A Little Bit of Spring

Just a little spring popping in the yard.

I Am Peter’s Shadow

    Year after year as a young man I wondered time and time again, “Why would the Lord pick Peter?  He failed in the hour of need! He was boastful and hot headed!  Then he sinned by inaction no different than Adam!”  After gaining many a grey hair, all I can think of is how I am Peter’s Shadow! 

    Peter was the first Apostle to receive and act on the gift of Faith by telling the Lord he was the Messiah.  Peter wanted to protect the Lord but was called a Devil for trying to avoid the Lord’s death in Jerusalem.  Peter wanted no part in the Lord humbling himself to wash his feet, but when corrected displayed exuberance in saying wash my whole body!  Peter struck the High Priest’s slave in the garden with Christ, but denied Christ three times in the garden of man.  Peter did not come to the foot of the Cross, but ran with abandon to the empty tomb.

    I now recognize Peter is the disciple who’s spirit and temperament is closest to mine.  I can get exuberant, but make mistakes just as brilliantly.  I see the world in ways most others do not, but it does not mean I am always right or can even explain myself!  I know the Lord is my God, but in sinning abandon our Lord in both dark of night and light of the day. 

    This Good Friday, as I attend Stations of the Cross, I will recognize myself as Peter’s Shadow on Good Friday.  I know in my life I often abandoned Christ on the road to Golgotha.  I know when I refuse to participate in Christ’s suffering, I hurt Christ and his mystical body even more!

    So I will do as Peter did after Christ died.  See Peter was hiding in that Upper Room Easter morning, but it does not mean he was slothful!  Peter assembled the Apostles over the two days Christ spent in the tomb.  In that Upper Room he was feeding Christ’s shepherds!  It might have been in fear and sheepishly, but he began doing part of his vocation.  He just needed a cue card for his next steps on when and where to re-enter the world!

   As Peter’s Shadow this weekend I will take a page from his life.  I will look at the family God placed in my care, memorialize my failings since I will see them again at my judgement, ask the Lord for forgiveness, and get back to work serving those in my care while I await the Lord’s next command on Easter Morning.  I know the Lord will expect nothing less.

-ehw

Dying to Self this Lent

        It is Lent, and the Church uses it to call each of us to revisit the concept of dying to self for the glorification of God.  It is a direct challenge to how this world calls us to live for our own glory, and frankly our own survival.  Fighting through this challenge is reminiscent of Jacob’s wrestling with an Angel in Genesis 32, since we must fight through the night until daybreak against a foe whom we cannot best.

    In Genesis 32, Jacob prepares to meet his brother Esau. Esau had a reason to be upset with his younger brother.  Jacob’s theft of the birthright blessing justly caused bitterness between the brothers.  Yet Jacob knew the proper solution was to make peace with his brother when the morning light arose.  It would be the only way for each then live their lives the best they could without bitterness. 

The night plays tricks with our minds, in the darkness we can play out all types of scenarios.  We can walk through prideful, meek, balanced and hopeful solutions to all our problems.  In our own minds we craft the perfect solution, usually one in which we win through our brilliance over our foe.  When we awake though we have to face the real world.  Our brilliance of thoughts in the night suddenly pales in the face of the Wisdom of God’s word illuminated by the sunlight.

The Catechism teaches Jacob’s wrestling with the angel is symbolic of our struggle to preserve and remain faithful to prayer as we overcome temptation and grow in sancticy (CCC 409, 2573,2592,2725,2752).  When I read this story, I think of Jacob wrestling with his guardian angel through the night.  Jacob’s fidelity to God’s vision for his life and posterity goes up against his pride, fears and personal dreams the night before he faces a potential civil war with his brother.  When he finishes wrestling with the angel he gets a blessing, a new name, a painful thigh and reminder to follow God’s plan not his. 

This in many ways foreshadows our Lenten journey.  Before he tested his faith, Jacob sent his family ahead of himself.  He sent them through the water while he made his preparations after wrestling with an angel.  He then took up his crosslike challenge, and led his family to the to meet his brother.  When Jacob met his brother he bowed seven times, an act of submission.  He in essence offered himself up to Esau, and Esau gave him back his life in passage through the lands he dominated with his earthly power.  Jacob in turn went through the Esau’s territory, stayed on his own path, and lived as God called him to without civil war.

Before Jesus went to Jerusalem he sent the 72 disciples to clear the way.  Jesus prepared and prayed with his Apostles on his journey from Galilee.  Jesus bore the insults of the pious Jews of the times, whose birthright he stripped away with his birth.  The difference then was the pious Jews of Christ’s times did not give Jesus back his life.  Instead, they took Jesus life.  Through bowing his head on the cross, Jesus gave up his spirit to unlock the gates to our heavenly home.

