Voces de Casa Maria

by Brian Flagg,

EL CANTO DE ZACARIAS – THE SONG OF ZECHARIAH (he was John the Baptist’s dad) (Luke 1, 67-79)

On some level I’m kind of a devout Catholic Christian. I read the Scriptures for the daily mass in Español and English every day, am a lector at Santa Cruz Catholic Church and attend Mass almost every Sunday.

But on Christmas and Easter my eyes tend to glaze over and I don’t practice.

I guess I’m repulsed by the way our Demonic secular society takes over our Catholic Christian Church, how they pimp the season.

I got up this morning, Christmas Eve, in kind of a lousy, apprehensive mood and the first reading was from 2 Samuel. It was filled with all those things that guys like Benjamin Netanyahu, the president of Israel, cite as justification for the occupation and oppression of Palestinians. I felt exasperated.

But then I immersed myself in the gospel, It was The Song of Zechariah, a true song of liberation for those who dare to be touched and transformed by the story of the Creator God becoming human.

This song proclaims that because of this history of salvation, we can choose to be free from fear to serve our Creator in holiness and justice! The English translation uses the word virtue instead of justice, a big huge difference. The English translation lets comfortable members in good standing in our largely apostate Church off the hook? They can pat poor people on the head, give them a sandwich, go to church and not deal with grave social injustices that allow some to live like kings while most suffer from poverty, even extreme poverty.

So today I feel affirmed that we here at the Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community are on the right track because our Catholic Christian faith history really is about seeing and feeling and doing our part in the ongoing struggle to create the Kingdom of God right here on Earth, starting here in Barrio Libre (South Tucson).

My daily missal in Español, PAN de la PALABRA ends every day with a short exhortation entitled La Palabra en tu vida.

Here is today’s:

“The Song of Zechariah is an invitation to review and discover the actions of God in our history and in our lives, not only in the past, but every moment, and to take it as an example to catch the enthusiasm of Zechariah and give thanks to God with all our being.”

Luke 1, 67-79

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke to this prophecy:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited his people, he has come to their rescue and he has raised up for us a power for salvation in the House of his servant David, even as he proclaimed, by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times, that he would save us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us. Thus he shows mercy to our ancestors, thus he remembers his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham that he would grant us, free from fear, to be delivered from the hands of our enemies, to serve him in holiness and virtue in his presence, all our days.

And you, little child, you shall be called Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him. To give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins; this by the tender mercy of our God who from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

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por Brian Flagg,

De cierta manera soy un  devoto Católico Cristiano. Leo las Escrituras para las misas diarias en español y en ingles todos los días, soy lector en la Iglesia Católica Santa Cruz y voy a Misa casi todos los domingos.

Pero durante la Navidad y la Pascua mis ojos tienden a nublarse y no participo.

Creo que me repulsa la manera en que nuestra Endemoniada sociedad secular se apodera de nuestra Iglesia Católica Cristiana, y la utiliza durante estas épocas.

Me levante esta mañana, el día antes de la Navidad, de mal humor aprehensivo y leí Samuel 2. Estaba lleno de aquellas cosas que personas como Benjamín Netanyahu, presidente  de Israel, cita para justificar la ocupación y opresión de Palestina. Me sentí exasperado.

Pero luego me enfoque en la Canción de Zacarías, una verdadera canción de libertad para aquellos que se atreven a ser tocados y transformados por la historia de Dios el Creador siendo un ser humano.

¡Esta canción proclama que debido a la historia de la salvación, podemos escoger el estar libres de temor y servir a nuestro Creador en santidad y justicia! La versión en ingles usa la palabra virtud en vez de justicia, una enorme diferencia. ¿La traducción en ingles permite a las personas que estén cómodas o que tienen un buen estándar en el gran apostolado de  nuestra Iglesia a no tener que hacer nada? Ellos pueden darle una palmada en la cabeza a las personas pobres, darles un sándwich, ir a la iglesia y no tener que lidiar con las graves injusticias sociales que permiten que algunos vivan como reyes mientras que la mayoría sufre de pobreza, incluso extremada pobreza.

Entonces, hoy reafirmo que aquí en la Casa de Trabajadores Católicos de Casa María estamos en el camino correcto por que la historia de nuestra fe Cristiana Católica es en realidad ver, sentir y ser parte de la lucha por crear el Reino de Dios aquí en la tierra, empezando aquí en Barrio Libre (Sur Tucson).

Mi misal diario en Español, PAN de la PALABRA, termina cada día con un una pequeña exhortación titulada La Palabra en tu vida.

Aquí está la del día de hoy:

El canto de Zacarías es una invitación a repasar y descubrir las acciones de Dios en nuestra historia y en nuestra vida, no nada más en el pasado, sino a cada momento, y a tomarlo como modelo para contagiarnos del entusiasmo de Zacarías y darle gracias a Dios con todo nuestro ser.   

Lucas 1, 67-79

Su padre Zacarías estaba lleno del Espíritu Santo y habló de esta profecía:

“Y  nos ha levantado un cuerno de salvación en la casa de David su siervo, tal como lo anunció por boca de sus santos profetas desde los tiempos antiguos,  salvación de nuestros enemigos y de la mano de todos los que nos aborrecen; para mostrar misericordia a nuestros padres, y para recordar su santo pacto, el juramento que hizo a nuestro padre Abraham: concedernos que, librados de la mano de nuestros enemigos, le sirvamos sin temor en santidad y justicia delante de Él, todos nuestros días. Y tú, niño, serás llamado profeta del Altísimo; porque irás delante del Señor para preparar sus caminos; para dar a su pueblo el conocimiento de la salvación por el perdón de sus pecados, por la entrañable misericordia de nuestro Dios, con que la Aurora nos visitará desde lo alto, para dar luz a los que habitan en tinieblas y en sombra de muerte, para guiar nuestros pies en el camino de paz.

by Brian Flagg,

I have to admit to feeling that Salpointe High School and private education in general is elitist and that its brilliance (in both academics and football) is somehow connected to and responsible for the 50% drop out rate and less successful teams at schools such as Pueblo.

