More than 40 years this priest was in my life here on earth
teaching me much about interior silence, holy conversation, the preciousness of
every human life and of every moment of each life.
Tonight, this end of one chronological year and the
threshold of the 15th year of this first century of the third
millennium since the Holy Child Jesus was born in chronological time, inspired
both by the life of my priest-brother and a musical written by Jonathan Larson,
who lived for fewer years than the forty plus of the fraternity with Father, I find
myself asking: do I get the preciousness of every human life, of every person?
Do I get the preciousness of every moment of life, for all
is gift, all is grace.
Larson lived, struggled, suffered for his art and in his
relationships and died suddenly the morning of the first preview performance
Off Broadway of his semi-autobiographical musical RENT.
The story begins with the principal characters singing the dominate
question flowing from a simple mathematical fact of how many minutes there are
in a year: Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes!
The opening lyrics repeat the phrase: Five hundred twenty
five thousand six hundred minutes, three times and then the question is posed:
how do you measure, measure a year?
The media in their year end measuring tend to focus on the
past year’s disasters, scandals, mass murders, acts of terrorism, weather
extremes, and epidemics. Sometimes they throw in one or two cute stories so we
don’t all end the year totally depressed and hopeless.
Larson has his actors respond to the question with:
“In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, a year in the life?”
How do I, how do you, how do we measure the past year of
grace?
Larson then in the next verse three times asks: How about
love? How about love? How about love?
Larson’s answer: Measure
in love.
Father, to the best of my knowledge, never ‘measured’ in
love: he simply loved.
Loved Jesus, loved our Blessed Mother, loved everyone, especially
the poor, the needy, the seekers, the wounded, the confused, the frightened.
True love is not what I seek from another but what I can
gift to the other.
True love never counts the cost.
True love never compromises the truth but is able to witness
to the truth without diluting the love.
Likewise authentic love never dilutes truth.
Absolute life-giving, truth-bearing love is the Child in the
Manger become the Man on the Cross who dwells in the Holy Eucharist that our
beings might be permeated by Him; who walks with us as surely and as intimately
as He walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, listening to our
confusions and fears, hopes, dreams, sorrows, needs and lavishing Himself upon
us.
Frankly rather than take the measure of the five hundred
twenty five thousand six hundred minutes of the past year, which I leave to
Divine Mercy, Father’s life and teaching, his love, and yes Larson’s question,
moves my heart to look forward, to make a simple resolution for the five
hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes of 2015: to love-truly and
truly-love.
