Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Happy feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle! Today wasn’t always his feast. In fact in my Monastic Diurnal, today is the Memorial of Saints Processus and Martinian. I’m sure these holy martyrs will forgive me if I choose to celebrate the Apostle today instead. Saint Thomas, pray for us.
» Read moreThe Road to Roncesvalles The time has come where I’m checking flight prices every Tuesday. Today, for the first time, I found a round-trip ticket to Madrid for our dates for less than a thousand dollars. My goal is $800 or less. That should happen sometime near the middle or end of July. Once we have flight times in place, […]
» 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 Saint 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 moreYesterday, Francine and I drove up to Sacred Heart church in Fairhaven, near Bellingham, to attend an informational session on the Diaconate. We put about 250 miles on the car. The talk was given by the director of the program, Rev. Frank Schuster. It was videotaped, so I’m sure it will be available on the Archdiocese’s web page presently. Francine […]
» Read moreTomorrow being the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, today is Saint John’s Eve. Throughout much of Europe, the tradition on this day is to light bonfires. Here’s ours. Not much of a bonfire, strictly speaking, but sufficient for getting rid of some of the scrap wood hanging about. And a pleasant enough task on a warm […]
» Read moreThe Anchoress looks at something I’ve thought about for a while now: does Catholicism ask too little of us? It is striking to consider that while some in the church are suggesting that we need to require less of people, we are losing members to religions that are perceived to require “more” of them — particularly as pertains to prayer […]
» Read moreToday is the memorial of one of my favourite saints, Saint Thomas More, who died at the hands of King Henry VIII (that villain). That is, it is his memorial in the modern Roman calendar. In the Benedictine calendar, it is no such thing – you’d have to wait for July 9 for that. Fortunately, I’ve become familiar enough with […]
» Read moreI’m still working my way through Laudato Si’, but in the meantime, here are some more great analyses: The Terrible Problem with Laudato Si’ The difficulty, the dreadful, unspeakable, shield-your-eyes difficulty with the Pope’s new encyclical on the environment comes down to one nasty problem: The man is right. For the popular press, hoping all this time that Pope Francis […]
» Read morePope Francis’ new encyclical on ecology and the environment was published this morning, and already my RSS feeds and inbox are filling up with those praising it, criticizing it, or just plain analyzing it. I will begin reading it at lunch, but I’ve no hope of finishing it for a while. You can download a copy from the Vatican web […]
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Years ago, when we were parishioners at St. Rita, our long-time pastor retired. At that time, I wrote what has oddly become one of the most Googled posts on this blog, Hopes and Prayers for a New Pastor. At that time, I said: Being a pastor is one of the most difficult jobs in the world, I think. The responsibility […]
» Read moreFrom the Archives: How 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, […]
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Several things crowd my mind this morning. Chiefly, I’m still processing the Corpus Christi Masses and procession we celebrated at our parish yesterday. But first, a slight digression. Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces On the calendar used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces. I wrote an article several […]
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Depending on what calendar you use (Ordinary Form or Extraordinary Form), and whether or not it is a Holy Day of Obligation in your diocese, tomorrow (or last Thursday) will be (or was) the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Happy Corpus Christi! Whereas Holy Thursday is a celebration of the institution of the Eucharist, Corpus […]
» Read moreThis past week’s readings from the Holy Rule have been walking through what the saint calls “the twelve degrees of humility” (RB, vii). This, my friends, makes for some sobering reading. Of the twelve, if I’m honest, I’m still working on the fourth, never mind those that come after it: The fourth degree of humility is, that, if hard and […]
» Read moreTwo of the things I’m working on in my spiritual life are anger and impatience. They were both tested today by inanimate objects. This afternoon, as I was merrily working from home, my Windows-based work laptop suddenly decided that certs were for wussies. I watched in helpless horror as one by one my e-mail client, my IM, and then my […]
» Read moreThis coming Sunday my parish will participate in an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following the Noon Mass. The Masses that day will be celebrated Ad Orientem. This will be the third year we’ve taken Jesus through the streets of Tacoma and amongst His people. If you are anywhere in the area, I hope you will consider joining us. […]
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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 […]
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