        So here we stand at the drawing of the Lenten evening.  We too must cross through the waters of death in the morning to face a judgement.  As we wrestle with our conscience, may we die to self through resisting pride and selfishness with the courage of Jacob.  Let us fight all night long with valor so we may arise with a strong new name in the morning.  Let us all work towards this with faith and works to earn the name of Child of the Light, Faithful Disciple, and Saved by the Mercy of God when the light strikes our face at the end of this earthly life and heaven’s light touches our face.

Advent and the Tenacity of the Holy Trinity

In my daily journey’s I enjoy looking for events which could be a great photograph.  One theme recurs to me time and time is the tenacity of life to grow where it just should not.  Life sprouts forth from parking lot cracks, granite rock faces, and dry deserts where you scratch your head and ask how and why?  Each time I see life exist where it should be futile, I am served up a reminder of the tenacity of the Holy Trinity in reaching out to us to join them in our daily and eternal journey.

              On a hot summer day, you stand in a parking lot.  You feel the hellish burning heat reflected off the asphalt.  It is a manmade feature on the planet serving a valid purpose, but comes with its own downside in this fallen man influenced world.  Yet as you walk in and out of that lot you see grass and weeds poking their stems as high as possible despite lack of a deep soil or multiple run ins with car tires.  Is this not a reflection of how God’s love comes through the offering of his son to heal original sin?  He came from what the world calls total insignificance.  Jesus preached the word and then was threatened, beaten and crucified despite his innocence.  Yet the same Jesus rose again to preach some more.

              When climbing a mountain, you see a massive tree on the side of a great cliff as you ascend at great effort to see reach your destination.  You see its massive roots wrapped around outcroppings and separating fissures to reach virgin water and soil deposits.  Is this not like how the word of Christ when preached and evangelized by deeds wraps around our jagged personality flaws perfectly?  Is this not the image of Christ digging into our conscience to build our faith in God to survive a tempest from hell through the sacraments of our faith?  Is this not Christ touching John the Baptist in the darkness of the Elizabeth’s womb, and launching the prophet with zeal on his mission for life?

              In my years in the high desert of Fort Irwin, I saw with amazement donkeys surviving in the wild by constant movement from remote water source to water source.  I could barely fathom how they knew which way to go, yet they thrived in good health on that desert floor.  Now almost twenty years since those days, I can see how this points me to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life.  The Holy Spirit held my hand through heights of success to the throws of crushing defeat, through good health and bad for my clan, through valleys of faithless people shooting arrows at me from all sides, through my failures due to my own faults, and into the arms of God filled friends to heal my wounds.

              The tenacity of the Holy Trinity is a blessing for each of us, and perfectly explained in this Advent season.  We have the plan for our salvation created at the beginning of time coming to fulfillment because the Trinity never stops working on this world.  God creates life and a plan to atone for our sins, incarnates the Word of God in Jesus to allow God the Son to physically walk the earth with his cross for our sins, and then God the Holy Spirit leads the Holy Family through dangerous deserts on a Donkey to the safety of a cave to prepare for a birth.  This tenacious Trinity can easily be overlooked in the bustle of our lives.  However, when we embrace the Trinity in the moments it reveals itself in our lives we are directed to eternal life with God.

Just Follow the Light

This tunnel we’re in right now is long and dark. Thankfully there is light even in the darkness we can follow.

-ehw

(This is an access ladder on a grain silo at my son’s workplace.)

If we Kept God Above Us...We'd be OK

Day after day the news feed hits keep coming. Left, right, center it does not matter. They just keep coming. I just want my family to be safe and one day reach heaven. I actually day dream of my greatest wish and request of God from time to time in these times of stress. I want to be so blessed that one day my children and grandchildren are circled around me in heaven signing Hosanna before any altar in heaven. I just know our eternal souls will be ok if we keep God on the cross above of us. Yet this is the world’s challenge is it not?

I pray you and yours keep your eyes on God, and help us do the same. We’ll do our best to return the favors as we all march through these turbulent times.

-ehw

The US Flag Day 2020

Flag Day 2020. Happy Birthday U.S. Army!

The Lights are on...and my Girl is coming Lord

A glorious vigil here tonight. Kellie Marie, our fourth child prepares to receive Christ tomorrow for the first time. I hope soon the whole church reopens fully so we can get back to receiving the food which nourishes our eternal souls. The Lord is lonely for far to long. He calls for us, he searches for us, he nourishes us. We should have never left him so alone. I am so proud to go with our Kellie Marie and take her to meet the Lord.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Pray for us.

-ehw

Grandparent Love

One blessing of my life is how much my kids LOVE their grandparents. Driving tractors, cards, fishing, swing sets, story time, walking a dog…it does not matter. These kids dive in with their grands…and every time it brings me joy to see the connection grow and blossom into such a wonderful gift of love.

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning time…These reds want to get out to the fields in style!

