An Ultimate Tribute

... a stairway to heaven

One sign of a classic song is its power to drive us to meaning and Stairway to Heaven is just such a song. 

The True Meaning of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven

"Here it is, therefore; our stairway to heaven: our goal in life, according to Led Zeppelin, must be to discover the power of the community, the need to live together, in harmony with our souls and with nature. Only in this way can we we really improve ourselves and others, escaping the real evil of society, framed in its materialism, selfishness and disinterest towards others (“When all are one and one is all / To be a rock and not to roll”).

Stairway to Heaven, in conclusion, is everything but a perverse ode to evil and darkness. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, a splendid message of solidarity, brotherhood and equality. Together, we can really change the world around us. To be a rock and not to roll. Maybe it’s just an illusion. Perhaps we will never be able to really get together and do something concrete to make our lives better. But the message is there, and that’s what Led Zeppelin wanted from us."

 .Stairway to Heaven

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
You know

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
That's you

And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter
Remember laughter?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah...

And it makes me wonder
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold

And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all is one and one is all, that's what it is
To be a rock and not to roll, oh yeah

And she's buying a stairway to heaven

Songwriters: Robert Plant / James Patrick Page

God provides opportunities...

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?" - "God"

The Real Presence Requires the Sacrament and the Church

ENCOUNTERING CHRIST IN THE EUCHARIST

We need the living Christ, whom we can know only through our encounter with him. But encounter presumes actual presence—the Real Presence, which, in turn, requires the Sacrament and the Church that alone is authorized to give us the Sacrament, the Church that Christ himself willed into existence and continues to support. The Eucharist, at each new celebration, must be recognized anew as the core of our Christian life. But we cannot celebrate the Eucharist adequately if we are content to reduce it to a ritual of—more or less—a half-hour’s duration. To receive Christ means to worship him. We welcome him properly and worthily at the solemn moment of receiving him only when we worship him and in worshiping him learn to know him, come to understand his nature, and follow him. We need to learn once more how to rest peacefully in his gentle presence in our churches, where the Eucharist is likewise always present because Christ intercedes for us before the Father, because he always awaits us and speaks to us. We must learn again how to draw inwardly close to him, for it is only thus that we become worthy of the Eucharist. We cannot prepare ourselves to receive the Eucharist simply by thinking about how it should be done. We can prepare for it only when we try to comprehend the depths of its demands on us, of its greatness; when we do not reduce it to our level, but let ourselves be raised to its exalted level; when we become aware of the accumulated sound of the prayers offered during all the centuries in which generations of men have advanced and are still advancing toward Christ. It is petty and undiscerning to criticize such prayers because we do not understand them; it is an expression of a genuinely “critical” sentiment (of which, be it noted, self-criticism is also a form) when we begin to recognize their greatness and, opening ourselves to that greatness, let ourselves be deepened and purified by it.

From: Joseph Ratzinger, Roman homilies, October 12, 1982

Amen

Beyond Us and Them: The Practice of Faith in a Post-Election America

Where do we find ourselves now? How do the insights of René Girard concerning desire, violence, and scapegoating help us to make sense of a moment where our illusions are being laid bare and how we are to be is suddenly put into question? Are we stuck in rivalry with easily identifiable “others” whose faults we see, while blind to our own?

All are invited. 

James Alison is a Catholic priest, theologian, and author, known for his application of the thought of René Girard to contemporary theological questions.

Duncan Morrow has worked for many years in conflict resolution and peace-making in Northern Ireland and beyond. He is currently the Director of Community Engagement at the University of Ulster.

Non Violent by Jerry Naba Sonji Nkwe

Music influenced by Rene Girard, Introducing the Non Retributive,the non-violent God and the gospel of peace and grace.

Non Violent

lyrics-by Jerry Naba Sonji Nkwe ·

Yeah

the gospel of peace

introcucing the non-violent God

introducing the non-retributive God

grace

allow me let me get in
no Armageddon
gospel of peace, see we going in
wars exist
we say let fire cease
i mean ceasefire
your god of fire
violent God no more
Jesus ain't lord of war
he is prince of peace
he is waters still
greener pastures
the love of our sons and daughters
the hope of the whole world
why are you telling our boys and girls
God will take most to the abyss
down to the grave down to Hades
burn most and fail to save most
that spells no peace
and it’s not my king

chorus
sample speech by rene girard

verse 2
religion says we cursed dudes
lemme say this on verse two
if it be that true
God is just like Zeus
and that God makes me puke
created for fire and destruction
perpetual suffering i call that ISIS
my lord is totally different
loving us all all about us
when religion doubt us
God believes in us
and he lives in us
we exist through him
all we do in him
works for all us mankind
he loved us proven by the cross
inclusive love, the treasure he sought for
humanity his heart beat
what kind of love is this
so great and strong taking all of us in
no outcasts nor orphans of God
the god of peace he is not god of war
he is non violent

Fr Chase Hilgenbrinck - For what are you willing to give all of yourself?

Link HERE to hear Fr Chase Hilgenbrinck's homily for the opening Mass at Alleman High School, 8-16-15

Gospel       JN 6:51-58

Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”