Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
On July 20, 1969, man first set foot upon the Moon. The project that took us to the Moon was called Apollo, ostensibly after the Greek god associated with hunting, harmony, and healing. Perhaps the folks over at NASA had sense of humour, or maybe God the poet was at work again, for July 20 is also the feast of […]
» Read moreBoth of my readers will recall that I often reread the Desert Fathers during Lent. Today is the feast day of one of them, Saint Arsenius. He was a wealthy, educated man who gave up everything to worship God in the desert. Quite a contrast with yesterday’s feast of Saint Arnulf of Metz! Benedicta Ward gives the following summary of […]
» Read moreOn this, the Feast of Saint Arnulf of Metz (c. 582 — 640), patron saint of brewers, let us hoist a tankard to his memory and say a prayer for his intercession. For some reason, the English found “Arnulf” too difficult, so in many English-language resources he is known as “Arnold”. Go figure. It was July 642 and very hot […]
» Read moreHow did I not know about this? Camino Seattle is a five-week walking/hiking and prayer event for St. James Cathedral Parish, beginning June 24, 2012 and ending July 29, 2012, the Feast of St. James. It looks very cool, but it’s practically over! And given that this weekend is Francine’s birthday, it’s unlikely that we’ll be attending any of the […]
» Read moreYou might remember that I’ve been using the 1962 “A Short Breviary” for my daily office lately. Calendar issues aside, it has been a fruitful experience. Yesterday, however, I ran into a bit of a snag. Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Benedict. I didn’t expect to find an office commemorating his feast on the day, since before the calendar […]
» Read moreBenedict! The man who saved European civilization! The man who invented western monasticism! I‘ve often written of him, and of his sister Saint Scholastica. The very foundation of this blog was the monastic movement that Benedict began 1500 years ago. Frankly, you’re probably sick of hearing my blatherings. What we need is somebody way smarter than me to sum him […]
» Read moreToday is the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. Except when it isn’t. The feast days of most saints are the day they died. For Thomas, today is properly the feast commemorating “the Translation of Saint Thomas” – the day on which his relics were translated (moved) from Mylapore in India to Edessa in Mesopotamia in A.D. 232. Presumably, this […]
» Read moreOver the course of my initial equipment acquisition and experimentation, the Camino Boards have been invaluable. My Keens are just fantastic – they were broken in by the end of my first hike. My pack – an Osprey Kestrel 48 – is comfortable and roomy. Even with 15 pounds packed in, it weighs almost nothing on my back. And of […]
» Read moreToday the Church celebrates one of her oldest feasts, commemorating the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. I prayed at the tombs of these apostles during my time in Rome in 2005. With the body of Blessed John Paul II mere feet from me, I knelt near Peter’s tomb at the high altar of the dark and nearly empty Vatican […]
» Read moreA post-Protestant friend of mine has a particular fondness for that great Doctor of the Church, Saint Irenæus of Lyons, whose feast day is today. He occasionally quotes from the saint’s great work, Adversus Hæreses (Against Heresies), and he is particularly fond of the saying “the proper glory of God is man fully alive.” He refers to the saint as […]
» Read moreThe story of the Jewish people moves through Exodus to the Judges to the Kings to the Prophets. It culminates in Christ, the culmination of all things. He is Priest, Prophet, and King, and in Baptism we come to share this designation as well. We do not all share the gift of prophecy, of course, but to see it continuing […]
» Read moreToday is the memorial of Saint Thomas More, about whom I have briefly blathered before, principally about my confusion between him and Saint Thomas Becket. The story of his life was (more or less) made into the wonderful movie, A Man for All Seasons, starring Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More. The script is just brilliant, and eminently quotable. The […]
» Read moreJust a very brief note, because I’m home ill. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced a “Fortnight for Freedom”, which begins tomorrow. The project is part of the bishops’ call to penance and prayer to restore religious freedom and conscience protections in the United States. And who couldn’t love their use of the word “fortnight”? They’ve posted some […]
» Read moreToday, after attending a young friend’s graduation, we headed over to Cabela’s to exchange my hiking shoes. I had purchased a pair of Merrils several weeks ago, but after about 20 miles of hikes they had not broken in. In fact, they’d gotten more and more painful the more I wore them. So I exchanged them for a pair of […]
» Read moreHow does the human brain wrap itself around the eternal and infinite love of God for His creation? How can can we even begin to comprehend the depth of love in Christ’s wounded heart as he pours Himself out for us sinners at Calvary? The truth is, we can’t. The saints and the mystics may catch glimpses, but we humans […]
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