-ehw

Little Blessing of Bread

Little blessing here in that someone in my family recently took to making his own bread and also making Gluten Free versions into the mix. MMMMMMM

-ehw

PS A little lighthearted today…but with all the depressing news out there I needed it.

The Hope of Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of Sorrows your heart pierced seven times yet never flinching in your hope, faith and love for God the Father, his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit which rested on you bringing Jesus into the world. Pray for us, and intercede for our needs today when your greatest pains only further united you with God. Teach us how to use our suffering to do the same on this Good Friday.

-ehw

The Great Escape Which Failed

It was bound to happen during a lock down under a full super moon. The youngest got caught once breaking out, and was returned to the bullpen with two of his big brothers. His next attempt did not get to far….

Got to find a laugh in times like these and enjoy what can be enjoyed.

-ehw

A Flock in the Desert Without its Master Present

This weekend most Catholic Churches across the country closed to its laymen for the first time in our lives. This created a first for many of us laymen in a developed and religiously open country. The laypeople in the mystical Body of Christ did not connect with the physical Body of Christ through the Mass offered by our Priests. Instead we all found ourselves offering up spiritual communion intentions, and placing great faith in our spiritual connection through the Holy Spirit. In my mind I visualized us as a flock in the desert, without the presence of our master.

In this case, I in no way mean our parish priest as our master. Priests, being fallen people like myself, can be powerful shepherds or incredibly destructive from time to time. We have one master who all these shepherds answer to, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfection of Man, and our direct physical connection to God. Priests are part of the mystical body of Christ, a very vital part connecting us through sacraments to God. They are not however our Master.

In the Mass we Catholics have a fullness of worship. We get the inspired word of our Lord through the readings, and participate in the same sacrifice of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in our time. It is a lot to think about! The more you dive into it with your intellect, the more your heart gets set ablaze with fire for Eucharist.

To many of other faiths this may seem unnatural. Well it is, it is supernatural. In the natural human experience we see many examples of this. When we love someone, we make time for them. We long to hear their stories. When we revere someone, we look up to them for guidance. When a good master sees his flock needs substance he provides it. Sometimes the good master also knows what we ask for is a result of our wants and not needs, so he corrects us. When the good master asks for assistance, we willingly provide it and suffer for their requests so we achieve his goals.

The experience of the Mass is the merging of our human experience with the supernatural. The biblical words of God never praise man, they call man from sin to virtue. The words are one of master to servant, caring and ever consistent in the context of the world they entered. In the same way, the food provided by God at Catholic Mass follows prototypes handed down from Abraham to Melchizedek to Moses to David to Isaiah and the real food of Christ himself at the Last Supper. In fact Catholics believe the Eucharist at each mass is the same as the Eucharist of the Last Supper…and yes the Body of God the Paschal Lamb.

In this Lent, we must walk through a spiritual desert. We of course have God’s Biblical words, but we do not have Eucharist. It is like reading a letter between husband and spouse separated due to challenges of this world. Messages get passed alright. However the longing is real for physical presence of the other spouse. The strength of the emotion will be overwhelming at times. We also long to be with our priests, the shepherds working for the Master who we love as brothers in faith. They are the ones trained and consecrated to help us to the master. So we the mystical body of Christ and the physical body of the Church is separated.

The thing about a desert though, a fact I never recognized before living in one for a few years, is life exists there with a tenacity few recognize. You have to dig for it, you have to protect your food and water, your have to learn how to navigate across long distances of scarcity to reach safety. When you reach an oasis, you appreciate it more than you ever would if you lived in a well watered forest your whole life. This is the lesson of this Lent for me, and maybe a whole lot of us. I miss my Lord, and I know a whole lot of people who do as well.

-ehw

Sharing a Passion - Fatherhood

My my first child sketches with pen and paper. My second child is a woodworker and nerf gunsmith. My third child, is the first child of mine to want to make images and videos. It is his second most favorite thing after fishing. It is quite fun to have someone who gets excited if I say we could get up early (like before sunrise) to leave the house to take pictures. (I’m still seeing what #4-6 like to do besides eat donuts).

I’m going to take the moments while I can with him…and savor them. I enjoy talking with him about something, instead of telling him how it is. On cold mornings, I like sharing coffee with him and talking about how Jesus wants us to live. I enjoy seeing his pride as he moves from photo to video…and works proudly in manual mode (which I rarely use….aperture or shutter for me). I love being able to share lenses with him! I love seeing the boy try to become the young man God is calling him to be.

A challenging part of fatherhood is the finding the thing which connects you to your kids. It is hard work to find the connection, but when you find it I think it is the absolute best moments you ever have in the job.

-ehw

Visual Brutalism and its Effect on Society

While out and about I meet a lady deeply embedded in the fight against mental illness, drug abuses, and depression. She had the unique mix of book smarts, real world experience, people savy, and deep Catholic faith to offer great insights to me. One lesson she put out there was how many of the people she works with just have nothing to cling to or look up to.

