THE PRESENCE

   Dear All of Us, 

     Please pop 

a patience pill or two.

Here comes some hefty 

   name dropping

Over multi anni

(eighty-six of them)

I've greeted/chatted with

a variety of public notables.

To a person they exuded a

formattable

       PRESENCE 

Elenore Roosevelt,  

Muhammed Ali,

Bishop Fulton J, Sheen, 

Eric Sevaried,

Daniel Berrigan,

a bevy of bishops,

a couple of governors,

Cardinal O'Boyle,

Dorothy Day,

Rowen Williams,

Gerald May

Richard Rohr

      and 

I shook hands 

      with 

      JFK

Each unique.

All definitely a

 POWERFUL

 PRESENCE

     and 

 you could 

    feel it.

After my Mother 

and my Wife, though,

the most 

consequential 

  Presence 

in my life 

hasn't been at all like 

those public notables.

It's an altogether

different presence.

And you could feel it,

gentle, understated, 

subtle, warm, 

quietly real.

It was Brother John.

Brother John

was a simple 

Trappist Lay Brother,

the guesthouse cook

at the monastery.

I met him when  

I made a retreat  there

back in 1957.

(Yah, that's pretty "back"!)

The monks observed silence.

In that silence

Brother John bespoke 

a simple, serene, quiet    

     Wholly - ness.

He was absorbed in 

The Presence of God

and was so with a

down to earth 

ease and practicality.

He let God 

be present to him

in the immediacies 

of his daily life.

in washing the dishes,

in setting out bread for the birds,

in roasting a chicken for our dinner,

in caring for the vegetable garden,

in spiritual reading,

in praying The Hours,

in setting the table,

in tidying up.

Ordinary things 

that he let be the

extraordinary things 

they actually are, 

Gateways Godly.

Brother John 

didn't stress out 

seeking God.

He calmed down enough 

to let God get ahold of him,

enfolding him into loving union.

He welcomed God taking the lead.

        

      As God presented 

     Brothr John lived a 

             "yes"

That could be baking a cake to 

mystical intercourse.

Brother John didn't try to

force fit his way 

to some sort of supposed 

superior spiritual status

(camouflaged arrogance).

He put his energy into accepting

God as God offered Himself

in the actualities of his life.

I tell you, 

I have never once 

met a person

who so simply 

let God have him, 

let God love him

as God chose to do that.

Brother John just 

relaxed into that Love.

He and God were 

gently inseparable,

genuinely and clearly 

          One.

A WHOLLY HARMONY

They did everything together.

There was an unhurried, 

soulful symmetry 

of trust and union

with God

about Brother John.

It was as if two dear friends 

were tending a garden together.

God presenced Himself,

God presented Himself 

        to

Brother John

where he was, 

as he was,

as guests needing 

a peaceful place and pace,

needing an unassuming 

"at homeyness".

God presenced to him

as tastes, touches,

scents, sights, sounds,

as tasks and surprises,

as suffering,

all suffused with God -

all moments and motions 

              of 

           Divine

 Presence and Oneness

I once watched 

Brother John

eat an apple.

He did not do that 

with music on 

while checking out 

a magazine.

It was rather a slow, 

appreciative venture,

reverential, 

accepting God's presence 

in the gift of an apple,

every bite, texture and taste of it.

About now I'll bet 

some of us are thinking 

that all this is fine and dandy 

for a monk

           BUT

we live in the real world.

We have to be busy 

making a buck and more,

changing diapers,

shopping, 

getting the car serviced, 

doing "nice-nice" with in-laws, 

coaching soccer,

negotiating rush hour traffic,

mowing the lawn, 

having the boss and spouse 

over for dinner,

shuttling grandpa around 

the medical maze,

- endlessly, frenetically more. 

In short, we're short on serene.

It might be a big help to strap on 

A Spiritual Heart Monitor

for a month of testing 

and then explore 

some appropriate retooling

of day and way.

That's a blog for another time.

However it is,

God is in our day,

as it is,

as we are,

how we are,

where we are.

We really can't 

think, drag or draw 

God into it.

