Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
On this day in 1431, one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived was burned at the stake. She was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maiden), but today we name her Saint Joan of Arc. In 1429 at the tender age of 17, she led the French army to a string […]
» Read moreSo yesterday amid the Papal hoopla and huzzahs, my old friend Rev. Bryan Dolejsi invited me to be a guest on his radio show. Father Dolejsi is the Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Seattle, and his show, called “Vocation Radio” is broadcast on Sacred Heart Radio several times a week. So we munched on the pizza ordered by […]
» 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 moreYesterday I taught my first RCIA class. We meet every Monday evening, and I’ve been part of the teaching team since September. It’s so very strange to be on the other side. I only went through RCIA myself in 2004 and 2005. Yesterday was my first solo teaching opportunity. My topic? The Liturgical Calendar. Overall, it went well. The rest […]
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Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu died on this day in 1997, widely regarded throughout the world as a saint. You’ve no idea who she is, do you? She famously said “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely […]
» 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 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 moreThis year, I’m going to forgo my lamentation of the mobile Epiphany. For today, 6 January 2012, is the 600th birthday of one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived. And she was burned at the stake when she was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle, Joan the Maiden. In 1429 at the tender […]
» 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 moreFeeling 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. Snow in the Cloister 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 […]
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