Dismissals

Bob Knight’s Diary was a fictionalized account of a young man’s 1890’s schooldays. My grandfather read it to my father. When I was a boy, my father read it to me. I wanted to read Bob Knight’s Diary to my youngest son but, after a few pages, I could read no more. The book has an undercurrent of racism which, for the life of me, I don’t recall hearing. Had I forgotten the racism? Had I unknowingly absorbed it? Recently, I opened the book, read a few pages and I knew: My father had edited as he read. Seamlessly, cadence unbroken, my father had excised the racism from Bob Knight’s Diary. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!…

The visitor to the homeless shelter looked across the room, at row after row of bunk beds, and asked one of the residents, “Do you feel safe sleeping here?” The man thought for a moment then observed: “Some places, a man’s got to sleep with his shoes on. You take off your shoes, they won’t be there in the morning. This place, it’s not so bad.” Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

There was once an elderly man who felt called to be a deacon. At a critical interview before a learned committee he was asked, “Who is Jesus to you?” The committee settled back expecting perhaps to hear words from the Council of Trent or the Athanasian Creed. The old man sat in silence for some minutes, drew in a breath and said this: “Jesus helps me every day.” That is all he said. The committee sat in silence for some minutes, then drew their collective breaths and sent him on to be a deacon. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

I sit in the hospital waiting room listening to the drone of daytime television and one-sided cell-phone conversations. There are worn magazines with movie-stars on the covers. A man and a woman enter. He has a beard but no mustache. He wears a pale blue shirt, denim pants, suspenders and work-boots. She wears a grey dress, a bonnet, and black shoes with thick soles. They look around the room and then sit across from me. I nod to the man and he nods to me and we wait together, the three of us, saying not a word. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

You run to first base, the ball is thrown, the umpire shouts, “You’re out!” and you begin your slow walk back to the dugout. The priest says, “I now pronounce you…” and the newlyweds embrace. “Bad puppy!” and the little rascal stops chewing your Armani handbag. As these ‘performative’ words are uttered, an action occurs. Suddenly, the world is different. Imagine a contentious gathering where tempers are short and enmity abounds. You stand, take a deep breath, and say for all to hear, “The peace of the Lord be always with you!” And it is so. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

At the homeless shelter, we gather to talk about current events. Some days, the discussion is lively and animated. This day, the news is cheerless and the talk among the men is subdued. Outside, there is a breeze. The curtains blow into the room and settle back. We hear voices from the street and hear the quiet shuffle of someone passing in the hallway. Sitting silent in that room, the Spirit moves among us. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

Sister Kathleen taught chemistry in Catholic high schools. Years passed, enrollment declined, and Sister Kathleen found herself idle. Mother Superior called her in and said, “We will start an inner-city, after-school tutoring and mentoring program for the children of AIDS and HIV mothers. You will be the director.” Sister Kathleen was fearful and unsure but with prayer her confidence increased. When the program started, Sister Kathleen was comfortable and in command. The program remains successful but Sister Kathleen handed over the reins when Mother Superior called on her to tackle the problem of the neighborhood drug dealers. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

Whether the journey is earthly or spiritual, there are many ways to navigate. I once met a sailor in a distant port who was singlehandedly circumnavigating the world. He had no sextant or GPS with which to find his way to the next port. He had only a compass and binoculars. At night he followed the stars. When daylight came, he followed the track of the commercial airliners as they left their plumes of vapor in the sky. I have not found airliners to be helpful in my own spiritual travels, but a star to steer by is a wonderful thing. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

Long ago, with my third grade class, I visited the local television station. We saw the set of our favorite after school program, Bob’s Clubhouse. Bob told jokes and showed serialized films including my favorite about a forgotten land of dinosaurs. We saw the desk of sportscaster Don Gardner. With four, full glasses of milk at the front edge of his desk, Don Gardner reminded parents that kids should drink four glasses of whole milk every day. I peered into the glasses. Empty! They were painted white on the inside! After that, not even the dinosaurs seemed real. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

In the wee hours, a dog barks and I awaken. Others, elsewhere, are up … firefighters carry an old lady from a third floor walkup … dough rising, a baker lights her ovens … a police officer takes a call from a worried mother … at the water plant, engineers with clipboards check gauges … a worker on the third shift looks at the clock … homeless men forage in dumpsters as garbage trucks roll from their garage … somewhere, not so very far away, in a small chapel lit by candles, nuns kneel before the figure of Our Lord, beginning their day ~ and ours ~ with prayer. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

My Godmother Maria called me. Maria has not been well. At age 91, small afflictions wear her down. At 92, Godfather Juan has his own aches and pains. Maria and Juan stay with their son, Antonio, a physician. Also in the home is Antonio’s wife, Carla. Antonio and Carla’s only child, a thirteen year old daughter, died years ago of a preventable accident. Despondent beyond words, Carla took to her bed and seldom stirred. When Maria became ill, Carla rose from her bed, doting on Maria as Carla had once doted on her daughter. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Josh

In my twenties, I co-owned a television store. We sold Zeniths and Quasars, consoles and portables, black and whites and the very latest in Color Television. On the banks of the St. Lawrence River, far from the city, there was only one TV channel. Every weekday at 4 o’clock Mr. Rogers was on every TV in the store. I was young and full of beans and Mr. Rogers drove me crazy! Still, slowly, over time, surrounded by all those televisions, I hummed along with “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” I followed the doings in the “Neighborhood of Make-Believe.” When my own sons were growing up, we had only one television, but I appreciated Mr. Rogers all the more. Go in…