Haiku in a Time of Transition 変更期の俳句

2016.12.06:

One more Sci-Fi film.

Perhaps I’ve had my fill of

too much CGI.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #SciFi #SF #CGI #映画 #toomuchcgi #DrStrange

2016.12.08:

He picks one by one:

New team seems like a case of

Wolves guarding hen house.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday  #henhouse #wolves #鶏小屋 #狼

2016.12.08:

Sometimes the beauty

is so intense and so fierce

I must shed a tear.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #beauty #intense #涙 #美

2016.12.10:

CIA reports:

Russian Hackers aided Trump.

Whom can we trust now? 

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #信頼 #CIA #trust #hackers

2017.01.22:

Now we’re three days in.

How did you think it would go?

Brace yourselves, people!

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #chaos #potus #hope

2017.01.27:

it has been a week.

how do you feel about all

that's been going on? 

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #chaos @potus #hope

2017.01.29:

this is so much worse

than i thought it might become

and much much faster

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #chaos @potus #NoWallNoBan

2017.02.04:

sun, sand, sky and sea;

such a pleasant afternoon

at Po’ipu Beach

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #Poipu #ポイプ #selfie ＃浜辺

2017.02.06:

fog, mud and cold air

dampened Waimea Canyon;

i turned back early.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #WaimeaCanyon #Kauai #渓谷

2017.02.13:

I’ll not soon forget

that tiled floor rushing so fast

up toward my face.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #2010 #Kauai #床 ＃顔

2017.02.18:

All the winged monkeys

working together to run

a well-tuned machine.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #EmeraldCity

2017.02.24:

rampant crocuses

along the roadside basking;

still february

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #roadside ＃道端 ＃クロカス ＃crocus

2017.03.04:

new crisis daily:

starting to feel the fatigue

trying to keep track.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #wiretap

2017.03.11:

花と見し 雪は昨日ぞ 元の水

　　　　　　　　　　吾山

Seemed like falling blossoms, yesterday's snow, now gone back to water. 

　　　　　　　　　　Gozan　　　　　　　　　　[Gozan’s haiku; my translation]

#haiku #俳句 #今日の一句 #snow ＃雪 #requiem

2017.03.23:

when i was a kid

we hid under our school desks

fearing the russians

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #Russia #ColdWar ＃ルシア #冷戦 #Manafort #Putin

2017.03.25:

it’s incoherent

how he prattles on and on;

forgets his own lies.

some should be serving

time behind bars of iron:

for cheating the poor.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #AHCAFAIL  #Obamacare

2017.03.28:

without my glasses

i’m groping trying to find

where my glasses are

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #glasses #メガネ ＃眼鏡  #οὐροβόρος  #ouroboros

2017.04.07:

everywhere i go

paper seems to multiply

miles high and miles deep

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #paper #紙

2017.05.09:

you think we’re in a

constitutional crisis?

may God save us all!

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #Comey #FBI





Please feel free to leave a comment below: 

最近の俳句 Recent Haiku (with #hashtags)

2016.11.01:

ID said “N.C.”

A swing state in November.

Answered in Spanish.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #NorthCarolina #GetOutandVote

2016.11.09:

Dear Rest of the World:

Sorry! We will do our best

not to mess things up.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #thedayafter

2016.11.09:

To Alec Baldwin:

Congrats! Job security

for the next four years!

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #thedayafter

2016.11.15:

 

I am really shocked

and I can't find my olives

where the hell are they? 

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #olive ＃地獄

2016.11.17:

The fear and anger

I perceive all around me:

only in Bryn Mawr?

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #anger ＃fear #怒り #恐れ

2016.11.19:

Humans: we hurtle

in pods of steel, glass, plastic

on concrete ribbons.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #cars ＃自動車 #concrete #高速道路

2016.11.24:

Nothing quite like it:

Monday’s martini Thursday

with threads of lime rind.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #Thanksgiving ＃ライム #飲み物

2016.11.25:

She won’t let me sleep

So I’m massaging her neck

as she lies purring.

#cat ＃猫 #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #purring

2016.11.26:

I said to Jeoffry:

“What if we were to roast cats

instead of turkeys?”

#justkidding #cat ＃猫 #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday  #Thanksgiving

2016.11.27:

I love pecan pie.

But there’s much too much sugar.

Just gotta say no.

#pecanpie #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #砂糖

2016.11.27:

Mitt Romney for State?

I think he’d do a good job.

But can Trump forget?

#Trump #Romney #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #トランプ #ミットロムニー

2016.11.28:

It’s such a nice thing:

thanks for an ancient kindness

long lost from mem’ry.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #感謝 ＃早期発症型認知症

2016.12.04:

He’s making it up

as he goes along, it seems.

