Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
So. My wife and I live in an urban neighbourhood known as Hilltop, or “The Hill” as I prefer to call it. The Hill is one of the oldest and grittiest neighbourhoods in the city of Tacoma Washington, a place that sometimes calls itself “Grit City”. So that’s a whole lot of grit. There are quite a few of us […]
» Read moreCardinal Dolan answers the question in less than four minutes. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; Upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, And with His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
» Read moreA copy of this icon, called “Christ the Bridegroom”, hangs in my office above my desk. In the Eastern Catholic (and Orthodox) tradition, this icon is associated with the Office known as Bridegroom Matins. Bridegroom Matins is a service held the first three or four evenings of Holy Week, and it commemorates the last days in the earthly life of […]
» Read moreOur Lenten pilgrimage is nearing its end; this is the last Friday before Good Friday, and we can see Palm Sunday just around the corner. On the old calendar, today is the Commemoration of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this guise, Mary is known as the Mother of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa, or just Dolorosa). Though this […]
» Read moreThe most popular post on this blog by far was the one I wrote for the passing of two institutions, the last Hapsburg prince and the space shuttle program. While of course, I happen to think it’s one of my better posts, a poetic elegy to the passing of years, the fact is that most people who come to the […]
» Read moreOn the old calendar, today is the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, confessor and doctor of the Church (540 – 604). In addition to the above, Saint Gregory was also a Benedictine abbot prior to his election as Pope. So it is in the monastic spirit that today I offer a recent catechesis by Pope Benedict XVI on […]
» Read moreThere is something magical and compelling about a doorway, about a crossroads. It is a time and place in between the old and the new, between past and future; the liminal space where for a moment time stands still and new possibilities, undreamt of mere moments before, now come sharply into focus. Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, […]
» Read moreYesterday for World Communications Day, Pope Benedict XVI rather counter-intuitively gave an address on silence. In the spirit of the Desert Fathers, and of the monastic admonition to silence, the Pope spoke of the relationship between “silence and the word”. No dialogue is possible without both of them. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; […]
» Read moreSuffering through a snow day here at Pistachio House when I came upon this. It needs to be shared, and I for one need to ponder the scriptures and the Pope’s words. Helping Those Called to “Recognize the Voice of God and Follow It” VATICAN CITY, JAN. 16, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of the man many consider to be the founder of Christian monasticism, Saint Anthony the Great of Egypt, the “Father of Monks”. He was born in the middle of the third century in decidedly Pagan Middle Egypt to a well-to-do, comfortable family. He spent much of his life avoiding the sorts of comforts available to him […]
» Read moreAn odd day, this. I woke this morning from a dream where I was reading some sort of history book. It was very much like the big thick history books published in the 50s and 60s that I read when I was much younger, the kind you can still get at second hand book stores. I could smell the book […]
» Read moreI really shouldn’t be on Facebook in the morning. It tends to make me crabby. Advent and Lent are the times of year when the almost reflexive anti-Catholicism of ordinary people raises its ugly head. They are typically fueled by media stories that take one line of a Papal address or speech out of context and twist it until it’s […]
» Read moreThis morning, the second reading from the Office of Readings struck me, so I thought I’d share it with you. It reminds me of the Dark Night of the Soul of Saint John of the Cross, as well as many of the psalms of longing. It’s beautiful. From the Proslogion by Saint Anselm, bishop Desire for the Vision of God […]
» Read moreProfessor Tolkien’s works embody his deep and abiding Catholic faith and worldview. Today in the calendar of Middle Earth, it is Durin’s Day. Durin J.R.R. Tolkien The world was young, the mountains green, No stain yet on the Moon was seen, No words were laid on stream or stone, … When Durin woke and walked along. He named the nameless […]
» Read moreThe Liturgy of the Hours runs through the psalms in a four-week cycle. Every fourth Wednesday at the hour of Vigils (a.k.a. Matins, or the Office of Readings) we pray Psalm 103. There’s one stanza that never fails to give me pause. As for man, his days are like grass; he flowers like the flower of the field; the wind […]
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Nearly everybody knows about Saint Francis. He’s the plaster birdbath guy, right? The saint who hung around with fuzzy pastel animals. Well, sort of. “Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” (Saint Francis of Assisi) I very nearly took “Francis” as my confirmation name. It might have been awkward, though, what with being engaged to Francine at the time. Reading […]
» Read moreLet me preface this by saying that I rarely remember my dreams these days, but this one ended in a most vivid and frightening fashion. I’ve recorded it here primarily for my own use. I was in a building, teeming with children. I had the impression that it was some sort of summer youth program sponsored by the owners of […]
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