God is already there

wanting us to be there  

       With Him

suffering a headache,

changing that diaper,

doing the taxes,

lost in ecstasy.

    That is the 

Divine Difference

        and 

    Presence

Brother John lived.

So much so often

people either 

obsess about trying 

to spiritualize the moment 

(that puts them in charge) 

        or saying 

"Forget it. It' too complicated.

 I'll check in with God 

 Sunday at church." 

(see who's still in charge?)

Two swinging strikes

for the count that most counts.

As God presented, 

Brother John said yes 

and let God make them 

           ONE 

    We can as well 

 and oh so well it is in

     THE PRESENCE

        ******

THANKS TO EACH OF US 

FOR MAKING POSSIBLE

           THIS

       ALL OF US

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    SEE YOU NEXT WEEK

         LOVE TO ALL

         GOD BLESS

         JOHN FRANK

 "Pay attention. 

        Be astonished. 

                Tell about it"

        MARY OLIVER

  "Make your home in me 

   just as I do in you."

           JESUS

       John 15:4-11

       The Message 

       Translation

        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

             ******

       

WAITING

Dear All of Us,

So, come on already!

What are we waiting for?

Heaven on earth?

A Blue Moon?

Donald Trump and 

Mark Zuccerberger

giving all their loot 

to the poor 

and joining 

The Third Oder 

Franciscans?

Wasted Waiting

So many people,

so much of society,

are stuck in life's 

     Waiting 

     Room.

They're stunned still

like deer in the headlights

of terrible darkness.

Yes, that's a contradiction.

And so is so much

of a world fraught 

with crisscrossed

conflict, confusion.

and chaos. 

The temptation is 

to try and 

wait it out.

Lay low,

keep the cupboard full,

have a lot of cash stashed

around the house

and wait until 

Jesus Christ 

is elected world leader.

The devil is fine with that.

He wins double.

He seduces some people 

into evil doing chaos. 

He scares many others 

into hiding out

from the chaos in 

Life's Waiting Room.

He possesses the first,

immobilizes the second.

Check the deed.

The devil owns 

The Waiting Room.

There always have been 

evil doers causing chaos and

there always will be

evil doers causing chaos.

Creator God is Love.

    1 John 4:8

Love offers but never forces.

Some people refuse the offer

and it's evil, chaotic hell, 

for the neighbors.

Given geo-everything 

         and

warp speed tech

these days,

evil doers can cast 

the whole world into 

disruption, chaos and peril 

and they sure as hell 

are doing that hell wrong now.

We see it, 

we suffer it,

   AND

we can say 

"HELL NO"

    to it.

We can't change

a lot of it.

We can refuse 

to let it 

change us and 

chase us into

cocoons of 

   WAITING

We can 

get a move on,

be light in dark, 

fix much,

care for many.

Because we can't 

do everything 

doesn't mean 

we can't do a lot,

have a life and 

give a lot of life.

Jesus lived in 

a land and time 

even worse than ours. 

So did the early 

Christian communities.

Jesus didn't bunker 

in Capharnaum.

The early church,

Followers of the Way,

banded beautiful 

and lived vivid 

in palpable,

practical, divine Love

and that in the midst 

of depravity.

Jesus offered 

right now life in

The Kingdom of God.

The early church

took him up on it.

They free flourished 

sharing it.

I'm writing all this 

because I see 

so many people today

talked out of 

   FULL life, 

cowering in life's 

Waiting Room

distracting themselves 

with trivial pursuits.

   Wasted Waiting

WE DON"T HAVE TO WAIT

We can spring alive

in communities 

that actually do share

the real togetherness

of love, acceptance, 

care, faith, 

prayer, support.

We can spring alive

enfolded in

Divine Intimacy, 

a life of  

scripture, 

prayer,

meditation,

contemplation.

We can spring alive

caring for Creation,

noticing God in

all matter,

all people

right where we are,

delighting in them, 

being one with them, 

reverencing them,

a dandelion to 

a mountain range,

a cuddly baby 

to a caring grandma.

