Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Feeling like I should share this video documentary about the Benedictine Abbey at Clear Creek, Oklahoma. When I was thinking of the New Cluny, this is pretty much exactly what I had in mind, though I didn’t know it at the time. It’s about an hour, so grab some cocoa and settle in.
» Read moreWow. Today we used the new translation of the Mass for the first time. There were the expected little confusions in the responses, but over all everybody dove right into it with enthusiasm. The most difficult bit was, as expected, the reflexive “and also with you”. Francine even messed this up once while she was looking directly at the worship […]
» 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 […]
» Read moreI am tardy in offering congratulations on this venue to my friend, Fr. Bryan Dolejsi, for his appointment as Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Seattle. This is apparently the first time in over 20 years that a priest has been appointed to this position. When I met Fr. Dolejsi, he was brand new out of the box; he had […]
» Read moreThree thoughts for today, a day of convergence. Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a feast of particular importance to the Jesuits, and a subject on which I’ve written recently. (A Wounded Heart) We attend a Jesuit parish and Rev. Kenneth Baker, S.J. appropriately celebrated his first Mass there today as our new interim pastor. […]
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Last night, I was Master of Ceremonies at our parish Confirmation Mass. It was my first, but hopefully not my last, MC gig. My reflections on last night are bound to be a little rambly, but I wanted to be sure to record as many of my impressions as I could. The MC role at Mass is somewhat different from […]
» Read moreI‘m still processing these past days, but here are some initial impressions. A Time of Thanksgiving From the first of July until the end of November I was unemployed. I’d had a few interviews, but nothing all that promising. When I was called in for a second round of interviews at a major law firm in Seattle, it was an […]
» Read moreJust got home from a conversation with Fr. Beuzer. As before, he’s given me much to think about and much to pray about. Although we had a fairly far-ranging discussion, talking about everything from my job search to Alaska, it all revolved around the Lectio assignment he gave me the last time we talked, the first chapter of the Gospel […]
» Read moreThis is a new start on what I hope will be a spiritual journal as I discern my possible vocation to the diaconate. This site has been moved in its entirety from it original site at http://mundus-tranquillare-hic.blogspot.com/. The old site will be shut down at some point. The phrase that just occurred to me as I was typing this was […]
» Read moreToday I met Fr. Vincent Beuzer of the Society of Jesus. My pastor, Fr. Sacco, had recommended him to me as a spiritual adviser. I called him this afternoon, and we met at 3:00 at Bellarmine, where he is a resident with the other Jesuit Fathers. The object of our talk was to determine whether or not God was calling […]
» Read moreToday at Mass, two odd things happened. First, I should mention for those not Catholic that today’s second reading at Mass was from the Epistle of Saint James, specifically 2:14-18. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has […]
» Read moreI had an interesting conversation with my pastor this morning. Francine and I are sacristans at our parish, and I am a lector while she is a member of the Sodality of St. Frances. The entire archdiocese will be launching a program related to CatholicsComeHome.org, and we’ve been asked to chair our parish’s efforts. I’m not sure what our jobs […]
» Read moreThe wedding was beautiful. But I get ahead of myself. My parents arrived from Chicago on Sunday the 20th and stayed with us for a week. We put them to work: my Dad was the consummate chauffeur, particularly to the airport as other folks flew in. My Mom did our flowers, and they were fantastic. My sister flew in from […]
» Read moreIt’s at least quasi-official. After four months of contracts and extensions, I’m at the end. I’ll be unemployed a week from tomorrow. I will no longer be employed by the Archdiocese of Seattle. Time for an ale, methinks. Yea, perhaps several. Edited to add: Turns out all I’ve got is porter. Well, I’ll make the best of it.
» Read moreOr, putting the labora back into Ora et Labora One of my hobbies is book design. This is an honourable and ancient occupation of monks, and I worked at it long before I worked at amateur monasticism. I’ve gotten fairly proficient over the years, so I’m often asked to put together publications for folks. Currently, I’m working on two major […]
» Read moreOn September 10th, I made my final oblation to Saint Martin’s Abbey in Lacey. I am an Oblate of the Order of Saint Benedict. It is quite an indescribable thing to be a monk in the world. As at confirmation, one is expected to take on a new name. I chose Bede, as he is a Benedictine Saint (always a […]
» Read moreI post this for future reference. One cannot walk forward without being mindful of where one has already walked. The First Brush I have been a student of religion since I can remember. Indeed, one of my earliest conscious definitions of a human is “an animal with the desire for enlightenment,” or if you prefer, “Truth”. To this day, for […]
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