Wednesday, March 13, 2024

PILOT


    LENTEN RETREAT VI

           Leave

           Solitude

           Silence

        * Method


          Welcome

Session I

  PAUSE

Session II

  SMUDGE

Session III

  LEAVE

Session IV 

  SOLO SOCIAL

Session V 

  SILENCE SPEAK

are available

by scrolling 

down beneath

this session

  ******


Dear All of Us,

Here in Washington

it seems just about

every other person

is driving a Tesla.

It's probably part

DC Shishi,

part climate care.

It's definitely dangerous.

A Tesla doesn't know how 

to pilot itself.

For all the pluses of Tesla,

Tesla's Autopilot 

has been involved in 

    17 fatalities

    736 crashes

across the land (1)


    In a different 

 time, place and way

    The Desert 

Mothers and Fathers

had to deal with a 

society's autopilot 

wildly out of control, 

totally unreliable -

manner and mode of life 

dangerously defective.

With all the attendant 

chaos, conflict and collision,

they sought 

a place and way

 to pilot life

 sane and sacred.

They ditched the toys,

tools and techniques

that held captive 

and compulsive

mind and emotion.

They fashioned 

approaches and practices 

piloting them free of both.  


    Different again, 

        but not,

           US

     as we seek

  a way and place 

  sane and sacred.

    We calibrate,

  tone and touch 

our life navigation 

     as did the

       Desert

Mothers and Fathers

     did theirs

 The immediacies 

    are different.

   The direction

         and 

    destination

one and the same.


We slow down 

to be caught up in

the sweep of

steady, strong

     Reality

We just don't run 

rapid ruinous 

trying to keep up 

with the folly of 

incessant motion,

fad adhesion,

pricey real estate,

narcotic noise,

crowded loneliness,

paper thin priorities. 

in other words, 

things that are 

as real and reliable 

as the emperor's 

new clothing.



        WORK

     The Desert

Mothers and Fathers

  wove baskets

  and gardened, 

  We are at work 

  quite variously.

  Just like them, 

      though,

we do our work 

as a participation 

     in God's 

continuing Creation. 

From the desert

Benedict points us 

right and real:

     "Laborare est orare"

     "To work is to pray"

 This is central 

 to navigating a

 Christ life.

        It informs our 

 attitude, selection, manner

          of work:

vacuuming the carpet,

driving a long haul,

developing public policy,

finance to farming and...


     SIMPLICITY

Like those dear desert folks,

we live modestly.

Our setting is different.

Our spirit the same.

Our housing, wheels,

wardrobe, recreations,

are tastefully sufficient,

not at all superfluous 

       or showy.

We keep things simple

as God simply is.

Our talk is what

is good and necessary.

Our schedules

are paced peaceful.

To help us 

steer straight

and appreciate

the journey 

as we travel life,

we do occasional

course correctives.

We fast from a good

to refresh appreciation.

Our prayer is sincere, 

uncomplicated.

In it we are not trying 

to achieve anything.

We leave that up to God.

Sometimes we're flying high. 

Sometimes it seems like 

same old same old,

flat on the ground floor

for that.

No obsessing about 

spiritual stages  

and strategies.

We simply show up.

God takes it from there.

We make sure to have 

a sturdy spiritual guide.

They don't need 

a lot of degrees, 

just a deep degree

of lived spiritual wisdom.



     SOLITUDE

We're never loners

and we're not afraid

to be alone.

In our aloneness  

God shows us 

our naked self 

      and

delights in us.

So revealed

and treasured,

we forth to others,

offering ourselves 

         for a

 Holy Communion

          in 

      The Love 

    Who Is God.

We are fully present.

It may mean 

simply caring,

generously sharing,

creatively cooperating.

We never hide in a herd.

We blend in community.

In our solitude

we come to see that 

we are anything but alone.  