We can delve deep into 

science and the arts,

awash in the wonders of it all,

oh yes, the wonders of God's

              ALL

We can host gatherings 

for music, sports, discussion, 

book studies, storytelling,

prayer, civic involvement.

       Lively Love

We'll have to do some 

ducking and weaving 

given the danger and chaos 

of the moment.

We do have to look out.

We do not have to sit it out

in dulled Waiting.

Spirit Sprung

we move from 

the confines of the 

    Waiting Room

to the spaciousness 

        of the

    Living Room 

     for freeing

 Kingdom Aliveness

We make our own 

the words of the Angel:

"The time of waiting is over."

       Revelation 10:6

       Jerusalem Bible

            Sprung

        Alive in Love

   WE JUST CAN"T WAIT

            ******

   A RECOMMENDATION

Way better than my words here 

are the confirming words of 

           Holy Writ

Let's each and with others

        read and apply

       those confirming

        Wholly Words.

They encourage us to take a pass

        on the passivity of 

              Waiting 

                and 

           Spring Alive 

                 in 

      The Love That Is God

   A few are to be found as a 

           FURERANCE

   at the end of this posting.

        

        A HEARTFELT

          WELCOME

               TO 

            US ALL

             FROM 

        ALL OUR MANY

     LANDS AND WAYS

      

         ONLINE POSTINGS
  
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    SO GOOD TO BE WITH YOU

      SEE YOU NEXT WEEK

           LOVE TO ALL.

          GOOD BLESS

          JOHN FRANK

         frankly speaking

      spirituality for the street

  johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

                ******

   FURTHERANCE

The times are tough.

The times are dangerous.

There can be a temptation 

        to stall out,

        to wait it out 

    and not go full bore 

     in Kingdom Living.

It's a great big boost 

to give ear and heart to 

The Holy Spirit.

When alone, when with others,

we prayerfully ponder 

the clarity and courage 

offered in Holy Writ.

How can we apply it

in the particulars 

of our setting?  

Even more, how can we 

open all the way to it,

embrace it, live it?

"So let's not allow ourselves 

 to get fatigued doing good. 

 At the right time 

 we will harvest 

 a good crop 

 if we don't give up, 

 or quit. 

 Right now, therefore, 

 every time we get the chance 

 let us work for the benefit of all, 

 starting with the people 

closest to us in the

 icommunity of faith,"

     Galatians 6:9-10

       The Message

        Translation

 

 "Do you see what this means 

  - all these pioneers 

  who blazed the way, 

  all these veterans 

  cheering us on. 

  It means 

  we'd better get on with it, 

  Strip down, start running 

   - and never quit ... 

  Keep your eyes on Jesus, 

  who both began and finished 

  this race we're in. 

  Study how he did it. 

  Because he never lost sight 

  of where he was headed 

  - that exhilarating finish 

  in and with God 

  - he could put up with 

  anything along the way: 

  cross, shame, whatever. 

  And now he's there, 

  in the place of honor, 

  right alongside God. 

  When you find yourselves 

  flagging in your faith, 

  go over that story again, 

  item by item,

  that long litany of hostility 

  he plowed through. 

  That will shoot adrenaline 

  into your souls."

       Hebrews 12: 1-3

         The Message

          Translation

            ******

 

 

SEE AND SAY SPIRIT

      

Let me say it straight out.

    

    You're Wonderful !

    You stuck it out.

        It was a 

       Soul Slog

    to get through

 last week's posting,

   

          DAY

It sure was a block buster,  

      formidable 

in length and challenge. 

At the end I promised 

    to treat us all 

to something briefer

      this week.

      Here goes. 

        

       ******

Dear All of Us,

I'm an enthusiast and

I hope I never get over it. 

I treasure friends.

Among may other joys,

I get excited,

really pumped up, 

introducing them

to each other.

 

So far though 

I haven't

figured out 

a way 

for me 

to have us all 

over here to my place 

for a dinner party 

so I can introduce

a new friend of mine

via the internet feed.

  

- Yep, on purpose :) 

So, we'll have to do it 

this way. 

