Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Yesterday was warm and sunny. Today we started with rain that soon became a day-long downpour. A very cold downpour. Ponchos came out at second breakfast in Bar Fronton in Burguete. Despite hail and freezing rain, we made very good time in the morning, lunching in Biskaretta. We even stopped by Corazón Puro to say hi to István and Barbara, but […]
» Read moreToday was probably the most physically challenging day of my life so far. We bought some sandwiches and left Saint-Jean in good spirits. We soon met up with Penny, a seventy-ish woman from Idaho and Matthias, a young German who started his Camino three months ago from his home in Köln. Penny wasn’t walking with a pack, having sent hers ahead. […]
» Read moreFirst breakfast and Lauds at Corazón Puro. István and Barbara drove us to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We are in France! We stopped in at the pilgrims office for our orientation and map. Then to Boutique du Pelerin to pick up our new hiking poles and an Opinel (with a corkscrew, naturally).We walked up to the citadel – the medieval castle was apparently […]
» Read moreIt was 24 hours of travel! High winds in London meant flight delays. We were an hour late in landing, and we had some panicky moments when we thought our flight from Heathrow to Madrid might be canceled.Fortunately, it was only delayed about an hour. We made up some time in the air, and landed 45 minutes late. We breezed […]
» Read moreWhen in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all The veins are bathed in liquor of such power As brings about the engendering of the flower, When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half-course […]
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Eleven years ago today, on the night of the 26th of March 2005, I was baptized into the Church at the great Vigil of Easter. Last year, I wrote a retrospective on my first decade as a Christian. I don’t think I have much to add to that. I remain absurdly grateful to God for the life He has seen […]
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If you live in western Washington, I invite you to join us for the Easter Vigil at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Tacoma. The Vigil will begin at 8:30 PM, but you’ll want to get there early. Featuring: A bonfire. A dark church and a thousand candles. Chant (in Latin AND English). Seven readings from the Old Testament […]
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Today is Good Friday: the commemoration of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pepéndit. Veníte adorémus. Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world. Come let us adore. (Missale Romanum: Friday of the Passion of the Lord) He was condemned by his own people, […]
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March 25 is the usual date for the great feast of the Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary, but it is transferred to the Monday after the Easter Octave whenever it falls within Holy Week. Very rarely, Good Friday – the date of Our Lord’s Crucifixion – is also on March 25. Conception and death, all in one day. This is, […]
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Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia makes this urgent appeal for prayer for Salesian Priest Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, kidnapped in Yemen in the recent attack on the Care Home in Aden.
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The Season of Lent comes to its end this evening, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the source and summit of Church life. Unlike most Protestants, the Catholic and Orthodox (and others of the Apostolic Tradition) believe that God is really there, wholly present in the consecrated bread and […]
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The thing about Holy Week is that its liturgies – if they are to be done well and worthily – require practice and rehearsal. We had two on Saturday (for Palm Sunday and Easter Vigil), and I’m going to one for Holy Thursday in about an hour. We’ll probably sneak in a quick one before Tenebræ. Friday is the rehearsal […]
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During Lent, I am often reminded of this, one of my favourite stories from the Desert Fathers: Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, ‘Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my […]
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