John Janaro's Blog, page 187

My Morning Offering (Slightly "Modified"

Praying, sleeping, or posing... Hey, I needed a picture, ok?God's ways are mysterious and vast, beyond our understanding. He is an awesome God, even in (especially in) His love.

And He is transforming us by drawing us into a participation in that love.

Who knows the deep connections of love that wind through the Mystical Body of Christ and reach out to all humanity?

When we say to God each day, “I offer you everything…” He gives over the energy of our small love in union with the Cross of Christ so that its power might sustain others.
When we give ourselves to God, He does with us what He wants.
I know that I must grow in the trust that really enables me to let go and give over everything to God.
When I offer my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings to God, it is usually accompanied by an unspoken list of preferences:
“O Lord, take my sufferingsand use them according to your will,but (if it is your will, of course)please don’t make them any worse;in fact, take away these sorrows and pains,enable me to use my talents,make me (just a little bit) successful,and—why not?—give me a few goodies,like maybe some more money(if it is your will, of course).”
We could call this "John Janaro's Modified Morning Offering."

My Morning Offering (Slightly "Modified"

Praying, sleeping, or posing... Hey, I needed a picture, ok?God's ways are mysterious and vast, beyond our understanding. He is an awesome God, even in (especially in) His love.

And He is transforming us by drawing us into a participation in that love.

Who knows the deep connections of love that wind through the Mystical Body of Christ and reach out to all humanity?

When we say to God each day, “I offer you everything…” He gives over the energy of our small love in union with the Cross of Christ so that its power might sustain others.
When we give ourselves to God, He does with us what He wants.
I know that I must grow in the trust that really enables me to let go and give over everything to God.
When I offer my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings to God, it is usually accompanied by an unspoken list of preferences:
“O Lord, take my sufferingsand use them according to your will,but (if it is your will, of course)please don’t make them any worse;in fact, take away these sorrows and pains,enable me to use my talents,make me (just a little bit) successful,and—why not?—give me a few goodies,like maybe some more money(if it is your will, of course).”
We could call this "John Janaro's Modified Morning Offering."

My Morning Offering (Slightly "Modified"

Praying, sleeping, or posing... Hey, I needed a picture, ok?God's ways are mysterious and vast, beyond our understanding. He is an awesome God, even in (especially in) His love.

And He is transforming us by drawing us into a participation in that love.

Who knows the deep connections of love that wind through the Mystical Body of Christ and reach out to all humanity?

When we say to God each day, “I offer you everything…” He gives over the energy of our small love in union with the Cross of Christ so that its power might sustain others.
When we give ourselves to God, He does with us what He wants.
I know that I must grow in the trust that really enables me to let go and give over everything to God.
When I offer my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings to God, it is usually accompanied by an unspoken list of preferences:
“O Lord, take my sufferingsand use them according to your will,but (if it is your will, of course)please don’t make them any worse;in fact, take away these sorrows and pains,enable me to use my talents,make me (just a little bit) successful,and—why not?—give me a few goodies,like maybe some more money(if it is your will, of course).”
We could call this "John Janaro's Modified Morning Offering."

My Morning Offering (Slightly "Modified"

Praying, sleeping, or posing... Hey, I needed a picture, ok?God's ways are mysterious and vast, beyond our understanding. He is an awesome God, even in (especially in) His love.

And He is transforming us by drawing us into a participation in that love.

Who knows the deep connections of love that wind through the Mystical Body of Christ and reach out to all humanity?

When we say to God each day, “I offer you everything…” He gives over the energy of our small love in union with the Cross of Christ so that its power might sustain others.
When we give ourselves to God, He does with us what He wants.
I know that I must grow in the trust that really enables me to let go and give over everything to God.
When I offer my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings to God, it is usually accompanied by an unspoken list of preferences:
“O Lord, take my sufferingsand use them according to your will,but (if it is your will, of course)please don’t make them any worse;in fact, take away these sorrows and pains,enable me to use my talents,make me (just a little bit) successful,and—why not?—give me a few goodies,like maybe some more money(if it is your will, of course).”
We could call this "John Janaro's Modified Morning Offering."