Please let me 

invite us all to a

        Blog 

 Meet and Greet 

     

            with

Steven Charleston.

Steven is a member of the 

     Choctaw Nation.

He grew up in Oklahoma.

Among many goodnesses

he served as president of

The Episcopal Divinity School, 

Cambridge MA. and was the 

Episcopal Bishop of Alaska.

I meet with him in his writings.

Steven has a simple, 

poetically profound way to

   SEE AND SAY SPIRIT

Please say hello to Steven

as he shares Spirit with us:

SPIRIT OF ALL

If we are all created in the image of the Spirit

Then how wonderfully diverse the Spirit must be.

The Spirit in every shape and size

The Spirit in every tone and color

The Spirit in every face and body.

The Spirit of all cultures and languages

Of all peoples and nations

Of all ages and genders.

When we cease to see the Spirit

Through the keyhole of our comfort

And witness the grandeur of the Spirit

Without limits or definitions

Then the image becomes infinite

And the subject becomes intimate.

We do not need to think outside the box

Because there is no need for the box at all.

CARD-CARRYING HUMAN BEING

I am a card-carrying human being.

I am not a political party, a denomination,

A class, a race, or a demographic.

I am just a human being.

I am not a nationality, a sexuality,

An age, or even a gender

since we all start out pretty much the same

and we all are going to the same destination.

I like to do what human beings like to do:

Live at peace, enjoy my life, be with the family.

I like learning from other human beings,  

Sharing my own thoughts

And finding ways to make this world safer, happier,

And as natural as we found it.

I am a card-carrying human being.

That means I am proud to be what Spirt made me.

    

                        

                         SPIRIT WHEEL

                          Meditations

                        

                            from an

       

                       Indigenous Elder

                       Steven Charleson

                       Broadleaf Books

                              2023

                   

                            ******

                       Thanks , Steven

So glad we get to be 

Spirited Human Beings

    together here

    evert week.

  See you in seven.

      Love to all.

      God bless,

     John Frank

       ******

       

      ONLINE POSTINGS

       

                   EARLY

   WEDNESDAY EVENINGS

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       PAST POSTINGS

 

         AVAILABLE

     

              BY

    SCROLLING DOWN

         BENEATH

        

     THIS POSTING

   

    A WARM WELCOME

  TO ALL NEW WITH US.

PLEASE CONTINUE SHARING

        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

             WITH

      FAMILY, FRIENDS

  FELLOW PARISHONERS

        COLLEAGUES.

     YOU ARE THE ONLY

    CIRCULATION STAFF 

 

         WE HAVE.

          THANKS

 

          ******

                  frankly speaking

              spirituality for the street

           johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

                        ******

           

DAY

Brothers and Sisters.

Having written, rewritten, 

revised and revised 

this week's blog,

I feel a need for an Intro.

This blog is a double 

if not a triple header.

It is longer and 

more strenuous

than usual.

Its focus and concern are

vitally important.

I pray we all take time,

give head and heart to

slowly and prayerfully 

engage with it.

For those who chose 

to take a pass, 

here is a 

Soul Search

for prayer 

and meditation:

   " IF I WERE ON TRIAL 

      FOR BEING A CHRISTIAN, 

      WOULD THERE BE 

      ENOUGH EVIDENCE 

      TO CONVICT ME?"

           James Turro

Now to the 

hard work 

at hand.

We face peril. 

We find ways 

to live it 

to life in Christ.

Here we go.

In all cases, 

I love you!

John Frank

   ******

Dear All of Us,

Hope we're all having a 

Hey of a Day.

It would be great 

if that were so for

everyone everywhere.

But of course, it isn't.

        For 

    too many,

    too often,

    too much

it's not a heaven,

but a hell of a day.

They all are.

It may be so 

for us all

sooner than later.

Worldwide

things have

snapped,

broken loose,

are untethered.

It's like trying to navigatean 

an international highway 

with high-speed traffic

  careening across

         and

   up and down

     all lanes

 in chaotic mayhem.

A DEMOLITION DERBY

We absolutely need 

to find our way free of 

crash crush.