It’s not a good sign.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #不合理 ＃Creativity #創造性

2016.12.05:

On my daily walk

today my hands shout loudly:

“From now on with gloves!!!”

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #散歩 #gloves  #手袋

2016.12.05:

From this point in time

I’ll ne’er be this age again.

And that’s a good thing!

#haiku #俳句  #今日の俳句  #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday  #人生  ＃life  #時間 #tempusfugit

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe

Today is the feast of Christ the King.

In the year 2016, there are some countries that still have kings. 

Our nation is not one of them.

Here in the United States we have a president.

In fact right now, one might say we have two presidents.

One president who is finishing out his second term, and we have a president-elect. A man elected 11 days ago.

He is now gathering together his governing team and will take office two months from today.

This most recent election dramatically reveals the deep divide that exists in our nation. In the past 10 days many Americans have been jubilant and elated – happily looking forward to the start of the new president’s term. And many other Americans have been fearful and angry – worried that even before the start of the next term that the mood of the nation has darkened, and that those on the margins of society have already begun to feel a change.

At the same time, many Americans are trying to take a “wait and see” attitude and to hope for the best.

We Catholic Americans are kind of unique in that we have both president and king.

We Catholic Americans have a president. 

Whether we voted for him or not, whether we like him or not, whether we agree with him or not, a duly elected president deserves our respect, cooperation and support.
At the same time, we must be vigilant and hold any president responsible for ensuring the protection the most vulnerable members of our society – whether these be the poor, the unborn, victims of human trafficking, racial, ethnic or other minorities who are being made to suffer. 

We Catholic Americans also have a king. 

His name is Jesus Christ. 

Every king has a throne. 

Our King has had 3 and he seeks a 4^th. 

1.     The first throne was the manger where he was born in Bethlehem.

2.     The second throne that Jesus had was the cross.

3.     His third throne is the throne in heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father.

In some future homily I will talk about those three thrones and why they are important,

But for now, let me talk about one last throne – that 4^th one.

Whether you know it or not, you have the throne in your heart. Whatever sits on that throne governs your life.

Ask yourself: What sits on the throne in your heart?

o    Is it the desire for money?   or things?

o    Is it alcohol? Is it drugs? Is it sex? Is it yourself? Is it your work?

o    Is it a relationship with someone that you know in your heart is sinful?

o    It is possible for any of these things to be sitting on the throne of your heart.

And if one of these things is sitting on the throne,
it is governing your life; it is directing your life, and NOT the Lord.

The thing that you and I need to do is to look into our own hearts and to see who or what is sitting on the throne there. If we see ourselves sitting there, or if we see any one of the things I just mentioned sitting there, we.need.to.repent. We need to remove those other things from that throne. And then we need to turn to Jesus.

We need to open up our hearts to Jesus.

We need to invite Him to come into our hearts.

We need to invite Him to sit on the throne in our hearts.

We need to invite Him to be our king.

We need to invite Him to rule our hearts, to rule our lives,
with His love, with His peace, with His reconciliation, with His forgiveness.

When we invite him to take his throne as King in our hearts and our lives, it will affect how we act as Catholic citizens of our great nation. 

One more, related thing:

Archbishop Chaput 4 days ago wrote and posted a very helpful article about our nation since the presidential election in CatholicPhilly.com entitled:
“The Right Place to Start ”

Here is a link to the column. I highly recommend it. 

Finally, as we receive Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist today,

let us invite Him to be the King of our hearts and our lives.

so that we can help the Gospel values of Justice, Mercy and Compassion to prevail in our nation. 

最近の俳句 Recent Haiku

2016.09.13:

In my top drawer

I have many handkerchiefs.

More than I need.

2016.09.16:

Found some old catnip.

tho it is almost her age

it made her crazy. 

2016.09.18:

Some die too early

Lives hardly even started

Journeys cut too short.

2016.09.19:

I suck in the air

it swishes around my lungs

out then in seconds

2016.09.22:

I was so surprised

to discover that my cat

likes Parmesan cheese

我が猫が

ヤムヤム食べる

こなチーズ

2016.10.29:

It gives me a smile

discov’ring day-old popcorn

in my shirt pocket

House Where Nobody Lives

A Song by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.  

Sung by Liam at Burlap and Bean, Newtown Square, PA.  September 28, 2016.

Pink Flamingo - poem

Pink Flamingo - Spoken word poem - composed 2001

Recorded September, 2016

今日の俳句 Haiku of the Day 2016.08.26

Quad, the parish cat,

spent last night outside again.

One more bunnycide.

Some thoughts about coming to OMGC in Bryn Mawr

[the second half of my homily for July 10, 2016  

the first part was about contemporary violence and the Good Samaritan]

Let me begin by sharing with you a little bit about me
and about how I see my role here at Our Mother of Good Counsel. 

