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Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time; Father's Day
 

 

 

  

 

And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith (Mark 4:37-40)?"

 

 

 

 

 

Words For The Wind

Dear Friends,

I was talking about names, names for a baby, with a young couple the other day that are planning to have their child baptized in our parish after the child is born.

They wanted to know if I thought “Pepsi” was a name for a boy or a girl. It seems that they had many memories in their relationship that involved the soft drink and they want to name the new baby, Pepsi.

I wasn’t really sure but I told them I would do some thinking about whether it would be a good name for a boy or a girl. What do you think, by the way?

We hear all kinds of names for new babies, if you listen when we ask the parents the name when we do baptisms at Mass. We hear all kinds of things about baby’s names at our Baptism Dinners before we baptize a baby, as well.

Naming the baby it seems to me has taken on a rather different slant over the course of the last few years. Parents want their child to be significant, and they start with a name that has personal significance to them.

Perhaps, they have learned that significance isn’t easy to find in these times, seriously.

All of us want to be significant, we want to matter, we want our story to count, if you will. It is not easy in these times, though, to believe that our story counts, that we matter.

External validation plays a big role in our lives, we need to hear or see that we are significant. That is, often, easier said than done, I would suggest.

Frequently, we don’t have time to share stories with other adults. There is not the time to “chew the fat” as it were, to sit in the garage and have a beer with a neighbor.

Our time with other adults is limited for many reasons. If you are a young family with kids, you are going to spend a lot of time driving your kids take an awful lot of your time.

When do you take time for you, I mean when do you take yourself off the clock? I know that there are some things that have to be done. I know that we like doing things for others, especially our children.

When is your time, though? When do you take the time to think and converse with adults that you like to be with? When are you away from kids so that you can talk about things that are interesting, important, and good for you to have ideas about?

Sundays used to be “off the clock” and people visited and, perhaps, had a special meal. I hear of “date nights” for parents. That is not a bad thing at all. If you forget each other, your kids will know and it will matter to them.

Just some thought on this midsummer solstice weekend.

You know, in addition to the names, there is another thing I worry about for young couples and babies. Not now, perhaps, but in 4 or 5 years when these current junior high kids are parents (sadly some are now, I know), who will change the diapers and how will their babies learn to talk?

I mean, most of them will have hands riddled with arthritis, gnarled, twisted fingers from years of “texting”, how will they negotiate a diaper pin?

Babies only learn to imitate speech patterns that they hear and that resonate in their memory, they can’t text.

By the time many of these kids are parents they will only be able to text, the spoken language will be but a distant memory to them. Guttural grunts will be all that is left, that, and weirdly spelled nano-words beyond pronunciation.

Happy summer,

Father Niblick

 OUR TOWN: The Play

On July 1, at 7:00 PM in the Church, anyone who is interested in doing a read through of the Thornton Wilder play, Our Town, is invited to join me. My plan would be for us to read through at least the first two acts that night together and see if we have the energy to continue.

There are 10 major characters in the play and several minor characters. There will be no memorizing, no make-up, no costumes, just our reading the play with some knowledge and feeling. Anyone is welcome. No age limits, although, there is only one small part for a child of 8 or so, so I would say that 12 and above, is good.

The setting is a small town, Grovers Corners, in early 20th century America.

We would aim to do a public reading at a date and time that would be determined in a coffee house/wine bar setting for anyone who would like to come. A discussion would follow the reading.

If you are at all interested but can’t come, July 1, please email me at nedgan@yahoo.com or call me at 865 8956. CWN


 

 
 
 

 
 

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