because investments have been going down? Why are so many resources invested in the superfluous? 

In our material lives, what matters more than the earthly life of a human being? How much are we aware of how the poor are suffering because of this downturn? The lack of generous compassion and ignorance for the human condition are the seeds of violence that this injustice sows. 

Isle dwellers see the world through Love-View lenses which frees them up from the clutter of the nonessential. They (we?) focus on what matters for eternity. People who live on the Isle have a View which sees the suffering of the poor and the ways to practically address that suffering. These ways bring into the essential, eternal Vision of God Justice.   Father Don. 
 

“These days there is a lot of poverty in the world, and that’s a scandal when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone. We all have to think about how we can become a little poorer.” Pope Francis
 

Wednesday of the 11th week of Ordinary Time. 

God justice. 
 

“Here, crying aloud, are the wages you withheld from the farmhands who harvested your fields. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived in wanton luxury on the earth; you fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.” James 5:4,5. 

James’ strong and challenging words drive home to those who have Isle View. With the eyes of faith, we can see how the way we live our lives affects the quality of life for others. There are so many areas in our lives where this is true. 

Just one, specific and powerful example is the fabrication of the clothes we wear. Have you ever looked at the labels see where your clothes are from? 99% are from countries like Taiwan, Vietnam, Haiti and China.  

U.S. companies outsource labor because it’s cheaper overseas. The labor laws, if any, do not have anything  in place for the protection of the laborer. Therefore, those who make our clothes do not receive wages to pay for daily living. They work long, grueling hours under oppressive conditions. 

When we go shopping, we always look for the best quality for the cheapest price. Our expectations drive companies to provide just that, no matter how it affects their employees. 

People of the Isle have a conscience. Some actually run companies which put into place policies and practices which take the health and the well-being of their employees into consideration. The rest of us need to educate ourselves as to which companies actually do that. Those are the ones we need to patronize even though their products may likely cost more because these companies compensate justly. 

Also, Isle perspective motivates us to buy products that are made locally. This may move foreign manufacturing to actually make things for their own countries. There is such an irony for goodhearted U.S. citizens to donate shoes to a developing country where they were originally made. 

This is God Justice on the Isle. Father Don
 

Monday of the 11th week of Ordinary Time. 

God Justice. 

“If you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first to be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23, 24. 

Could being forced to leave our gift at the altar because of the virus be our opportunity to reflect on how our brothers and sisters have suffered injustice because of us? Most of us don’t like this leaving gifts unattended. However, in truth, it is an opportunity for us to reflect on how we have participated in injustice. 

Movements, organizations, coalitions, protests and demonstrations all point to various levels and areas where injustice is perpetrated. Isle dwellers listen with open hearts and humble spirits to look within and see where change first needs to happen. These pointers to injustice help the Isle of View to be expanded beyond self to social structures. 

Awareness for personal and societal reform and restructuring helps to put in perspective the pain of sacrifice of not being able to offer worship in our traditional way. This pain not only helps to identify with those who suffer injustice in some way, but also motivates those on the Isle to mobilize for God Justice. 

Father Don
 

Feast of Corpus Christi. Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. 

Sabbath day. 

Everywhere Eucharistic processions were the way to celebrate this day 100 years ago. People would parade through the streets all dressed up. 

In a real way, wherever we go whether for a walk on the trail or at 6 feet from each other in the grocery store, we could see ourselves as Eucharistic procession. 

Because we on the Isle have the View that we are Eucharist. 

Father Don. 

“Here we become what we receive 

here in the Eucharistic feast 

we are His Body, living as one. 

Our God is here.” Chris Muglia 
 

Our God is in us! We are in our God! We celebrate us!
 

Friday of the 10th week of Ordinary Time.

God Justice.
 

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, ‘did God tell really tell you not to eat of any of the trees of the garden?’” Genesis 3:1.

The (d)evil attracts attention to cast dispersions. Personified and objectified derision disrupts heavenly harmony. God Justice is fractured.

Self-will becomes will for self. Temptations always aim at ambition, control and self-gratification.

Why is there such an opening for the chasm? Is it boredom? Unawareness of giftedness? Loss of identity?

Original blessings are lost when choices are made based on a territorial, not an Isle View. It is sin. A separation from self. A separation from God. A separation with all that exists. A disruption that breaks God Justice. True injustice. The very basis for all oppression, domination and exploitation.

The Isle of View provides a secure grounding in God Justice, maintaining harmonious relationship with all. This subverts the perceived need to put self above the rest.

