Terry Fitzpatrick Homilist October 23-24 2010
A husband and wife are out shopping. The husband turns to the wife and says to her that he will go to buy the meat (hunter) if she gets the fruit and veg (gatherer). The wife is sent out by her husband to buy some fruit and vegetables. But they have to be organic! She goes to the fruit market and has a good look around but can’t find any.
So she grabs an old tired-looking employee and says, “These vegetables are for my husband. Have they been sprayed with any poisonous chemicals?
“The produce guy looks at her and says, “No, you’ll have to do that yourself.”Last week, David Pincus in sharing something about his life began by saying he was born of mixed parentage – “a man and a woman”.
Much humour has been extracted from emphasizing the differences in the sexes - how “ Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus,” and how a whole lexicon of words and phrases spoken by each needs to be reinterpreted to be fully understood. Men’s English for Women for instance when a man says “It’s a guy thing” – what he really means is, there is no rational thought pattern connected with it, and you have no chance at all of making it logical. When he says “It would take a long time to explain” – I have no idea how it works. “Take a break, honey, you’re working too hard” – I can’t hear the game over the vacuum cleaner.
“That’s interesting dear” – are you still talking?
“That’s women’s work”- it’s difficult, dirty and thankless.
Women’s English for Men- what women mean when they say,
“Yes” really means No
“No” really means Yes.
“Maybe” means No.
“I’m sorry” – You’ll be sorry.
“It’s your decision” – The correct decision should be obvious by now.
“Do what you want” – You’ll pay for this later.
“This kitchen is so inconvenient” – I want a new house.
When a woman says, “Are you listening to me?”- Too late you’re dead.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, life is not this simple. If it were, most of us may find ourselves in less strife – just follow the guide.
Life invites us to go beyond the concepts, the preconceived ideas and conditioned mind patterns that imprison us and those around us. To encounter its essence and the essence of another, the challenge again and again is to let go of our ego-based ideas and perceptions of another.
“To allow ourselves to know another human being in their essence,” says Eckhardt Tolle, “you don’t really need to know anything about them – their past, their history, their story”; for we confuse “knowing about” with a deeper “knowing” that is non-conceptual. Knowing about and knowing are totally different modalities, continues Eckhardt. One is concerned with form, the other formless. One operates through thought, the other through stillness.
Many of you may have had the experience of listening to someone pour out their problems; and their problems are immense and numerous – where to begin to respond becomes overwhelming.
The challenge is to stop your mind from solving their problem, from thinking of the next thing you are going to say; to stop the thinking mind and to be present to yourself and to the person who is sharing in that very moment can be a truly remarkable experience.
A listening- which goes far beyond auditory perception; to alert attention; a space of presence in which the words are being received. The words become secondary – what is important is the art of listening itself, the space of conscious presence that arises as you listen. That space is a unifying field of awareness in which you meet the other person without the separative barriers created by conceptual thinking. Somehow the other person is no longer “other”. In this space there is only one awareness; one consciousness.
There are some wonderful moments described in Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Eat, Pary, Love.” (the film is still showing, I think)
In one scene Liz is in an Ashram in India and while having problems with her meditation practice she encounters a fellow pilgrim, Richard from Texas (who refers to her by the name Groceries) . She complains that she cannot get her mind to sit still.
“I never see visions, I never have transcendent experiences “.
Richard says “You wanna see pretty colours? Or you wanna know the truth about your self? What’s your intention?”
“All I seem to do is argue with myself when I try to meditate” Liz replies.
“That’s just your ego, trying to make sure it stays in charge. This is what your ego does. It keeps you feeling separate, keeps you with a sense of duality, tries to convince you that you’re flawed and broken and alone instead of whole.”
(Liz) “ But how does that serve me?”
(Richard) “ It doesn’t serve you. Your ego’s job isn’t to serve you. It’s only job is to keep itself in power. And right now, your ego’s scared to death cuz it’s about to get downsized. You keep up this spiritual path, baby, and that bad boy’s days are numbered. Pretty soon your ego will be out of work.”
It is the ego that is displaced in meditation and any true encounters with another. The Ego is always looking out for itself and hence creates separation. Not the oneness we all yearn for.
Later on Liz writes:
“I have been trying a different mantra. It’s simple, just two syllables.”
In Sanskrit it means “I am That”.
The yogis say that Hum-sa is the most natural mantra, the one we are all given by God before birth. It is the sound of our own breath. ‘Hum’ on the inhale, ‘sa’ on the exhale. As long as we live, every time we breathe in or out, we are repeating this mantra, ‘I am That’, I am Divine, I am with God, I am an expression of God, I am not separate, I am not this limited illusion of an individual.
In today’s gospel – the two men who come to the temple to pray – the two parts of each of us. The one that comes with Ego intact saying “ I am not like the rest of these,” creating Separation with every breath and thought. The other, “without Ego”, aware of vulnerability and the need for other, creates not separation, but unity. “This man” says Jesus, “went home at rights with God”, in unity with self and others, the other went home separate and alone – the choice we are making in every moment. As Jesus says,”for everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, but the one who humbles themselves, will be exalted” and find themselves at ONE with ALL.