I was born in Darby, Pennsylvania, just about 8 miles from here.

After finishing Blessed Virgin Mary Parish School, I went to Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill. Then I became a friar in the Order of St. Augustine and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest nine years later.

After one year of ministry in a parish in upstate New York, I was sent to the Augustinian missions in Japan. I worked there for 18 wonderful years. I returned to the United States in the summer of 1995.

After working in a parish in Massachusetts for one year, I requested a leave of absence from priestly ministry and Augustinian community life. For 12 years I worked in companies in the Boston area – mostly in international telecommunications and then IT in the healthcare sector.

In 2008 after years of prayerful consideration I requested permission to return to the Order of St. Augustine. Happily, my request was honored and in May of that year I was assigned to the Augustinian Community in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Father Jack Denny was the pastor and Brother Bill Harkin was pastoral associate.
3 Bonner grads!!  Father Jack and Brother Bill welcomed me very warmly. They were very helpful. They greatly facilitated my return to active priestly ministry and to Augustinian community life. My 14 months living with them was a wonderful time of many graces and blessings.

After Maggie Valley, I was assigned to St. Mary’s Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts for one year. Most recently, for the past 6 years I was assigned to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Staten Island, New York.

In April of this year, Father Michael DiGregorio, our prior provincial, told me that my next assignment would be to come here to OMGC as Father Jack’s assistant pastor.
I was extremely happy at the prospect of working with Father Jack and Brother Bill again. It was like getting the old gang together again!

Then just four days later we received the devastating news about Father Jack’s cancer diagnosis.

On the morning of Saturday, June 18, one of our friars, Father Joe Murray, was ordained to the priesthood at St. Thomas to Villanova Church. Immediately after the ordination I drove over to Bryn Mawr Hospital to visit Father Jack.

I went into his room. He had lost a lot of weight.

His words were coming very, very slowly.

But he had not lost his wonderful smile.

I told him, “Jack, I was really looking forward to working with you again. It looks like that is not to be. But I promise you that I will do my best to continue the great work that you have been doing at OMGC. So, I’ve come here to ask for your blessing.” His smile got bigger and he said, “Sure, Liam,” as he raised his right hand to give me his blessing. I quickly genuflected to receive his blessing, made the sign of the cross and stood up again. I mumbled my thanks for all that he and Brother Bill had done for me in North Carolina, pledged him my prayers and left the room. The whole visit was probably less than two minutes.  I am so glad that I had that short visit with him!!

Father Jack passed from this life about 36 hours later. 

At his Friday funeral I saw Father Jack’s Mother before Mass. I went over to her, expressed my condolences and introduce myself: “Mrs. Denny, I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Liam O’Doherty.”

“Oh yes,” she said, “You’re going to replace John at Bryn Mawr.”

I replied, “Oh, Mrs. Denny, nobody can replace Jack. But I promise to do my best to continue his work.”

And that’s what I intend to do – to work with you all and to continue his work.

For a year or so I will listen and observe and work very hard to get to know you and the parish.  When I became pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Staten Island six years ago, Cardinal Dolan told me: “during the first year the only thing you should change is your socks.”
Of necessity there may be some things that will have to change,
but I don’t expect there to be many of those situations.

After 40 years as a priest, I have come to believe that the most important thing a priest can do it is to help his people fall more deeply in love with Jesus Christ.

The best thing a priest can do for his people is to help them have hearts on fire for Jesus, the Lord who loves them.

Some of the ways that a priest does this are through:

¤ prayer

¤ The liturgy and the sacraments

¤ and preaching.  

¤ ministering directly to the people  .... among others. 

I’ve already been praying for you all for a couple months.

I will continue to pray for you.  I promise to do that every day.

And I promise to prepare my homilies as carefully and as prayerfully as I can.  I take preaching very seriously.

One thing I must warn you about my homilies is that I have a tendency to repeat myself - a lot.

One thing I must warn you about my homilies is that I have a tendency to repeat myself - a lot.

You’re going to hear a lot about Oreos and milk.

And about my Dad and Mom, who got me started on this walk with Jesus.

And about baptism.

And about the Kingdom of God.

And about the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And about His Second Coming.   And about the Holy Spirit.

And I promise that I will do my best to make a connection between the Sunday Gospel and the lives that you and I live Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

I’ve gone on longer than I usually do. I don’t usually preach this long. So let me end by asking for us to pray:

¤ For those whose lives have been snuffed out by violence

¤ For those who have lost loved ones to violence

¤ For those who live in fear of violence

¤ For those who mistakenly think that violence can solve anything. 

And let us pray for each other – priests and parishioners

Let us not only pray but let us take action as the Samaritan did.

It was the Samaritan who showed mercy.

It was the Samaritan who became neighbor.
Let us learn by his example.