The Good Shepherd

Finally, a Fine Flowering of Spring

The tulips are blooming. So the world goes on. The flowers of the field are clothed in a brief burst of glory.
                                                                                            -


Spring in Virginia is heralded by the flowering of the "state tree," the dogwood. It took a little longer than usual this year, but it was worth the wait.
                                                                                                 -

How Much Do We Really Love God?

How much do we really love God?

That sounds like a large and mystical question. Trying to answer it by scrutinizing our "religious feelings" could easily lead us to confusion or self-deception, or just make us go round and round in circles.

I find it helpful to ask another question: How do I act in relation to the people who are closest to me in my life every day?

There is plenty of material right here for an examination of conscience: one that brings humility, and sorrow, and a memory that commits me again to the vocation of love and the work that it requires.

If I were alone in my own being, however, this would be a fruitless commitment. I would despair of ever being able to find the bridge between my limited self and the lives of other limited persons. My solitude would be an impenetrable shell.

But I am not alone.

The God who gives me my very being is "present-with-me" as the Source of who I am—the God who, as Saint Augustine says, is "nearer to me than I am to myself." And Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified and risen from the dead, has taken hold of my life, and He is at work drawing me beyond myself by the power of His Spirit.

I fail again and again; I fall short in the limits of my love, and I am easily tempted to fall back into a sense of desperate isolation.

But I am not alone. Jesus is here.

The Risen Jesus has conquered my weakness. I must never be discouraged. I must keep going to Him, seeking Him, and asking for Him in prayer.

I must let Him build me up through the instruments of His grace in the Church, and enable me to recognize Him more and more in other persons, in every circumstance, especially in the ordinary circumstances of every day and in the apparently "ordinary people" that He has especially entrusted to me.

We will learn to love God according to His measure, by following the path He opens up in front of us. And we can trust Jesus who accompanies us, and the Holy Spirit who leads us.

Four Guys in Suits and Ties, Making Amazing Music!

A screenshot collage. Been spending some "quality time" listening to (and watching old videos of) the DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET. They are one of the best bands... in history !! 

A Time For War: The Spring of '18

Even when humans are busy making a mess of the world, the flowers still bloom in Springtime.

Well, who knows what the future holds? But in any case, they bloomed in the Spring of the year 1918.

A hundred years ago, it almost looked like someone might win the impossible, insane European war. In some sense, it was already "half-won," thanks to the surprising turn of events the previous year. But it remained necessary to deliver the decisive blow, and it needed to be done quickly.

One year earlier, Germany had been hopelessly deadlocked on two fronts. Then, like strange magic, the Russian front evaporated. That bizarre little man, Lenin, whom they had transported through their country with the wild hope that he might cause some trouble, had succeeded beyond all imagination (or nightmare).

Russia was in chaos, and there remained three years of brutal civil war before Lenin and his clique would consolidate power. But in early 1918, while the world was still not sure whether to take the Bolsheviks seriously, Lenin was busy negotiating a peace treaty with the Germans.

It wasn't easy. Lenin had to convince members of his own party that it was worth it to formalize a complete capitulation to the Kaiser's forces. But at this point in time (so it seems), Vlad-the-Bad was (still?) enough of an "orthodox Marxist" to believe that the inevitable forces of history were about to push through the proletarian revolution in the industrial world, beginning very, very soon in Germany.

That didn't actually happen, as it turned out. So much for the inevitable-forces-of-history-blablabla, but by the time that was clear, Lenin was in his over-celebrated tomb and Stalin was working hard to make the ideology more "practical" (as an instrument of raw power, despotism, and mass murder).

But we're getting too far ahead. It's 1918 and Lenin is bold enough to play head of state. So, why not sign a treaty? Who cares? Treaty schmeety, no worries. Give them what they want on paper. The tide of the revolution will sweep everything away.

Well, the Germans wanted a lot. And in the Treaty of Brest-Livosk on March 3, 1918, they got it. But let's just look at a map from March 1918 (versions of this map are basically all over the Internet). Oh my!

Whoa! Where is My Hair?

Wait... what??!! WHY??!!!