Worldwide we are in 

   a sea swirl of 

DESTABILIZATION.

We see it operative in 

just about every 

zone of daily life.

And it is a lot deeper 

than any and 

all of them together.

We just 

don't dare

get used to it,

take it for granted,

settle for it,

ignore it.

If we do,

we and our loved ones

will be sucked under,

drowned dreadful dead. 

             Please see:

             A New World Order 

             Is Coming.

             We Aren't Ready

                    by

           Margaret Mac Millan

                  New York Times

              Guest Essay

              Op-ed Page

            September 1, 2026

Here in my homeland,  

     The Not At All 

         UNITED

   States Of America,

The Ship of State,

indeed, the whole 

social order,

is listing badly,

is splitting apart,

in hateful extremes

Left and Right,

is taking on water, 

is starting to sink

(and the waters are 

 a lot deeper than a

 Reflecting Pool).

To change the metaphor

        (yet again)

it's like a couple that

hate and despise each other

but can't find a workable way 

to divorce.

They end up living a 

dreadful divorce together. 

      It's a hell of 

         a day,

      and night

- all of them are.

 Here and worldwide

 this destabilization 

   is the loss of a 

       CENTER

 It's the absence of a

        CORE

   It's the lack of 

        SOUL

    It's a spiritual 

        VOID.

We absolutely must

do something

and we sure can!

   Despite all the 

SCREEN SKREECH

          and

CHURCHY CHATTER

          and

POLITICAL TWIST TALK

this lack of core

is not primarily, 

political,

economic,

governmental,

moral,

cultural,

environmental.

Each and all 

of those are 

containers, 

carriers,

loci 

     of a core

     of a center,

     of a soul fire, 

     and the fire 

     has gone out.

A container fix 

isn't a fix.

It was like this for 

the followers of Jesus.

He was dead.

They were in a

free fall stall.

What to DO???

They did what we need to do

             

            Huddle 

            Humbly

            Empty Out 

               fixes 

            that don't.

   Into that openness 

   and their togetherness

   FLAMED THE SPIRIT

   It energized them.

They took to the streets

   preaching, inviting

       Kingdom Life.

  Small home churches,

        that were 

for real, close, loving,

     Gospel Living 

      communities,

       sprang up, 

 ever more and more.

     Despite seeming 

      impossibility,

      The Flame

        forthed 

   wider and farther.

       Fired by 

      The Spirit

      it flourished

  as together people

          lived

    CORE GOSPRL

        simply,

        really 

        practically

        believably

      Same for us.

      We huddle

      and humbly so

      as they did.

    If we empty out

        our fixes

        that don't,

   admit our core void,

           then

  into that openness

  and our togetherness

       THE SPIRIT

    WILL FLAME US

         FIRM

         FREE  

        FORTH

     Centered 

 in the dynamic,

 the energy field, 

         of

   GOD"S LOVE

we and our world

      will be 

    renewed 

  inside and out.

To do that we need 

to fully face 

some tough stuff,

some fixes we're in,

take some hard looks.

"The Christian ideal 

 has not been tried

 and found wanting.

 It has been tried 

 and found difficult 

 and left untried."

 G. K. Chesterton

Another hard look.

Christianity has done 

much good and much evil.

    It has not done 

      radical real

    CORE GOSPEL

        LIVING

   Christianity 

has come to be 

a cultural institution

with many good, 

Christian elements.

But since soon after 

the early days 

it ceased to be 

fundamentally a

New Testament 

     Church,

a basic way of life

    together

    in Christ.

It was coopted by 

Platonc Dualism 

   and became

    lackey to 

     Roman 

  Imperialism.

    It is done

       and 

 it has done in 

a needful world.

We need to be 

radically honest

about it.

        Please see:

        How Western Christianity 

        Got It Wrong

        Replacing the God of Fear with a 

        Spirituality of Healing,

        Randy Woodley

        Broadleaf

        2026

         

    

WE CONSIDER

WE FACE

HARD TRUTHS

For most church goers

The Beatitudes are not 

      our attitudes, 

     our operational 

     approaches/slants 

          on life.