Father Don
 

Wednesday of the 10th week of Ordinary Time. 

God Justice. 

“This is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.” Genesis 2:24, 25. 

God Justice brings into One the diverse and the different. There is a connection that transcends all barriers, cover-ups and lack of trust. 

There is total acceptance and complete appreciation of all that is. 

God Justice is a harmony and a right relationship within all of creation. In this way of Isle View, distinctions and contrasts become ways for complementarity and collaboration. All work together using each one’s varying gifts for the good of all. 

God Justice releases all concern for any lack within one’s own identity. There is no focus on self-esteem in comparison to others. God Justice establishes an equality within inequality. No status or hierarchy of importance exists. 

God Justice is the lens through which those who live on the Isle see a new world.  A new creation emerges through the disruption of chaos, introducing evidence of Resurrection.
Fr. Don 

Monday of the 10th week Ordinary Time. 

God’s Justice. 

“’Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish in the sea, the birds of the air and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.’ God created man in His image: in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 2:26, 27. 

People shout out: “justice, we want justice.” From the beginning of time, there is been a cry for justice to be established on this earth. 

Actually, at the beginning of time, justice was established. It was God’s Justice. Interpreted correctly, dominion meant responsibility in relationship. When humans began to only think of themselves, this Justice broke. 

Broken justice, injustice, has taken on so many different forms and faces throughout human history. Power, control, selfishness, oppression, abuse, systemic evil are just a few of the ways that injustices perpetuate. 

Catholic theology reflects on God’s original Justice, calling it the beginning image of the garden Eden. This Isle View gives us a lens for human relationships.  Father Don

Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. 


Sabbath.

Day of rest. Day of reflection.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?" John 14: 9. 


The Father and the Son are one in the same.

Unity is identical identity.

Totally one with each other.

On the Isle, we, in our humanity, share completely with the divinity this identity.

Father Don

Saturday of the ninth week of Ordinary Time.

"Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the slave of the high priest, severing his right ear. At that, Jesus said to Peter, 'Put your sword back in its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?'" John 19: 10, 11.


Violence and injustice everywhere!
This is in the forefront of everyone's conversation and awareness. Fortunately and unfortunately we are concerned more than ever because of its prevalent and pervasive influence on how we are interacting with each other these days.
In our life on the Isle, we need to hone in our vision of how it is that we are to see, think and act. Confusion and complexity abound in trying to understand the motives of why people do what they do, and what the appropriate response should be.
Isle View offers ways to continue to reside in Peace, going beyond any environmental terror and turmoil. 

Let's go deeply into this View in the days and weeks ahead as I believe, unfortunately, violence and injustice will still be in the streets.

"Let Justice roll like a river and wash all oppression away,
Oh Come God and wake us,
Move and shake us,
Come now and make us anew,
That we might love justice like you."
-Marty Haugen 

PS. The Isle of View kicks into a summer schedule. Reflections will be coming out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sunday will be Sabbath time.

Friday of the ninth week of ordinary time.

" He has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly."  Luke1:52.

Unwillingly, unwittingly, and unknowingly we have all  participate in social injustice. The benefits and opportunities given to us often times come at the expense of others' suffering. Cheap clothes and job offerings are accessible to us because of our status, skin color, and geographical location.

The beauty and the burden of the Isle of View is being able to see how we are part and parcel of contributing to Injustice. Because of the present violence and virus, we are given this time of repentance, reparation and reform. We, on the Isle, need to step up and admit that we have sinned. We need to be willing to change our ways of arrogance, ignorance and affluence.

I have heard from people of the Isle who tell me they have begun the process of apologizing to those who have been treated poorly and have suffered so much at their advantaged hands.

A striking story given to me is of an elderly woman at a care facility who confessed to her nurse's aide. She told this woman who comes to care for her, being paid at less than minimum wage, that she is so sorry. She broke down and sobbed asking for forgiveness for the way she and others of her race are and have been treated by people of her own race.

This is the way that the Isle View is shared and grows. This is the way that things are set right in the ways of God! 

Father Don

Thursday of the ninth week of ordinary time.

Spirit life

"So with old age is wisdom and with length of days understanding; with the elder are wisdom and might: they are counsel and understanding." Job 12:13.

Many are talking about the vulnerability and weakness of the elders of society these days. More resources in medical care are being put in place because of the prevalence of the virus in the elder population. With the appearance of the virus, the elders are seen more than ever as a burden to society.