God is all over the place, 

at the center of all that is:

  out in the back forty 

  beside a babbling brook,

  leafing through a collection 

  of art masterpieces,

  savoring wine,

  walking in the woods,

  in a blossoming

  cherry blossom tree

  enjoying a bowl of 

  homemade chicken soup.

In our silent solitude

we ache at faraway war,

hold in love a just widowed,

rejoice with graduates,

prayerfully support 

social justice advocates.

       All in all,

     Love leads,

 steers us straight,

      because

    "God is love."

  More about that 

      next week.


This week in our small group,

or with a trusted spiritual friend,

let's focus on 

         Matthew 6

       The Message 

        Translation

           Google

The Message Matthew 6


We soul sense:

       giving to the needy

       prayer,

       fasting,

       treasures in heaven,

       "not to worry"

as well as matters above 

in this posting.

As always, 

    what's what,

    how to,

  as we ask the 

   Holy Spirt 

   to be our

     PILOT

    ******


(1) The Washington Post, 

        June 10, 2023

           ******


Next Edition

        Online: Wednesday

                   March 20, 2024

        Email:  Friday

                   March 22, 2024

              ******

     Coming Right After Easter

          A Special Edition

           ELDERCHRIST

              ******


This week large groups from

             Serbia

           Singapore

          Hong Kong

     gifted us with a visit

.         WELCOME

                to

       frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

          Click title top left


   LAST FIVE POSTINGS

         AVAILABLE

    by scrolling down 

  beneath this posting



PLEASE DO SHARE

 frankly speaking

      thanks!


All the best 

on the road to 

     Real.

 We have the 

 best possible

     Pilot.

   See you 

  next week.

  Love to all.

  John Frank

  ******




 

























Wednesday, March 6, 2024

SILENCE SPEAK

 

LENTEN RETREAT V

         Leave

         Solitude          

       *Silence

         Method

       ++++++

        Welcome

        Session I

         PAUSE

       Session II

         LEAVE

      Session III

     SOLO SOCIAL

     are available 

   by scrolling down

   below this posting.

           *****

    

Dear All of Us,

Silence may or 

may not be golden.

It surely is sacred.

Silence clear cuts to 

realms rich real divine.

Silence clear channels

depth, breath, height

             to

          Endless


     The Desert

Mothers and Fathers

     were being 

  noised to death.

      in Dodge.

They got out of town

to quiet down desert.

They shut up

to open up.

They silenced

maddening mind,

cacophonous crowd,

the no-know-noise

  inside, outside.

In stillness they heard

the spheres sing sacred.

In silence they heard 

God utter them.

In the solitude of silence

         they heard 

    the deepest reality of

              self 

             other 

         all Creation.

     Wordless Wisdom


As for them, so for us, 

     deadening din

         inside

        outside

INSIDE:

Somewhere or other 

Richard Rohr points out 

that our minds are like 

      a cage of 

constantly jumping, 

endlessly chirping, 

      monkeys.

OUTSIDE:

Our culture is 

on a noise bender.

It's like being at 

too many 

wedding receptions. 

The booming music 

makes it impossible 

to hear someone on 

the other side of the table.

Noise swamped.


        In silence 

             of 

soul and surroundings

 we hear simplicity -

       what is

        as is

 God Soundings

 God Uttering Reality


It's surprisingly so. 

Silence speaks volumes:


"When I am liberated by silence, 

when I am no longer involved 

in the measurement of life, 

but in the living of it, 

I can discover a form of prayer 

in which there is effectively 

no distraction. 

My whole life becomes a prayer. 

My whole silence is full of prayer. 

The world of silence 

in which I am immersed 

contributes to my prayer. "

    Thomas Merton

 Thoughts in Solitude


"Open wide the doors 

  of one's heart to 

  the infinite silences 

  of the Spirit, 

  out of whose abysses

  love wells up without fail 

  and gives itself to all."

     Thomas Merton

(Sorry, I can't relocate 

        the citation)


 So blessedly silenced 

         we can 

    SILENCE SPEAK

    vibrations toning

              a

     Holy Communion

       So sacred

   Too precious to spoil 

   with surround sound 

           outside

     with sound swirls

            inside.


