Fatherhood Is Forever

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Meditation for Fathers

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Fatherhood is Forever

Once enacted, it participates in the eternal. Undiminished. Ageless. Ceaseless.

It is a seal. It is an identity from which we can never be extricated: it cannot be taken from a father. Strip him of all things; take his clothes, his shoes, his money; deprive him of his good name and all esteem, take from him his honor, his strength, his health; leave him naked and covered in ashes and contumely … take all these things from him; deprive him of hope in every dream. Take this all … and more … but you will not, for you cannot, take from him his fatherhood.

It is a seal upon his soul; it is his ontological presence in the universe, from which vast parts of the universe unfold, generation unto generation.

In his children he is one.

In his children he is become many.

His dignity is great, but it is made great only by and through his children. In his children he is ennobled, however base he may become, and in this sense, they are his redemption. Yes, he has given them life. But they have conferred dignity upon life, for they have made him like unto God Who is Father of us all.

Fatherhood, in its creative impetus, both emulates the Fatherhood of God, and derives from it … and in God alone it participates and endures.

It is not just perpetuity that binds father to child, but eternity. He is forever a father, once having fathered.

Alas for sorrow, in this life, with Rachel he may weep in Ramah, that his beloved children are no more … yes, in this life they may be no more, nor may he swathe them in his anguish, lave them in his tears – but his fatherhood endures … for his children endure – forever.

Joy and Sorrow. The very fabric of the universe stirs under the breath of life, even as it respires beyond a father's grasp, is lifted from his bronzed arms, and borne upon the promise of prophets. A father brings to being what he must ever relinquish, and his breath pales on the fringe of glory.

Here, in that penumbra between what was not, what is, what must be, and what will ever be; in that pale nimbus borne trembling upon a father's hands ... fatherhood even enters the sacral, for it enters into, even as it issues forth from, the Motherhood of Mary, who is the Mother of Life – who alone, in all creation, bore within herself the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The Mother of Sorrows … how well we understand each other. You buried your Son. I buried my child, too.

The world had sifted her through my fingers, and I have wept the tears of death. I have seen the dwelling of Holy Innocents far above the still and empty cradle.

In my grief, have I not cried up to God, my Father:

“Yet she lives! … In Thee! … Unto Thee! And surely Thou keepest her for me.
I will yet behold the face of my daughter!”

… I have dwelt in Ramah.

But she who was no more, by her very being, swift as a baby’s breath in the incensed wind, gave unto me this gift, this pledge to all that is eternal: I am her father.

I have been anointed with fatherhood. It cannot be reaved of me. Nor can she!

I am, as in no other aspect of my being, my fatherhood. The Most High God gave this to me – through her – as an imperishable gift, an everlasting inheritance! So great is His pledge that it is indefeasible to, inexpungable within, my very being itself.

My children are mine. And I am theirs. It will always, always be.

That is why, in the culmination of his years, heedless of all else, the father ran to his prodigal son. This was his treasure – not what the son had taken, but what he had brought back.

In utter poverty, covered with shame, blemished in sin, discarded by the world, unadorned, unshod … the son bore to his father the treasure of all time, the treasure for all time: flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood … the child in whose absence a father ever longs.
But more still …

A father is father to every child in the world. Every baby, every child, is his … too.

Because it is given by God, and is a participation in the Fatherhood of God Himself, fatherhood is a pouring forth upon all children, extends to all children, and because of God's predilection for the abandoned, especially for orphans … for we ourselves are, one and all, adopted sons and daughters of God.

Only Christ is consubstantial with the Father.

We are – each of us – orphans withal, adopted by the Father through the Son. It is not by nature, but by predilection and grace, that we are God’s children. If we are children of the One Father, are we not, then, children of every father who participates in, has received his fatherhood from, the Fatherhood of God Himself?

This is the fatherhood of grace. It is such a breathlessly beautiful fatherhood, for father binds himself to child, and child to father, through love, each of one nature, one love, while not of one flesh, grace yielding each to each other; the one covering innocence with fatherhood, the other investing manhood with fatherhood, and fatherhood with dignity – and both bound up in one love born of grace for it is born of God.

My children, even now, cling to my sunburned neck, those of nature and those of grace, and I know them not apart. Each has possession of my heart. My life is as readily forfeit for the one as the other. Their laughter is a perpetual song, an eternal harmony, in my heart.

A father’s heart, I think, is like unto the heart of God.

There is no fatherless child.

There are only children whom I have not yet found …

A Father

SOURCE: Boston Catholic Journal

(This meditation is a celebration of fatherhood and it evolves into a consolation for those who grieve the loss of a child. One of my websites has a page for the consolation of parents who have lost children. It is in memory of William, the grandchild of one of my friends, and has many resources. It may be found here: Concordia Ministries, Inc., Williams' Page .)