She said many people have faith in God, but they cannot articulate a form to their faith in the divine. People lose trust in instututional faith groups as guides, but also cannot find their own way in this world through the clutter. People are drawn to some universal good, but without spiritual form or guides cannot move effectivey towards this good they desire. She is really worried about the huge pain being suffered by law enforcement. People willing to save others, but falling into despair themselves.

Last month I learned more about the concept of Brutalism, and how it manifests itself visually. Churches once pointed high, were structured to be symbols of theology, and were adorned in art glorifying the struggle to obtain sainthood and God’s word. This concept of beauty, leading to higher enlightment, also existed in the non-church culture. This sadly is no more.

Today we see huge walls, devoid of art. Art we see in many churches, hotels and public buildings are nothing but shapes with no higher meaning. The hallway in my photo above has lines which run you into a solid, blank wall if you follow them. Running into a blank wall, and knowing the collision only harms the runner seems to be a great symbollic interputation of Brutalism. There is something intriging in the photo, but the subject of the photo raising me to a higher purpose is not going to happen.

So this brought me all the way back to what I wanted to do with this blog. I wanted my images to collectively point to something greater than me…I desparately want them to point to God. I could not help but think what effect it would have if we surrounded ourselves with symbols of God’s higher purpose. If we learned their meanings, and used them to guide us in forming our lives towards the good would it help? What if instead of leaving public walls blank, what if we made them ornate with imagery pointing towards compliance with Natural Law?

We live in a world of complex problems. Part of the solution is to replace Brutalism with Beauty. We need to stop running into walls. We need to know we were made to cling to greatness in our spirit which comes from God, and find the form to get there. Through Beauty guided with purpose from above, maybe we can learn to save others and ourselves for the final gift of heaven.

-ehw

Christmas, Good Friday and Easter

On the Epiphany my thoughts came together on the intertwining of Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. In our world we often try to focus on the “hopeful” story. The reality is we cannot get to Easter without the first two, and our God wrote it all into the bible’s imagery for us to know this. I spent all season looking for a photo to capture this, and I finally did last weekend.

On Christmas Mary gave birth to the Jesus, the son of God, second person of the Trinity, in a manger. The infinite became finite The all power powerful became vulnerable. In order to atone for the sins of man, God became both humanities’ High Priest and sacrifice. His first clothes were swaddling clothes. These clothes normally wrapped the dead. His first manger was a feeding trough where animals feed. What grain put in a feeding trough to feed the flock is not already dead? This all foreshadows Jesus’ sacrificial death, and feeding us with his own body in the Eucharist.

On Good Friday Jesus would hang from a man crafted tree called a cross. A tree devoid of life, on which should hang condemned criminals. People who no longer get to live in society. On this dead tree Christ, would complete the ultimate sacrifice foreshadowed at Christmas, and break open the doors to heaven. His body forever broken of its finite bonds, it shatters death, and opens the doors of heaven. From heaven he continues to feed us as the High Priest with the bread of life at every mass, absolve our sins in confession, and await us as our judge at the end of time.

So Christmas supports the total victory of Easter. You cannot have Easter without Christmas. You cannot have the meaning of Easter without the context of Christmas.

Driving on a back road here in Loudoun County, I saw this manger before a cross, graveyard and church. I immediately saw the trough, the cross and its victory it can offer over death and sin if we embrace the full truth of the Gospel in our lives. I hope you do too.

God Bless You!

-ehw

(You can see cross much faster in the black and white, which focuses us on shapes and leading lines. Also a quick thanks to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who taught me this in the Life of Christ!)

Cousins-A Wonderful Time of the Year

Part of the most wonderful time of the year is watching the cousins get together. My kids are very blessed with four wonderful cousins…three of which I got to stand still for a moment to update their photo for the family photo wall. I found one cousin is a budding entrepreneur, one continues excelling in STEM for potential medical studies, and one now is an avid reader. The fourth cousin is only one…he is a fun loving and adventurous kiddo who I did not catch before Christmas when he visited with my bro.

All the kids love their sports and are close to their parents. They had a great time with my kids…nerf wars, bowling, Christmas day sports, and lots of interesting stories. Great kids with a sparkle in their eyes. We all loved being part of the annual tradition and renewal of family ties.

Well until next year, I know these will be the memories we hold on to.

-ehw

Little Sophmore Portrait Session-For A Big Guy

Well just needed a photo for Grandma..so it made me go out and practice a bit on a cold and wet day! Since my son loves trains…where else would you go besides a train station?

Oh and just for the record…never never never play on the tracks! Stay clear if you at least appreciate your own life…and do not want make it your obituary photo. You can do plenty of good work safely and far from danger!