flowery language

 

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That it's Bad Word Time again? Pretty dandelion near it. There are two of those suckers down there, and a calm, harmless, mild, nonthreatening, building, sneaky, devious, crouching, raging, pouncing gardenia Cat5HMichael comes to mind. 

Yet one more time again, eh? no worries, right? 

I'll clear off the porches this weekend. 

Our diocesan bishop two or three back taught me to camouflage what I'm about to say with flower names. It's nowhere near as effective in venting the rage and releasing the pressure, but it somewhat avoids being the jackaxe one has made of oneself and knows oneself to be right afterward as one murmurs the embarrassed apology. 

It doesn't always work for me. 

I confess to Almighty God, to his Church, and to you, that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed, in things done and left undone; especially (confess flowery thoughts as well as flowery words)

 

Fortunately, I'm a priest. I'll have my own private confession, give myself wise counsel, assign light penance, and wave the sign of the cross over myownself in absolution.

Again, here's the epistle reading for Sunday, Proper 16A, August 23

Romans 12:1-8

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

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It makes me mindful that I'm NOT presenting myself holy and acceptable, and that if I had to do it on my own I'd never get there. Which is why the church offers the pastoral office Reconciliation of a Sinner. And why the church includes Confession of Sin and Absolution in Sunday liturgy. 

It also calls to mind words in our Traditional Language (Rite One) Eucharistic Prayer,

And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee;  

I might like to assure myself that after all I'm doing the best I can with life, but deep down I know dandelion well that it's never been true. 

Which, continuing to stir memories, calls forth the weekday in Apalachicola when a friend who had only seen me in church on Sunday wearing alb and chasuble and stole said

"Tom, those vestments you wear on Sunday cover up a lot of sin, don't they!"

I can see her face, but it's been long years and I forget her name. She was one of those people you encounter a few times in life who, like Clara, can make you suddenly very conscious of what you really are.

Here's the latest from the National Hurricane Center

BLM&PTL

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