Jun 29, 2025

Living in Unconditional Love (224)

 

“Love flows from God to humans without effort:

As a bird glides through the air without moving its wings-

Thus, they go wherever they wish united in body and soul,

Yet separate in form.”

–Mechtild of Magdeburg

 

My wife Eileen died from esophageal cancer in February 2020 one year after being diagnosed, 60 years after we met on Long Island. Then my brother Tom became ill (not COVID), and I spent a total of six weeks being with him in Ohio, but he died in October 2020. My sister-in-law Sue Mahoney died from Covid-19 in January 2021. On top of it all stood the pandemic, locking everyone down almost two years. Covid has proved to be a persistent problem, and many of the long-term effects are quite serious, and it has proven much more serious than flu.

06/29/2025                             This time of year is one of family birthdays. This past week we celebrated our first-born Barbara, and on Monday we will celebrate our last-born, Drew. Kind of amusing that the first and last are in the same month but seventeen years apart. Much occurred during those 17 years, with the birth of five others and the move from Long Island to Upstate NY.

The garden looks beautiful, even though we had exceptional temperatures this past week, with several days in the ‘90s. It has been years since I recall the temperature reaching into the 90s. My AC worked great, so I remained mostly in my house so I would not get roasted.  Next week is supposed to be a bit cooler but still warm. I did get out today (Saturday) and mow the lawn and all looks nice. The peonies are just in full bloom, and all look beautiful. I believe I saw one lily blooming but I will have to go out and look again. Many have buds, and while a few have been eaten by the deer, most look ready to bloom. It should be looking good while the girls (three daughters and a granddaughter) are here. They are coming on July 4^th and leaving on the 11^th. I am looking forward to their visit. The daylilies are all looking like they are about to burst, and the early yellow ones are in full bloom.

There is not much to say about the sad situation of our country, and so many believe that they must grab as much as they can while here and will never have to face the consequences. We shall see.

This has indeed been a quiet and hot week, and I spent most lying low in the air-conditioned house, so not much to comment about. The senate is about to vote on the gifting of the country to the rich and the starving of the poor, and it is sad to see such evil now running our nation.

Meditation

Gentle One, I offer myself to You in Your mercy and kindness to ease the coming pain of the greedy and rich. How strange it is to see the parables from the gospel being lived out by so many in our country who forget their own background and proclaim that they worship ‘god’ – and they do, but their god is riches and power and not the God of Love. Forgive them.