Happy Birthday to Joe Burnett

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE

Happy Birthday to Pansy McCarra Mosby

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PANSY!!

HOORAY!!

Bobby Craven & Family

Allison, our daughter, her husband Chip and their two boys Zach and Daniel are behind me. Shane, our son is in the middle of the back row with his wife Kim and their three children, Jordan, Melonie and Abigail. My beautiful wife, Ann, is on the front row with me and Sadie, our Shi Tzu.

Happy Birthday to Bobby Craven on May 12th

Happy Birthday, Bobby.

We are so sorry we are late - we did not know!
We missed the cake too!

The Hubble Deep Field

Hubblesite

Memorial Day 2009

Vincent (Starry Starry Night) Don McLean

A slideshow of Vincent Van Gogh's work set to the song "Vincent" by Don McLean. It's part of an art and creative writing lesson plan for the patients at Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield.

Vincent

Outsider Art Show from Mental Hospital and Homeless Program, Mississippi State Hospital, set to the music of Nick Drake.

(Our thanks to David James who first shared the Don McLean video on this blog.)

Witherspoon School

The closing of Witherspoon on May 29 closes a chapter in the lives of many of us who attended elementary school there. It was the only school I ever attended from 1946 until 1952 and it holds a lot of memories, some good and some not so good. In 1946, a lunch cost fifteen cents and a bottle of milk was three cents. A bowl of soup was five cents and included a slice of bread. I remember the smell of the oil on the mop heads that were used to clean the floors and the smell of the chalk, especially when we would go outside to beat the chalkboard erasers. We spent almost as much time with our teachers as we spent with our parents and I'm sure many of them never realized what a profound influence they had on us. Do any of the other former Witherspoon students have memories you'd like to share? Peggy Edwards

Witherspoon Elementary’s last days draw near

By Ida Brown

Meridian Public School District's oldest facility will be retired on May 29.

Witherspoon Elementary School will close on that day, ending 120 years of serving the educational needs of the East Meridian community. MPSD's School Board made the final decision this week.

"We have less than 300 students attending Witherspoon. To renovate the school would not be cost effective, particularly in these economic times," said Meridian Superintendent Charlie Kent.Plumbing, flooring and lighting are just some of the renovations necessary to keep the school open.

"To repair the plumbing would require tearing out walls ... And as old as the building is, it would have to be encapsulated because of the asbestos," the superintendent said.

The historical school building's deteriorating state has been a concern of officials and the public for more than a decade. The recent announcement of Witherspoon's demise has not sat well with some residents, particularly those who live in the school's district.

"I'm sorry people are upset," Kent said. "We had a meeting about this (closing), it was posted. A few parents and neighbors attended, but they had no concerns."

So where will Witherspoon's students be at the start of the new school year?

"We have split and assigned the students between Crestwood and Parkview Elementary School," Kent said. "This will put them in a learning environment where they can still flourish academically, and not be a long way from home."

The school's teachers will be dispersed throughout the Meridian Public School District. Witherspoon School Principal Kimberly Kendrick will be reassigned within the district. Kent said that assignment will be announced to the school board next week.

Source: The Meridian Star

DAVID'S NEW BLOG ABOUT MERIDIAN

This is from classmate David James:

Hey Meridian! This blog's for you.

http://meridianstuff.blogspot.com/

All the Meridiana stuff has been transferred to a stand alone blog: Meridiana. Yeah, I know it's the name of a cheap seat airline in Italy and a street name in Barcelona, too. Posts there will be dedicated to items of "Meridian content" only. The other site was just getting too unwieldy. I'll keep the other blog up to post things of a wider interest. More of a magazine, as some international readers have called it. I hope you check it out from time-to-time, too.

http://www.mhsclassof58thenandnow.blogspot.com

Larry Tyner

Larry says that he is in this video about Oxford so watch and look for him. Click here.

M for Mississippi Named DVD of the Year At 30th Annual Blues Music Awards

(MEMPHIS, TN) – Last night, the critically acclaimed blues film M FOR MISSISSIPPI collected its highest honor to date: A Blues Music Award for DVD of the Year.

M FOR MISSISSIPPI, which is a co-production of Broke & Hungry Records, Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art and Mudpuppy Recordings, was one of five nominated movies. Its competition included films featuring platinum-selling rock legend Carlos Santana, blues icon Albert Collins, guitarist Ronnie Earl and Chicago bluesman Little Arthur Duncan.

“Considering the competition, we were truly surprised and humbled to receive this amazing recognition,” said Roger Stolle, one of the film’s creators. “It’s a testament to the great music that continues to flow from Mississippi and to the incredible artists who create it.”