Soul Sound Questions:

- what are we talking about?

- what are we listening to?

- how much Reality - Godness -

  is vibrating?


In our small group, 

or with a trusted 

spiritual friend,

we scripture soak in 

Matthew 12:33-37

   The Message

    translation

              Google

The Message Mathew 12:33-37


Hearing/Heading Jesus 

we listen to 

our sounds:

- what are we hearing

- what are we saying

- where is it coming from

- what does it do to us

- what does it do to others

- what does what Jesus says

  say about our soundings,

  what we listen to, 

  what we say?


A helpful view is to see 

Jesus in our right now:

How much time 

would he be spend

on the phone,

with the internet,

gumming it up 

in mindless chatter,

what news casters 

would he trust,

what politicians 

would he give a hearing,

how about religious leaders

and trend setters

  ( if any ) ? 


When hopefully all is said and done,


"Be still and know that I am God."

            Psalm 46:10 

            

            We listen to

          SILENCE SPEAK

               ******


Next Edition

        Online: Wednesday

                   March 13, 2024

        Email:  Friday

                    March 15, 2024

                 ******

This past week we were blessed 

by a groups from Vietnam and

Sebia joining in with us. 

So glad you are here!


             SPECIAL EDITION

                   coming

            shortly after Easter

               ELDERCHRIST

                   ****** 

            

        WELCOME ALL

                to

        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

        Click title top left


LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Please scroll

down below this one

       ******

THANKS MUCHLY

         to

 all who share 

frankly speaking

  with others


In the sincereness

that is simple silence,

we hold each and all

of our union here

in prayer.


Forward with our Retreat.

      Love to all

      God Bless,

      John Frank

        ******

 

   

            





             

        













Wednesday, February 28, 2024

SOLO SOCIAL


LENTEN RETREAT IV

        Leave

     * Solitude

        Silence

        Method  

           

       Welcome

       Session I 

        PAUSE 

       Session II

        SMUDGE

       Session III

        LEAVE

      are available 

      by scrolling 

     down beneath 

      this posting

      ++++++


Dear All of Us, 

Sounds silly,

but going solo

gets us going social

and vice versa.

It's like the see-saw

of our childhood.

One balances the other.

Well, should!

Too often don't!

That can hurt.

It did me.

As a little guy, 

my friend, Danny, wasn't.

He was twice 

as heavy as me.

I knew nothing of physics.

He got me on a see saw

and tortured 

the living heck out of me.

Really hurt and frightened.

That lack of balance

(moral and corporeal)

ruined any further socializing

with him.


So such much of social life 

in our day and way.

Way off balance, 

tortures us sick.


    The Desert 

Mothers and Fathers

saw social sickness 

and got out of Dodge.

Went solo.

Leave they desert did,

into emptiness for fullness.

They went solo to be communal. 

They stepped away from 

the maddening crowd  

that was wildly chasing after 

nothing and finding just that,

unending nothingness.

In solitude they found 

their true selves and

true balance with others.

In the desert solitude 

they found 

sacred significance of

self and society.

They then founded

communities of such.


For sanity and soul 

we sometimes 

have to go solo 

and get out of Dodge.

It could be 

toxic employment, 

pseudo church,

poisonous political partizans,

ruinous relationships,

attempting worth 

and depth with illusions

of power, possession, prestige,

conspicuous consumption, 

going faster and faster 

to nowhere,

media adduction,

"gotta have grab,"

dopped, deluded, 

stuffed with stuff.


From such stuff 

we go solo.

That aloneness 

frightens at first.

The quiet of 

  Solo Spirit 

progressively 

shows and confirms

our God-Given Self.

It sensitizes us 

to realness

in self and in other. 

It frees from the allure 

of posturing.

It enthuses spirit.

It clarifies our unique self

and our place and pace in

God's weaving forth Creation.

We are readied for balance of 

self and community.

