Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Do you pray to your Guardian Angel? Do you ask them for advice or help? Why not? The Church teaches that we all receive a guardian angel at birth, an angel assigned to guide and protect us, to watch over us. As it says in scripture: There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy […]
» Read moreGod willing, six months from today I will set out on my Camino. Where has the time gone? Most of the clothing and equipment I plan on taking has been purchased at this point, though there are still a lot of fiddly things to get – lightweight containers (stuff sacks), for example. I’m keeping track of some of the items […]
» Read moreThis beautiful, rainy Saturday is the “Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels” or, in the old calendar, the “Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel”. Whatever you call it, the most common name is Michaelmas. It is one of several harvest festivals celebrated throughout Christian Europe. In England this is one of the “quarter days”, which […]
» Read moreWhat kind of life could the child possibly look forward to? He was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy, and spina bifida. In these progressive days, the child very well might have been aborted after the doctor showed the mother her first detailed fetal ultrasound. But the child had the great fortune to be born in 1013, a much […]
» Read moreThere’s something deeply poetic about God’s continual use of the lowly and marginalized to proclaim His majesty and His Truth. Let’s review; the ancient Hebrews were not exactly on par with mighty Egypt or Babylon, Assyria or Hatti, Greece or Rome, in terms of power and prestige among nations of the ancient world. The father or their nation, Abraham? A […]
» Read moreFrom the Catholic News Agency: Members of the Catholic clergy from around the United States hiked 100 miles of an ancient pilgrimage this summer, relying on God to give them strength to endure suffering along the way. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, N.M., Fr. Gerry Baker of Owensboro, Ky. and Fr. Don […]
» Read moreToday is celebrated in the western Church as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Exaltatio Sanctæ Crucis). In the eastern Church, it is known as “the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-creating Cross”. The feast commemorates a number of events: the finding of the True Cross in 326 in Jerusalem by Saint Helena, the later dedication […]
» Read moreSo saith today’s saint, the incomparable Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347–407). He was, of course, himself a bishop. It seems that this pithy quote is a popularization of the full (attributed) quote, where the saint is talking about the relatively few in number who will be saved and the bad shepherds who are responsible: The road to Hell is paved […]
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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 moreToday is one of the more interesting feasts on the liturgical calendar, for today is the feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. OK, nowadays they’ve slightly sanitized the name; it’s now officially called the “Memorial of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist”, but for the sheer Catholic joy of calling a spade a spade, I’m sticking […]
» Read moreAlthough there’s no such thing as an “average” day on the Camino, it would seem that 25km a day is a fair rate. Some days are less, of course, and some are a bit more. This past weekend, some buddies and I were on our annual camping trip. Well, we used to camp. The past few years, we’ve stayed at […]
» Read moreOn the old calendar, today is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was moved in the calendar reform to the Saturday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost. For what reason, I’ve no idea. Since my breviary follows the old calendar, this is what I’m praying today. On the new calendar, today is also a […]
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On the 15th of August 2004, Francine and I walked into Saint Patrick’s Church in Tacoma. This was the Solemnity of the Assumption, and ever since we have counted this as our “Catholic anniversary”. On that day, I discovered in a moment that every doubt I ever had about the truth of Christianity had collapsed. God in His wisdom had […]
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I am a Polish Catholic priest. I would like to take the place of this man, since he has a wife and children.” (Saint Maximilian Kolbe, OFM Con., taking the place of fellow prisoner Franciszek Gajowniczek at Auschwitz. Kolbe died on August 14, 1941, after being administered a lethal injection.) Because God’s glory shines through most brightly in the salvation […]
» Read moreWhy walk the Camino? Why would anybody want to spend a month walking nearly 500 miles through northern Spain? Why do I? That’s a darn fine question. I wish I had a good answer. When somebody asks me, I usually reply with a glib, “obviously, I’m an idiot.” The truth is, I don’t know why I feel called to the […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of the deacon martyr, Saint Lawrence. There are so many stories about him, that it’s hard to sum him up briefly. In the confused days after the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus, the administration of the Roman churches fell to the Deacon, Lawrence. He was captured by the Imperial authorities, but he bargained for his release. The […]
» Read moreSantiago, Saint James the Greater, was one of Christ’s Twelve Apostles. His feast is celebrated today. He and his brother John were natives of Galilee, sons of the fisherman Zebedee and his wife Salome, whom the Eastern Christians name Myrrh-bearer. They were disciples of John the Baptist, but the Baptist sent them to Jesus. So fiery were these two brothers, […]
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