M FOR MISSISSIPPI has been described as “part road trip, part buddy film.” It follows Stolle and fellow blues producer Jeff Konkel on a weeklong journey through Mississippi as they visit a dozen of the state’s most fascinating blues figures. The duo’s road trip, captured by cinematographer Damien Blaylock, led them to rustic environments ranging from juke joints to cotton fields and placed them face-to-face with such fascinating artists as James “T-Model” Ford, Robert Belfour, Robert “Bilbo” Walker, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and more. Completing the production team were co-producer Kari Jones and sound engineer Bill Abel.

“It’s mind-blowing to think that just over a year ago, we were piling into Roger’s van to start this journey and now here we are holding Blues Music Award statues,” Konkel said. “We’re so grateful to everyone who voted for the film and to all of the artists, individuals and organizations who supported us on this labor of love.” During their acceptance speeches, the filmmakers noted that without the contributions of several key sponsors, the film could not have been made. Sponsors included the Rootsway Roots ‘n Blues Association of Parma, Italy, LiveBluesWorld, Delta Music Experience, the Mississippi Film Office, British blues guitarist Bob Long and radio DJ Robert Haley.

Since its inception 30 years ago, the Blues Music Awards — formerly known as the Handy Awards — have been the genre’s gold standard. Through the years, Blues Music Awards have been bestowed on such seminal figures as Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Etta James and B.B. King. King himself was in attendance at last night’s award ceremony, as were such rock luminaries as Bonnie Raitt and Steve Miller.

The M for Mississippi DVD and its CD soundtrack are distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution Corporation.

For more information on M for Mississippi, visit the film’s official web site at www.mformississippi.com or contact the filmmakers at jeff@brokeandhungryrecords.com or roger@cathead.biz.

SOURCE: http://www.mformississippi.com/

M for Mississippi Trailer

Happy Birthday to Shirley Broadhead Hamilton

Happy Birthday, Shirley

Happy Mother's Day

Home is Where the Heart Is

Ouida Kathryn Landreth
Born August 1, 1940
Oxford, Mississippi

Tell us about your home town. Where were you born and what was life like then for you and your family?

(Watch this movie closely. One fellow looks just like Larry Tyner. Is that you Larry? He is a part-time resident of Oxford.)

CONGRATULATIONS, DAVID!

David James had one of his 6-word memoirs published in Smith Magazine's latest book, "Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak." His memoir was:

Two wrongs don't; three lefts do.

Click on the URL below and write your own 6-word story.

http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/index.php?featured=all&offset=0&offset=1400

A reading and party is planned in New York on May 30, in which David and other authors are invited to read. Amy Tan, Stephen Elliott, and Anthony Swofford will also read. Imagine being in the company of such famous authors!

Congratulations, David. Your classmates are proud of you! You are a good product of the Meridian School System.

Happy Anniversary Blog

Ouida,

AND WE CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR GIVING OUR CLASS A LASTING GIFT OF COMMUNION, RENEWED FRIENDSHIPS AND SHEER DELIGHT WITH THE POSTINGS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE! YOU ARE A DEAR. PLEASE DON'T TIRE OF IT, GROW WEARY OR DECIDE YOUR LIFE HAS MORE TO OFFER THAN ATTENDING TO THIS BLOG. WE NEED YOU!
CAN'T WAIT FOR 2013!JINNY

Happy Blog Anniversary from Ouida

Approximately one year ago today I accepted responsibility to format the blog and provide a layout, thinking I would be finished with the assignment within a week at the most and would return to my spring gardening and pruning and the full life that I have.

Skipping all that, here we are one year later. Our counter has over 37,000 hits. Isn't that great! We had a fabulous reunion, the one I loved most, mainly because I became reacquainted with so many of you through the blog, before the event. I've also made new friends, folks in our class that I really didn't know well until this last year.

The blog had some bumps in the road and disappointments. Often I thought my life would not end with either a bang or a whimper but with a blog. What an epitaph that would make.

Now the blog chugs along, waiting for new stories, birthdays, pictures and bits of your lives that you may share - things that friendships are made of.

Oh, yes! I finished most of the pruning last week. So what if I missed a year! Does it really matter? I chose the better part.

Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are—
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

—Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ulysses

AMEN! GO WILDCATS!!

Album of Photographs on Knoll Mansion

Photograph by Hannah Tibbetts

393 Magazine

I'm continuing to tweak and add to my blog project for Fred Hulett, "The Knoll Mansion." There is a new link to The Knoll Mansion Album which has large number of photographs, most not shown on the video posted earlier. I thought perhaps you may enjoy these. The photographs were made by Hannah Tibbetts with 393 Magazine. Go here: http://theknollmansion.blogspot.com/ , click The Gallery Page, listed on the right, and scroll down until you see The Knoll Mansion Album. Click. A few new pictures have been added to the other pages.