Reconciling with the Past, Praying for Our Future: Hitting the Reset Button While in Australia
It’s happening! It’s been on the wind, and it’s in biblical proportions—the great reset. But it’s not what you might think it is. Allow me to explain.
My parish is focusing on the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (or Confession) during this time when we are preparing for Thanksgiving here in the States. And I give thanks that our Lord provides us with a means to play this game of life with one heck of safety-net strategy to keep the game moving forward without continued protests.
In my generation, we simply called it the “do over”. That’s what Confession does for us. Our God is a merciful and loving God who gives us second, third, fourth, err, “77” chances to get this game we call life right.
“Then Peter approaching asked him, ‘Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” (Matthew 18: 21-22)
Forgiveness. It’s one heck of a word, but it is the very key to maintaining relationships. Jesus loves you and wants to have and keep a relationship with you.
And it amazes me that even under the worst conditions, Jesus had the fortitude to beg God to forgive those who brutally crucified him, because he loved them, too.
“Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
So, I made a confession back in 2013—admitted something I hadn’t really owned up to or said out loud before; a very personal admittance that knocked over one domino that knocked over another domino, and then another, and so forth. Know what I mean? I wasn’t even in the confessional. There was a lot of power in letting the offense enter my consciousness, letting the Holy Spirit take over, and verbalizing my regrets for having sinned against the person I was with and the others I failed to serve. He was Australian musician, Mr. Ivor Arthur Davies, AM.
It was a pivotal moment in my life. I hadn’t realized how such a small “thing” in my immediate psyche was really a huge thing. I mean, it was spiritually loaded. It was a scenario that only the Lord could have staged, and the Lord knows, I have always been the kind to dig in and hesitate when he gave me a direct order, but in this strange case, I followed through in faith. Consequently, I acknowledged many things about myself that needed to change.
I confess it! I am a sinner working on changing my tendency to be a little on the defiant-oppositional side. I know very personally that the Lord will leave the 99 and go after the one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7) desperately needing his love, encouragement, and guidance.
Then later that year, God brought me to Prince of Peace Catholic Community in northwest Houston, where I could learn and grow best. My track record indicates that he has always sent me to the best, even when I didn’t know it and when I didn’t deserve it.
Many times, I described my experience at my parish as synonymous with dwelling among the other spiritual X-Men—“X” meaning “Christ”, like “X”-mas in “Christ”mas. I learned how to use my gifts and talents in the ways that he wanted me to use them at this stage of my life.
And as I followed his command, he sharpened and focused my resolve with “charisms”—the extra gifts he adds on when you offer up what you have, even when it appears to be so little. Think of the feeding of the 5,000. (Matthew 14:13-33)
Yup. So, what’s the Australian connection you ask? Possessed by the Holy Spirit, for the past 8 years, I’ve been “haunting” Mr. Davies, rattling my chains, sending letters, scriptures, and even writing books that illustrate the presence of the Holy Spirit in his songs. Let’s just say that surely his manager and PR team are well aware of me on some level.
Call me crazy, but that’s what things might look like sometimes when you are totally possessed by the Holy Spirit and let him take the wheel. It’s the kind of possession you want even when you know that people will look at you funny when you tell them about it! But you don’t care, because you are quite certain that it’s not at all about you.
No need for an exorcist. In fact, it’s very easy to step out of the hug of the Holy Spirit. The choice to remain with him or not is always yours. Unfortunately, the enemy’s tactics to separate you from God can be quite enticing. Thank the Lord, he is willing to forgive our indiscretions again and again and again!
Hence, I need Confession to edge myself as close to the Lord as possible. I also recognize I need my spiritual director, too. And yes, I’ve been to therapy!
I sang one of Mr. Davies’ songs this past year within the context of a testimony I delivered at a women’s retreat called, “Where the River Meets the Sea”—a biblical place and entity, the Church—Jesus (Ezekiel 47:8-12).
Yes. I know Mr. Davies originally wrote the song about a different place. He was a bit more literal through his interpretive lens, but I’ve been graced with ears that hear and eyes that can see. I can see and hear through the music and the lyrics. The Word is very clear and evident in the beauty of many of the songs that Mr. Davies composes.
In fact, he was commissioned to ring in the new millennium on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on New Year’s Eve singing his anthem, “Great Southern Land”, a song saturated with the Holy Spirit. His story of what inspired his lyrics, “burn you black”, echoes John 12:24:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
His father once explained to him that much of the flora and fauna of Australia need the yearly bushfires in order to propagate as their seeds are thick and hard and need the fires to break them open.
Mr. Davies extended the composition to accommodate all the festivities that were taking place on land and in the harbor on New Year’s Eve. He named the new piece “The Ghost of Time”. He doesn’t start singing “Great Southern Land” until about 13 minutes into the work. See footage of the festivities and his performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpl8sLxbivg
I believe, in many ways, that the global pandemic will be used by the Lord as a type of “bushfire”. He will use it as a way to grow us. He will also use anyone’s voice to deliver his message of love and hope.