27/10/2010 at 9:13 pm Permalink
I’m beginning to think there may be something to this meditation business. The article here is, for this website, refreshingly free from disparagement of the catholic church, catholic clergy or catholic beliefs. I congratulate the author for it.
30/10/2010 at 3:36 pm Permalink
what utter crap, Terry you are a joke
30/10/2010 at 5:01 pm Permalink
Great melding of ideas – many thanks for this enlightenment.
01/11/2010 at 7:40 pm Permalink
In regards to particularly the 2nd blog comment here, that this is crap.. this is why I would have liked Peter to retire in mid-2000s – Peter and Terry for many years have been held in high regard by many people and this something that should have been celebrated – not criticised. Terry has given many many homilies in a similar vein to this one, where the tone of his homily is a pastoral one as assistant priest – Terry is an excellent and well qualified pastoral worker and liked in the South Brisbane community, and to see these 2 men come under such criticism in the last 2 years brings little joy to long time St Mary’s folk whether they have left either St Mary’s or stayed at either one.
02/11/2010 at 9:16 pm Permalink
I wonder why it is that the word ‘c**p’ has been allowed here, while far more genteel language has been censored in the past.
Be that as it may, a word of advice to len:
Try to be more generous minded. By the usual standards here, this was a fairly harmless, inoffensive talk. And don’t we all need a lesson in humility sometimes (which I think was what Terry was saying, albeit not in so few words).
03/11/2010 at 11:31 pm Permalink
You are lucky to have such thinkers as Priests, when the majority of people who can’t go to South Brisbane sit through endless, BORING crap. Krap. CRAPPPP. Spell it how you like Len. Let’s be frank the sermons at the Roman Church I used to go to are pathetic. I simply took a book. They are a good mob but are pretty low on Theology, Communication skills and Spirituality. We have the exclusive OLD MENS CLUB dressed in Purple, red and white and more and more these days in lace peticoates. The Lacy lovelies at the MacKillop show, was only out done in bad taste by the Music. The Pope looks more and more like a drag show every day. [ suggest you read "the pope is not gay" Angelo Quattrocchi. ] What they are on about in their sermons is mind boggling. “THE” Miracle of Mary MacKillop, who went to South Brisbane, has been the two men with guts to stand tall like her. It’s always easy to stone someone rather than praise. Len, When is your turn to produce a homily? I’ll be there…. and may I have the right to stand up and do the worm with the Congregation? Bring it on!!!
05/11/2010 at 12:23 pm Permalink
We do monitor language and hope that all views expressed are done so in a respectful way. Never has ‘far more genteel language’ or any language used ever been censored. With respect to the word used in the comment
Crap- word usage This word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labeled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
05/11/2010 at 8:30 pm Permalink
Interesting that ex-catholics are so often amongst the most vehement of anti-catholics. Francis seems in urgent need of a dose of Doctor Terry’s calming meditation.
05/11/2010 at 9:54 pm Permalink
I thank the web team for its elucidation of the standards required here. It has been obvious of course that ‘more conservative people’ fall outside the advertised SMX principles of tolerance and respect, but I had not known until now that ‘older people’ were also beyond the pale.
06/11/2010 at 6:49 pm Permalink
re: web team: it’s more the CONTEX of a word.. hard to judge context in a blog where the convention seems short messages, hence i try to write more comprehensive, long-winded, and tiresome essays, er messages, to bore the readership. I like boring homilies – just not toooooo long! he he.
06/11/2010 at 6:49 pm Permalink
CONTEXT even.
11/11/2010 at 8:24 am Permalink
Just linked into the newsletter and for a brief moment before work I read this wonderful homily. I also read the comments of others – and am jotting down my thoughts on this community up there in South Brisbane – pavng the way – slowly and simply standing strong. I have been in great struggle and worked with extreme dedication for many years as a Catholic woman raising family, working full time, having lead roles on Parish Councils, committees etc. To meet at every corner priests with power problems – chipping away and sending away great people who wanted empowerment and were given “you are not worthy” instead. (some times in subtle ways and sometimes with loud voices) through the grace of God I prayed for a divine connection and one was given to me – sadly the Catholic Church was not the connection. It has been a path of enlightenment through a wonderful spiritual school that teaches along the line that Terry has just shared in his homily. Hey Great Changes are in the world ! Terry is living them. The great peace – hope and joy I felt when I read his insights and divine understanding of the message of Jesus. There are not many churches that have such great leadership. With courage and clarity – Terry is helping in heralding a new age of peace and divine connection. – thank God for the courage of these men who lead your church up there in South Brisbane. They hold a light up in the mist for so many – . God go with you as a community in love and light. I send my blessings and my prayers.
I may not always go to mass as often as I did but when I do – it is with a greater understanding of the messages that Terry has given in this homily ————- Unity and oneness with God is there if we just simply ask for it then “Trust”.