To Wade into Tomorrow’s Call
He enjoined them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have
heard me speak...”
Acts 1:4
We were told to wait
the promise
to stay cloaked
and still
for the days until
we would feel the fire
He would
send
And
then send
us into
a fire that could never consume
our souls and
dreams
Now
after the whirlwind finally died
we would begin to walk
one to Cana
or Capernaum
or sail as far as Cyrene
or Carthage
But before
we would kiss our love
upon our brothers’ brows grown
smooth and unscarred by fear’s
vanishing
forever
We stood at
the shore where we were first
called and fed
breaking our fast
by remembering
and by
remembering
promising to wade
into tomorrow’s
call
-Luke
26 May 2019
Ordination
to the Priesthood
Norman A. Fischer, Jr. 27
May 2000
R. Tony Ricard 27 May 1995
Joseph A. Brown, SJ 27 May 1972
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ReplyDeleteJoseph, as you celebrates the 47th Anniversary of your Ordination Day on 7 May 1972, I thank you for your loving and dedicated service to the people of God and to the Society of Jesus. May you be blessed always in your priestly ministry. George Quickley
ReplyDeleteWe give thanks to God for leading you to the Priesthood and for the way He has used you to bring His message and challenge to others. We are especially grateful for you being a part of our family. Fr. Carroll Mizicko, OFM
ReplyDeleteA star, brightening and dimming as time & distance fluctuates but shining always for those of us in need of a guide and brotherly love. Thank you for being you, Joseph. And may your flame continue to blaze for those still on the path.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Dearest Joseph...so glad called your name...so glad you said, "Speak, Lord, I am listening!" Much love to you today and everyday
ReplyDeleteJust so you know...the last comment was from Eva! Love you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this Joseph :)
ReplyDeleteFr. Brown, I will always be thankful for your vocation and being a part of the formation of my daughter. Even today, she quotes you and remembers being a student and you being the teacher. Likewise, I am blessed to know you. You are forever a part of my immersion into catechesis, liturgy and "many things" Catholic. It is comforting to know that we have your wisdom, writings and friendship.
ReplyDeleteMazel tov as we say in Brooklyn. I offer the following by Langston Hughes:
ReplyDelete“I stay cool, and dig all jive,
That's the way I stay alive.
My motto,
as I live and learn,
is
Dig and be dug
In return.”
― Langston Hughes
Wade in the baptismal waters (and others), indeed! So very lovely. Please read this at the LUC conference!
ReplyDeleteWhat else is there for us, but to wade in!
ReplyDeleteThank you Brother Joseph for the inspiration and your service!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your priesthoo, Joseph. Thanks for leading us younger men in formation.
ReplyDeleteAs bright a star as I have seen! I am blessed to know you!
ReplyDeletethanks for your teaching but most of all, for listening and in doing so, facilitating the hearing of my call, myself. empowering. you inspire confidence. your confidence makes me think of Rakim, "never taking shorts therefore i'm hard to beat / i ain't cheap / don't try to sell me a dream: i don't sleep / i'm paid in full, so save the bull / this ain't a stick up, so you don't have to wave no tool," and Ralph Ellison, who wrote about students what you knew and know, that "if you can show me how i can cling to that which is real to me, while teaching me a way into the larger society, then i will not only drop my defenses and my hostility, but i will sing your praises and help you to make the desert bear fruit." congratulations, God bless, and amen.
ReplyDelete