Upon returning from Venezuela, I was more aware of this bias. In that country, there are very few nursing homes. Hospitals and Clinics depend on the collaboration of family in caring for the basic needs of the family member even while "under their care." With delegated care for family members here in the United States, there is a more pragmatic approach for the intensified needs of the vulnerable. With these options, different values and priorities begin to shift the focus away from those who need this kind of attention.

 With aging, the View of the Isle comes into Focus even as eyesight fades. The Spirit Life matures much more quickly when living on the Isle. Life on the Isle offers a wisdom beyond the measure of years.

Mature Wisdom brings a stark awareness of the vulnerabilities and corruptibility of earthly existence. But because it is Spirit Life that lives in the Isle dweller, this Vision does not instill fear. Rather, it is a panoramic understanding of how this earthly life is infused with Spirit life which escapes elimination or destruction.

Elder wisdom is Island Wisdom which can help the young to not fear or panic when faced with short-term inconveniences and trials of non-island life.

Father Don

Wednesday of the ninth week of ordinary time.

Spirit Life.

"His reputation spread more and more, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be cured of their maladies. He often retired to deserted places to pray." Luke 5:16

"Rising early the next morning we went off to a lonely place in the desert; there he was absorbed in prayer. Simon and his companions managed to track him down, and when they found him, they told him, "everybody is looking for you?'" Mark 1:35-37

Every single one of us has gone off to a lonely place. Separated and deserted. There is a yearning within us to feel connected. This unsatisfied desire generates great pain and stress. We need to see and touch and hear others in the process of loving and being loved.

The virus has forces us into this place of angst. And yet, Spirit Life within engenders possibilities for a deeper integration with all of creation. What was Jesus absorbed into into in being so alone? Could it be that the Life in the Spirit connected him to all of divinity and humanity in a way so much deeper than any cursory contact could? Was Jesus truly withdrawing or was he entering in?

Spirit Life on the Isle affords a communal connectedness that creates integration out of isolation. One with you.

Fr. Don

Tuesday of the ninth week of "ordinary" time.

Spirit Life.

"The eye cannot say to the hand, ' I do not need you,' any more than the head can say to the feet, ' I do not need you.' If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all members share its joy." 1 Corinthians 12: 21, 26.

How many times have we heard this Proclamation from St. Paul about how we are the body of Christ?

Do we really believe that we are made one body with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
It is being said these days of the virus, " the old people are going to die anyway." Unfortunately, I've heard this quite a few times in the last few weeks.

People on the Isle are stepping up and proclaiming how destructive this mentality is by their ever-growing stronger commitment and compassionate service to those who are vulnerable.

Spirit Life on the Isle demands a witness that the body of humanity and all creation can only be strengthened by such a commitment. The weak and those who depend on others not only need this compassion to survive, but all those who live on the Isle will only survive with a focus and priority on those most in need.

Everyone will die prematurely if the needs of those living on the edge of Life are neglected. There will be no more View on the Isle.
With great hope in Spirit Life,

Father Don

Monday of the ninth week of “ordinary” time. 

Spirit Life. 

“Jesus was in the stern through it all, sound asleep on the cushion. They finally woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, does it matter to you that we are going to drown?’” Mark 4:38. 

Oh boy, the storms are brewing and they are already here. 

So much angst. So much anger. So much violence. 

The waters churning deep down below have begun to rise to the surface. 

How do we stay on the Isle in so much turbulence? We are drowning in it! Not only surrounding us but drenching us and pulling us down. 

Life on the Isle is a place, perspective and practice to give us an inner peace, viewpoint and strategy for action. 

First, to know that it does matter to God. This knowledge is the basis from which to move toward the storm. Interfacing and interacting with such turmoil does cause us personal struggle and internal distress. However, knowing that God does care and works with infinite power compels us not to withdraw. 

Secondly, believing that God accompanies us in the midst of the storm gives us a sense beyond senses to view the distressing situation in a different light. Although it feels hopeless, it is not without hope. Within the storm, Life Spirit rushes into hearts ripped open by such pain and violence. 

Thirdly, with the view of the Isle we can use the energy of anger towards action for change. We can choose to do something constructive to minimize the forces that caused so much pain. Anger, based in love, can mobilize and transform the face of this earth. It is Spirit Life. 

We can move into the tumultuous sea with God’s powerful presence on the Isle of View! Father Don 
 

Pentecost Sunday.

Sabbath.

God breathing.

Breathe.

Breathe deeply.

Breathe freely.

Breathe eternally.

Breathe on the Isle of View.

Father Don.
 

Saturday of the seventh week of Easter. Eve of Pentecost.