That's exactly what 

desert solitude 

did for those early people

seeking to live 

  "Essential Christianity"

They became communities 

of shared life and support.


This week in our retreat group,

or with a trusted soul friend,

it would be so good to share 

- what kind of Dodge 

  we personally must leave

- like Jesus in the desert

  of his Solo Retreat, 

  how do we tell 

  The Father of Lies

  "To go to hell!!"

- like Jesus, how do 

  we go solo in 

  time apart and prayer

- what frightens us about 

      Spirit Solitude,

      about being 

      who we really are 

      in and of God,

      about waiting 

      and working for true

      Christian community?

- to sensitively and simply affirm 

  each in our group as we 

  go solo to go social in Christ.

This week we spend 

time and yearning with

     Matthew 4:1-11

      Desert Testing

       The Message

        translation

       

       - free online -

           Google

   The Message Matthew 4:1-11


What was the lure then?

What is the lure now?

How do we life answer?

 

Real and right,

we are freed 

     to be

  Spirit Self

   Together

SOLO SOCIAL

   ******


Next Edition

        Online: Wednesday

                    March 6, 2024

         Email:  Friday

                    March 8, 2024

             ******

It just gets better and better

as we gather here from there.

This week was a wrap around 

of us from fourteen different

          homelands -

         Luxembourg 

               to 

        South Korea 

               to 

           Ireland 

      capped off with 

       a large group

     from Singapore

 and of first timers from

           Brazil

     THE GATHERED

      as we together

  RETREAT FORWARD

         ******


   SOON AFTER EASTER

a special and rather unique

offering will be coming our way

      ELDERCHRIST

          ******


        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

      Click title top left


LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Pleas scroll down beneath 

the current posting


May we all have a 

Lenten Retreat 

    forward, 

 a refreshing

    PAUSE

See you next week.

Holding one and all

in love and prayer,

   John Frank

     ******








 


Wednesday, February 21, 2024

LEAVE


 LENTEN RETREAT III

       Welcome

      * Leave

         Solitude

         Silence

         Method

Session I

   PAUSE

Session II

  SMUDGE

are available by

scrolling down 

below this posting.

    ******


Dear All of Us,

Sometimes 

we just have to

"Leave it alone."

That's what the 

Desert Mothers 

       and 

    Fathers

   had to do

   and did do

     literally.

      Alone

they left Sin City

to find and live

   "Essential 

  Christianity" 

and they didn't stop

to close the door

on the way out! 

They left as is 

for what needs 

      to be 

      and 

     can be


These good folks 

were earnest,

high octane, 

full torque.

They took a pass 

on what passes for 

social and spiritual

systems and situations

that don't have 

even a shadow of 

sanity or realness.

From Dark Dodge 

to desert bright they went.

That pass relocated 

more than their address 

and how they dwelt there.


We don't have to go desert.

We do need to go new 

on how we address life.

Our Lenten Pause

    maps out

what we leave,

where we go,

how we transition

and relocate.

It does that so we can 

refresh and reset to

"Essential Christianity." 

We move away from

tolerance, support, engagement

in systems and situations

that darken, degrade:

- gauche, cruel entertainments

- tolerance of incessant wars

- excessive consumption

- media addition

- compromised governance

- culture warring

- intolerance 

     religious, sexual, 

     ethnic, racial

- spiritual shallowness and inertia

- demagogues and dictators

              in 

       government

       commerce

       communication

       education

       religion

       medicine

- being sacred shy

- anyone or thing soul dulling

- religiosity trumping spirituality


We move to 

systems and situations 

that enable, support, 

       enhance

The Common Good:

- truth telling

- pristine air, water, earth

- free, fair elections

- stable marriage

- vigorous, full time family life

- equity in opportunity, housing, salary

- ethnic, racial, environmental justice

- disciplined, judicious media involvement

- education open, truthful, respectful

- embracing God given diversities

- spiritual earnestness and expansiveness

- social sharing

- Spirit Centered 

- Soul Liveliness

- Spirit Community 

- Genuine discipleship

- Deepest, most intimate prayer


Yes, our investing, 

entertainment,

voting, housing, politics, 

prayer, time allotments,

what, where and how we buy, 

with whom and how we socialize,

are at issue here.

