{"id":2834,"date":"2018-12-07T00:00:39","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T05:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=2834"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:45:04","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:45:04","slug":"dec-7-pearl-harbor-dom-helder-camera-advent-journeys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2018\/12\/07\/dec-7-pearl-harbor-dom-helder-camera-advent-journeys\/","title":{"rendered":"Dec 7 – Pearl Harbor . . . . Dom Helder Camera, Advent Journeys"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday \u00a0December 7
\n<\/strong>\u201c. . . \u00a0cares for weary companions . . .\u00a0\u201c<\/p>\n

Back home from\u00a03+ days with my sister Midge and her family in Carson City. \u00a0Out the window\u00a0we had some lovely snow + a\u00a0couple\u00a0mule deer & several large raptors (I think perhaps a golden eagle).\u00a0 Here at home we have a lovely dusting of snow and hints of sunshine.<\/p>\n

This morning\u00a0I fished from 2015’s\u00a0Advent posts and found\u00a0Nov 30, 2015\u2019s note on Dom Helder Camera<\/a>, a saint in my book and worth a re-read. \u00a0Yes, it is also the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.\u00a0 Whenever I read this saying, this sacred old man stops me still with his delicacy and his flint-hard\u00a0courage.<\/p>\n

Have a blest weekend.<\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post \u2013 Dom Helder Camera<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is possible to travel alone, but we know the journey is human life
\nand life needs company.
\nCompanion is the one who eats the same bread.<\/p>\n

The good traveler cares for weary companions, grieves when we lose heart,
\ntakes us where she finds us,\u00a0 listens to us.
\nIntelligently, gently, above all lovingly, we encourage each other to go on
\nand recover our joy
\nOn the\u00a0 journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

February 7, 1909 – August 27, 1999<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

p.s.\u00a0Advent often reminds me of one of the saints in my life. \u00a0Here\u2019s a meditation about Dom Helder Camera I wrote early in Advent two years ago.<\/p>\n

Dom Helder Camera\u00a0was archbishop of Recife and Olinda from 1964 to 1985 during military dictatorship in Brazil. \u00a0He\u00a0interpreted Catholic teaching with a consistent, fierce attention to the violence of systems maintaining brutal poverty. \u00a0He made serious enemies. \u00a0 It is said that some of them hired a hit man to remove him. \u00a0Like the professional he was, the hit man stalked Dom Helder for some time, learning his habits, seeking a place and time apt for killing. \u00a0 In the process, he listened to him speak a number of times until, one day, he fell at Dom Helder\u2019s feet, weeping, and begged for the grace to change his profession and his life. \u00a0 When he walked this earth,\u00a0Dom Helder\u2019s presence\u00a0engaged the world\u2019s wounds.<\/p>\n

This unblinking attention to the violence of poverty was matched by legendary playfulness. \u00a0Here is one story among many, this one I witnessed. \u00a0Once Dom Helder was speaking to about 1500 people who sat on the St. Louis levee overlooking the Mississippi River (by the Arch); in the middle of the talk, a helicopter took off right behind him filled with tourists taking a ride with a bird\u2019s eye view of the river and the city. \u00a0 It made enough of a racket that it was impossible to hear what the Dom Helder was saying. \u00a0He paused, turned around to the\u00a0helicopter, and gave the tourists a puckish little wave. \u00a0When the helicopter got a little farther out on its trip, he turned back to us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wednesday \u00a0December 7 \u201c. . . \u00a0cares for weary companions . . .\u00a0\u201c Back home from\u00a03+ days with my sister Midge and her family in Carson City. \u00a0Out the window\u00a0we had some lovely snow + a\u00a0couple\u00a0mule deer & several large … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2834"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2834"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3102,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2834\/revisions\/3102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}