So, you know I just went completely off my rocker when it was announced that Mr. Davies would be celebrating the 40th anniversary of “Great Southern Land” on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House this Dec. 12, which happen to be the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Allow me to explain. Years ago, a bishop, the faithful, and the indigenous people of Mexico fell to their knees upon the appearance of the Our Lady on Juan Diego’s tilma as flowers fell to the floor! The Lord’s work of art spoke volumes to the people who first saw it and continues to speak to people today. It was delivered by a simple man with perfect timing. I wondered what the Lord might do with Mr. Davies’ live performance of “Great Southern Land” at the base of the Sydney Opera House.
Might Our Lady use his music, his words, the sun, the water in the harbor—anything to direct our attention back to her Son, Jesus, the very source of love and hope as she did long ago? Would she appear to the faithful to testify to the glory of her Son, ask us to repent and pray for others, or simply announce the return of the King? God only knows. One thing for sure is clear.
The Holy Spirit is repeating himself on many levels, too many to go into here. But the announcement that Mr. Davies would be returning to the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House alone spoke volumes to me!
I actually booked an airline ticket to be there to witness whatever was going to happen without first securing my passport! But alas, my passport arrived at my front door in record time without an expedition fee. If I can secure a visa, I’ll be well on my way Down Under soon.
I could imagine Mr. Davies on the world stage like when he was on the cusp of the new millennium, but this time telling us that we were “burned black”. He would say something such as, “Like the tough seeds that are scattered about on the terrain and then suffer the yearly bushfires, we’ve been broken open, so we can dream big dreams again, hope again, reach out to one another and join together in love, forgiveness and charity.”
In the ultimate fantasy, he would suggest that we gather again in our houses of God with renewed trust and faith having learned some hard lessons. It’s time for forgiveness and a renewed faith and hope in the healing power of love.
Oh, I can see and hear it all right now as I am writing this! He would then sing “Where the River Meets the Sea” and maybe follow that up with “Anything is Possible”.
Wouldn’t that be so wonderful? Should we start a worldwide petition? It could all be billed as a means to gather all the people and talk about God, and hope, and love again in a very public way!
I mean, even air travel provider, Qantas, had good sense to let the people of Australia name their first new Dreamliner, “Great Southern Land” and had Mr. Davies aboard to escort it from the factory in Washington to the hub in Sydney!
Perhaps, Qantas or even “United” could escort the X-Men I work and pray with, the LOVING STONES of CHRIST, to Sydney. After all, Dec. 10, is the optional Feast Day of Our Lady of Loreto, patroness of pilots and aviators. She dwells in the Holy House made up of stones that were transported by air by the angels to where it now resides on Loreto Hill.
Mr. Davies’ album cover for “Code Blue” dons an image of a pilot. The liner notes indicated that “code blue” was an Australian military signal meaning, “This is your mission. Go for it!”
The day before on Dec. 9, the Church celebrates St. Juan Diego, and before that on Dec. 8, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This feast day is overlapped by the request of Rosa Mystica, another miraculous appearance by Our Lady, for an Hour of Grace, starting with three recitations of the 51st Psalm at noon. Rosa Mystica’s image closely mirrors that of the album cover of Mr. Davies’ “Man of Colours”, where he appears with three flowers, just like Our Lady.
But the Holy Spirit does everything bigger and better than anyone could ever possibly imagine! Just this past Saturday, Nov. 13, Mr. Davies’ graced the stage with his band to provide entertainment for the closing ceremony for the T20 World Cup with his songs, “Great Southern Land” and “We Can Get Together” with some of the best of the best musicians representing some of the indigenous peoples of Australia. I had no idea that the United States had a cricket team, nor did I realize cricket was that popular worldwide!
It's one thing that the Houston Astros won the World Series, but teams from places like Sri Lanka and Greece don’t compete for those rings. The T20 gathers a much larger crowd.
What particularly inspires me is the fact that the song, “We Can Get Together”, is a throwback to when Mr. Davies’ band was called “Flowers”, and the T20 championship game is slated for Nov. 13 (a number that references Our Lady), on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (a number that references Jesus)—all of great significance to a woman crazy in love with Christ!
I watched in wonder and saw all the activity on the field as a kind of dress rehearsal or soundcheck for December 12th.
Please accept this confession of faith. I chalk it all up to “My Lord and My God!” (John 20:28)
I know it sounds trite, but now is the time for us to just pray for world peace. We can get together and pray and sing together like we never have before.
It’s time to press the reset button. It’s time for us to confess our sins, forgive others and ourselves, and then rise up as the Holy House of Jesus and Mary—The LOVING STONES of CHRIST—and express his love, joy, and hope for all the world to see and hear.
About Cindy Kolak:
Cynthia Cardenas-Kolak is a lifelong learner, teacher, independent scholar, and author who has trained other trainers, teachers, and administrators on best instructional practices for diverse learners. She has been a member of Prince of Peace Catholic Community for seven years and resides in northwest Houston with her husband and son. As an active participant in her parish, she has served in multiple roles including pastoral care volunteer, funeral coordinator, small group facilitator of book studies with Catholic WE and the parish at large, LOVING STONES, and has a strong calling to the New Evangelization.
Favorite Scriptures: “Give thanks to the Lord on the harp; on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise. Sing to him a new song; skillfully play with joyous chant.” (Ps 33:3)
“Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you things beyond the reach of your knowledge.” (Jer 33:3)