But then I got invited to Jessica Ellers’ Social Justice Class the students take during their junior year. I was one of the judges of projects that the students did to “solve poverty”.

I now have a whole new point of view of what a Salpointe education could produce. They did pretty thorough research and they even quoted Scripture and relevant papal encyclicals! They were tasked with seeing poverty through the lens of consumerism which really seemed to make it personal for them.

So this is the thank you letter I was compelled to write to Ms. Eller and the students:

Dec. 12, 2013

Dear Jessica Eller and the Social Justice Students at Salpointe High School,

Thanks for inviting me to hear your projects on how to solve poverty.

I was very impressed with your research and how thoughtful and serious you all were. I especially enjoyed Andrews’ tirade about the hypocrisy of institutions such as TIME magazine! (This was before Time declared Pope Francis their Man of the Year).

So you are all pretty smart about these issues, now what are you gonna do about it? Faith and knowledge need to get put into action or else you run the risk of being a hypocrite.

A few things to consider:

Continue to read, read, read, search for knowledge and be critical thinkers.

Figure out how you personally and collectively struggle for justice and basic human rights for all. This includes the right to food, a roof over your head, health care, education and maybe most importantly a job with a living wage.

Our society has the knowledge and the power to accomplish this almost immediately, but greedy people who profit off the present system have up until now not allowed it to happen.

The struggle continues…

Maybe a good starting point is for you all to harass your parents about voting and voting in accordance with the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church?

Please come and help us in The Soup Kitchen and in our efforts with the Bus Riders Union and organizing parents for quality public education.

Peace and Love,

Brian Flagg

by Brian Flagg,

December 8, 2013 Second Sunday of Advent

Mathew 3: 1-12

In due course John the Baptist appeared; he preached in the wilderness of Judaea and this was his message: -“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” This was the man the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he said:

                                A voice cries in the wilderness:

                                prepare a way for the Lord,

                                make his paths straight.

This man John wore a garment made of camel hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him, and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, “Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming? But if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruit, and do not presume to tell yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ because, I tell you, God can raise children form Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax is laid to the roots of the trees, so that tree which fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown to the fire. I baptize you in water for repentance, but the one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

This is possibly my favorite story, my favorite character of all, in the entire Bible!

Today we live within the confines of a mostly apostolate Christian Catholic Church. The faith has been domesticated. It has been pimped by well fed, well educated religious opportunists.

It was the same dynamic in the times of Jesus and St. John the Baptist. Juan called these guys a bunch of snakes, He told them to quit pimping his religion, repent and live an authentic faith, in solidarity with the poor and marginalized.

He employs vivid symbols such as an ax, producing good fruit, the wilderness (meaning the desert) and FIRE!

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por Brian Flagg,

Diciembre 8 del 2013, Segundo Domingo de Adviento

Mateo 3: 1-12
Por aquel tiempo se presentó Juan Bautista y empezó a predicar en el desierto de Judea; este era su mensaje: “Renuncian a su mal camino, porque el Reino de los Cielos está cerca.” Es a Juan a quien se refería el profeta Isaías cuando decía:

Una voz grita en el desierto:
Preparen un camino al Señor;
hagan su senderos rectos.

Además de la piel que le ceñía la cintura, Juan no tenía más que un manto hecho de pelo de camello. Su comida eran langostas y miel silvestre. Venían a verlo de Jerusalén, de toda la Judea y de la región del Jordán. Y además de confesar sus pecados, se hacían bautizar por juan en el rio Jordán.
Juan vio que un grupo de fariseos y de saduceos habían venido donde el bautizaba, y les dijo: “Raza de víboras, ¿Cómo van a pensar que escaparan del castigo que se les viene encima? Muestren los frutos de una sincera conversión, pues de nada les sirve decir: “Abraham es nuestro padre”. Yo les aseguro que dios es capaz de sacar hijos de Abraham aun de estas piedras. El hacha ya está puesta a la raíz de los árboles, y todo árbol que no da buen fruto, será cortado y arrojado al fuego.
Yo los bautizo en el agua, y él es el camino a la conversión. Pero después de mi viene uno con mucho más poder que yo – yo ni siquiera merezco llevarle las sandalias-, él los bautizara en el Espíritu Santo y el Fuego.

¡Esta historia es posiblemente mi favorita, y mi personaje favorito, de toda la Biblia!

Hoy vivimos en los confines de una Iglesia Cristiana Católica apostólica. La fe ha sido domesticada. Ha sido prostituida por religiosos oportunistas bien alimentados y educados.

Fue la misma dinámica que en los tiempos de Jesús y San Juan el Bautista. Juan llamo a estos hombres culebras, Él les dijo que dejen de prostituir su religión, arrepentirse y vivir una fe autentica, en solidaridad con los pobres y marginalizados.

¡El empleó símbolos vívidos tales como una hacha, el producir buen fruto, el yermo (significa el desierto) y el Fuego!