      Those of us 

middle class to wealthy 

       are not so 

     "poor in spirit" 

         that we 

     actually live 

  a simple lifestyle 

       so others 

   may simply live.

An honest check of

our closets, garage, 

vacations, address, 

portfolio,

credit cards and 

it's painfully clear.

We possess way, way 

more than enough

and painfully many most

don't have nearly enough.

When people deal with us 

and our community

just how genuinely 

are they mixing it up 

           with 

     God in person,

      God in us      

      How really 

are they encountering

  "The Body of Christ"?

   1 Corintians:21-31

     

"I am the vine. 

 You are the branches...

 This is to my Father's glory, 

 that you bear much fruit, 

 showing yourselves 

 to be my disciples."

   Matthew 15:1-8

We need to be honest about

how really and fully 

we allow the life 

of the vine

free flow  

in us branches.

What quality is the

         "fruit" 

we bear in everyday life?

Just how beautifully obvious 

       is it or not 

            at

work, at social gatherings,

wherever we are, 

whatever we are doing?

    "By their fruits 

     you will know them,"

         Matthew 7:16

So yes, we assess 

what kind

of "fruit"

we serve up

for others 

in daily life.

We look to see 

what we are known for?

Is it discipleship?

Just how vibrantly 

is it a presence of 

Divine Love

in our person,

in our community??

   "I was a stranger 

    and you invited me in"

      Matthew 25:31-46

Personally, 

and as 

a community,

how genuinely do we  

welcome and include 

    (not tolerate)

     "strangers"

 into our lives:

 people of various other 

colorations, sexualities 

ethnicities, persuasions, 

politics, cultural manners,

spiritualities, immigrants,

odd balls, 

the disabled and distraught?

Yes, this is hard.

And yes we're at an 

   axial moment.

  We swing true

          or 

we and our world 

swing in the breeze,

     dead done.

Individually 

and as a

community 

we go through 

a profound, spiritual

conversion

      or... 

So, we stay close to each other. 

We live not as an organization,

but as a God given, 

lively and joyous

            spiritual family.

We pray together, 

really pray, 

really together,

really more and deeper than

The Lord's Prayer 

in under thirty seconds and

Joys and Concerns 

that are more than 

community announcements.

We ponder together and deeply

over the holy scriptures.

We apply them to us 

in our here and now.

We hold as much 

as possible in common.

We share, from

watching each other's' kids 

to wrapping in 

lonely and needful elderly.

We do all we can 

for people and needs 

in our area and beyond. 

  Our lives are 

an open invitation 

     to shared 

Gospel Community

        and 

        joy.

We do this in tantum with 

people and communities

of other faith traditions

as they too

    CORE RENEW

    SPITITUALY 

       RESET

      CENTER 

         in 

    GOD GOOD 

however they see 

        and 

 experience that.

Our world's 

plight and peril 

will be righted 

not by grand 

plans and programs.

It will be righted by

   a profound 

   spiritual reset

Centered in God Goodness.

That righting

will rise up worldwide

from communities 

vigorous, joyous, inviting. 

     That rising will

lift, center, be core,

      spark soul

          for

        society

 "Thy kingdom come 

on earth as in heaven."

     Matthew 6:10

        IT CAN

           IF

       WE WILL

 What a hey of a day

 that can be for all.

       ******

BLESSINGS FOR ENGAGING

        WITH ALL OF    

        THE ABOVE

    A WARM WELCOME 

TO OUR TOGETHERNESS 

    HERE EACH WEEK

   ONLINE POSTINGS

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            BENEATH 

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        WE HAVE A LOT 

              TO BE 

         AND BECOME, 

              A LOT 

             TO DO

          AND REDO,

       SPIRIT FLAMED.

     

     "COME, HOLY SPIRIT.

      FILL OUR HEARTS

      WITH THE FIRE

      OF YOUR LOVE."

   SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

       LOVE TO ALL.

       GOD BLESS.

      JOHN FRANK

            PS:

      NEXT WEEK

      SHORTER,

      BRIEFER.

      I PROMISE!!

       ******

        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

             ******