Do they darken us, other, creation?

Do they Love Light us, other, creation?

Do we need to get a move on?


In our small group, 

or with a trusted other,

we pause to pray, ponder, 

skinny dip in scripture.

This week, 

   Matthew Chapter 3,

   Desert Dynamite

     The Message 

      translation

    - free online

         Google:

            The Message 

    Book by Eugene H. Peterson


What's going on there?

What needs to go on here?

We listen, share and support.


      Spirit Led

 we retreat forward

      to locate in

        a life of 

"Essential Christianity."


Lent starts with smudge.

It ends sharing light from the

       Christ Candle

        symbols of 

     where to locate

     what to

                LEAVE

          ******


Next Edition

Online Posting: Wednesday 

                       February 28, 2024

Email Delivery: Friday

                       March 1, 2024

                 ******

This week we were blessed with 

many first time participants 

from the USA.

  Welcome! 

Great to 

RETREAT FORWARD 

together and toward ever more 

"Essential Christianity."


        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

        Click title top left


ONLINE POSTING

Each Wednesday morning

East Coast USA time


LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Please scroll down beneath 

the current posting


EMAIL DELIVERY

Each Friday

Sign Up

Top right

online posting


Holding us all 

in prayer and love

as we migrate right.

    John Frank

     ******

PS:

A solid read and support, 

a superior one,

for leaving as is 

to find as can be 

with a radical, 

new focus is:

      Stolen Focus, 

      Johann Hari, 

      2022, 

      Crown, 

      an imprint of 

      Random House

         ******

  





 



  

 









        


  

  

  


  

  




Wednesday, February 14, 2024

SMUDGE


LENTEN RETREAT II


ASH WEDNESDAY

    

Welcome 

    Session I

     PAUSE

is available by

scrolling down

below this posting

     ******



Dear All of Us,

What's with us?

We wouldn't be 

caught dead

with egg on our face, 

yet one Wednesday a year, 

and this year on

Valentine's Day to boot,

we go running around town

with this great big black 

        Smudge 

  on our foreheads

         all day!

     What gives?

 

Well, it's a sign of 

what's on our mind 

as a we begin Lent,

  OR SHOULD BE!.

         

It's a sign that

things need to be 

cleared up, 

cleaned up.

It's a sign 

that a lot has been 

     smudged

     dirty dark.

It's a sign 

that we're pausing

six plus weeks

to face that dark

and embrace the light.


In a small way 

we are doing what 

    The Desert 

Mothers and Fathers 

   did big time.

They got out of 

   dark Dodge

to find space and place

to live the light.

They headed out 

    to live out

"Essential Christianity,"

  pure and simple.


Lent is a look around.

What's what with us?

As John Wesley put it:

"How is it with your soul?"

    

    Soul is core self.

So how is it with core

          me

          church

          nation

          world

         

We each look, see 

and answer for

        "me"


We all look and see

    and answer 

      together

         for

     "church"

     "nation" 

     "world"

  The answer is

     too often

     too much

"Smudged dirty dark!"

   We can try to

  deny, dilute, duck

          or 

       we can

    face the dark

and look for the light.

        

Lent is truth telling,

    tough stuff,

    but we have 

    neutered it 

  by limiting it to

  religious rituals,

 commonized customs, 

 that don't come within 

 a galaxy of reality and need:

- give up candy for Lent

- throw a little cash 

  to the food pantry

- attend The Stations of the Cross

- purple up the church

        In the meantime, 

         and it really is 

            "mean"

- we tolerate to accept to support

              28,000   

          so horridly far

         being hideously 

         war slaughtered

           in Palestine.

  Cattle for our dinner table

        are slaughtered

        more humanely! 