Breath of God.

“The disciples had locked the doors of the place they were for fear of the Jews.” John 20:19.

Locked rooms. Imprisoned by fear. Restricted. Closed in. Dark. Lost.

Four walls constricting. No way in; no way out. Stuck. Stopped. Straddled. Strapped. Silence.

Nothing happening. Nothing to do. Now here. No where. Past erased. Future blurred. Present blank. Pure emptiness. Hallow.

Holding the breath. A breath-stop. Bracing self. Waiting in fear. But waiting for what?

Everything is ready for an explosion and eruption. so much The pressure something must break.

On the Isle of View, resurrected life blasts through all the breath-stops with the power of Spirit-Breath! Father Don.

Come Holy Spirit, radically transform the face of this earth! Breathe New Life. May this newness not paralyze us but delight us because it is YOU!
 

Friday the seventh week of Easter. 

Breath of God. 

“I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me”. Galatians 2:20. 

Christ-breath is not artificial respiration. It is the authentic divine Breath breathing within us; breathing from out of us. 

The breath-stops of deep suffering, pain and fear are God’s opportunities for this Breath to rush in. Our problem is having a willingness to let it be a breath-stop. Or is it a willingness at all? Do we have to be forced? 

The disciples are gathered in the upper room, now, waiting for the Breath of the Spirit. They have been battered. In different ways, they experienced the crucifixion of Christ. In different ways, they experienced glances of resurrection. In different ways, they watched Jesus leave them in the ascension. In different ways, they were excited and fearful in waiting to see what is the heck is going to happen next! 

This waiting is a breath-stop creating room for the fresh authentic Air of the Isle.  

Father Don 

Can we stop our own breath so that the True Breath can breathe within us? 
 

Then he breathed into them: “receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22.

Thursday of the seventh week of Easter. 

Breath of God. 

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had accompanied her also weeping, he was troubled in spirit, moved by the deepest emotions. ‘Where have you laid him’(referring to Lazarus). ‘Lord, come and see,’ they said. Jesus wept. Some said, ‘see how much he loved him!’” John 11:33- 36. 

The exchange of breath on the Isle of View is an intertwining of life, sharing all with all of the living. The saltwater of tears flows from generation to generation. 

Yesterday’s reference to the saltwater of indifference and intolerance surrounding the Isle is powerful and is affecting all of us in our interactions with each other. This bitter saltwater of sadness continually crashes against the shores of the Isle. 

There are so many tears, so much sadness, so much saltwater. 

Jesus, from the sea of saltwater, cries out, “Lazarus, come out!” This compassionate cry breathed out of common suffering comes forth from the solid Isle shore against the waves of loss and loneliness. 

On the Isle of View, we are terribly affected by the battering. And yet, not overcome, we are finding strength from solid shores of the Isle. 

Father Don 

Then Jesus cried out: “receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22.
 

Wednesday of the seventh week of Easter. 

Breath of God. 

“‘Now it is finished.’ Then he bowed his head, and delivered up the spirit. John 19:30. 

Ultimately, does the breath-stop force one to let go? Dwelling on the Isle of View, we can see that in Jesus it was not something that was forced at the end. Rather, it was an authentic progression of self-sacrifice. 

This delivering up of every last breath is a handing over of all that we are, we hope for and we have lived for. It is a true, trusting release. 

In truth, every exhale is a breath-stop. Every breath-stop is the end. On the Isle of View, the end is a trusting delivering over and letting go of all. Without this view, it seems to be: The End. 

Father Don. 

“Then he breathed on them saying, ‘receive the Holy Spirit’.” John 20:22.
 

Tuesday of the seventh week of Easter. 

Breath of God. 

“‘I thirst’.” John 19:28. 

These words, spoken in the last breath of Jesus, reflect God’s breathing out to quench the desire for love, kindness, compassion, and delicate love.  

Mother Therese of the Sisters of Charity has put these words on the walls of each Chapel of every missionary house of her sisters everywhere throughout the world.  She spoke of the mission of the Sisters of Charity as sating the thirst of Jesus. 

More than ever, there is a need, a thirst for the breathing room of compassion and empathy for one another. All human beings need the breath of understanding, patience and respect for difference. 

Otherwise, we will not survive the drought of ignorance, indignance and indifference. 

All the more reason to dwell on the Isle of View where there is plenty of fresh water to nourish the faith surrounded by this saltwater. 

Father Don. 

“Then he breathed on them saying, ‘receive the Holy Spirit.’” John 20:22.


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