{"id":255,"date":"2011-01-05T02:54:27","date_gmt":"2011-01-05T08:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=255"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:54:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:54:48","slug":"segues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2011\/01\/05\/segues\/","title":{"rendered":"Segues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by guest blogger, Sister Sarah Hennessey<\/p>\n

My dad taught me the subtle art of segues.\u00a0 As a child I would sit in his lap and watch him transition smoothly from one song to another as a volunteer radio disc jockey.\u00a0 Sliding the controls with his strong hands brought the rhythms of one jazzy beat to a close and opened up on a new song.\u00a0 A good segue is a piece of art.\u00a0 It honors the essence of the song that has come before while making room for something that can be completely different.<\/span><\/p>\n

Liturgically, now is a moment of segues: from the nativity of Epiphany to the manhood of the Baptism of the Lord, from the festiveness of Christmas to the regularity of ordinary time. We stand in the movement of transition. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am preparing the inquirers in RCIA for the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of the Catechumenate. Their silent questings and private searchings are now finding the breathing room of a public space.\u00a0 \u201cI wonder\u201d is becoming \u201cI believe.\u201d\u00a0 Never an easy step, we surround them with the companion of a sponsor and the public assurance of all our prayers.\u00a0 On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, they step forward with conviction into a new life of faith. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\""Natures<\/a>Struggle is an inherent part of transition and the deepening of faith.\u00a0 I read a story recently about man watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon.\u00a0 After progressing steadily, all of a sudden the butterfly got stuck.\u00a0 The man watched and wondered what to do.\u00a0 To help the butterfly emerge fully the man cut away the last restraining part of the cocoon with scissors.\u00a0 As the wings tried to unfurl, they could not. The body of the butterfly remained bloated and the wings limpid.\u00a0 The butterfly was never able to fly.\u00a0 The man learned that as the butterfly struggled through the last bit of the constraining cocoon it pushed the fluid out of the bloated body into the wings enabling it to fly.\u00a0 By cutting the cocoon and stopping the struggle he had crippled the butterfly for life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here I am in the in-between moment.\u00a0 Not yet over and not yet there.\u00a0 I have lost the rhythm of my old song but the assurance of the next beat is still a mystery.\u00a0 I feel constrained by the cocoon of doubt and fear, but I trust that this struggle will help me unfurl into hope. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe Jesus really needed to hear that voice as he dipped into the water.\u00a0 \u201cThis is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.\u201d\u00a0 I know I need to hear it.\u00a0 I need to remember that I am God\u2019s child.\u00a0 In a life which is so often constant transition, I need to rest my heart in God.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Posted by guest blogger, Sister Sarah Hennessey My dad taught me the subtle art of segues.\u00a0 As a child I would sit in his lap and watch him transition smoothly from one song to another as a volunteer radio disc jockey.\u00a0 Sliding the controls with his strong hands brought the rhythms of one jazzy beat...","protected":false},"author":7668253,"featured_media":263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115341],"tags":[4104941,7104,214,401,30451324,188378,748034,116,18434753,13231],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-baptism-of-the-lord","tag-catholic","tag-christianity","tag-faith","tag-liturgical-change","tag-ordinary-time","tag-rcia","tag-religion","tag-sarah-hennessey","tag-transition","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/natures_way_coccon-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

Segues<\/a><\/blockquote>