          A quick shot

    to the head and done.   

  Not so Palestinian civilians. 

Babies to grandmas and grandpas 

  are right now slaughtered with

  raping, bombing, dislocation,

  starving, traumatizing 

      before the kill!!

- Christianity has become  

         Christ Lite

             and

  Christ doesn't come that way!

  Lots of container, little content,

     "Essential Christianity" 

   is the Cinderella of church

- politics, governance, social order,

  culture, earth and atmosphere,

  abused to within inches of collapse.

- God is doing a beautiful job of Creation.

  Look at what we do to it.

- Jesus came and gave 

  to redeem, restore, 

  refresh and renew.

  How many of us have

  deeply and completely 

  bought in,

  taken God at his

       "Word"

 How many actually live

  "Essential Christianity"?

          It's a sin

          all of it

It calls for repentance.


Repentance means 

  "counterweight."

That translates into 

      change

We depart dark.

We transition to light.

In our place, 

time and clime, 

we do as did as the

Desert Mothers and Father - 

we relocate, 

not so much 

our street address 

as our whole way 

of addressing life.

It's a core call.

It's an actual move 

beyond religiosity to 

hearty, joyous, 

practical living of

"Essential Christianity."

And it is outrageously 

    WONDERFUL


This Retreat Week

we see and name

     the dark

we repent it all

we pray and purpose

to really accept 

and vigorously live

"Essential Christianity"

      as did the

   Desert Mothers 

    and Fathers

     They relocated 

    and did they ever 

    "Lighten UP!"

  We can as well and 

  well it sure will be!


Richard Rohr charts

four essential elements 

of how those pioneers

vacated Dark Dodge,

moved to, centered in on

"Essential Christianity" 

       with their

  Retreat Forward.

We'll "one a week" them

         Leave

         Solitude

         Silence

         Method (1)

We'll take a good look at

           Leave

        next week.


This retreat week 

it is best

to see and name 

the far from best

in our personal lives

        and

in our shared lives

      church

      culture 

      nation

      world

What ties us down,

trips us upside down,

keeps us from running

with vigor and joy

in the light and land of

"Essential Christianity"

 What smudges things up

         to so sadly a 

           downer

             ???


In our group sharing,

or with a trusted 

spiritual friend,

we "soak in scripture"

choosing one or more

   of the following:

    Joel2:12-13

    Hebrews 12:1-3

    Matthew 25:31-46

What do they basically say?

What does that mean

for our daily, practical life, 

   individually and as 

     The Gathered?

How can we help each other 

        Live the Light?


It's no fun facing the dark.

   It's a liberating joy 

     to see the light,

     to light up in

         Jesus 

       The Light 

     of the World,

    way too bright 

    for any sort of

       Smudge

       ******


NEXT ISSUE:

   Online Posting: Wednesday

                          February 21, 2024

   Email Delivery: Friday 

                          February 23, 2024

                       ******


    Warm Welcome

    to the groups

    joining in here 

    this past week 

          from

        Japan 

         and 

     Singapore

How good to be together

      "In Christ"

       ******


  A SPECIAL THANKS

            to

    NICK MINNICH

       He works

  quietly, generously, 

       effectively,

     "doing digital"

   for us all here at

    frankly speaking.

 Again, many thanks

          Nick

        ******

           


(1) Daily Meditations,

     Center for Action 

     and Contemplation

     May 4, 2015

         ******


Welcome all to our

Lenten Retreat

here at

      frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot,com

      Click title top left


ONLINE POSTING

Each Wednesday morning

East Coast USA time


LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Please scroll down below 

the current posting


EMAIL DELIVERY

Each Friday

Sign Up

  top right

  online posting


PLEASE SHARE

frankly speaking

with others

   Thanks


 Even now, 

 says the Lord God,

"return to me 

with your whole heart"

       Joel 2:12


Praying for our 

whole hearted

Retreat Forward.

Love to all.

John Frank

 ******