Yesterday (March 25th) was the Annunciation. The Annunciation is when the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told Her that She was going to bear Christ Jesus. Because we don’t know the actual date it occurred on, it’s long been celebrated on March 25th because it coincides with Jesus’ Passion, roughly. The Jews had a… Continue reading Good Friday Pre-Game
Tag: meditations
Doing the Work of God
On Sunday, as I mentioned, I was sick. I went to 5:00 Mass, but right after Mass began, went to the restroom to blow my nose and get more tissue. By the time I came back, my spot was taken, so I had to go up to the balcony to find a place to sit.… Continue reading Doing the Work of God
A Welcome Wake-Up, and the Wonderful John Newton
This past weekend I was sick and didn’t feel up to doing much of anything. Saturday night was particularly restless, and I had a fever keeping me from sleeping much more than an hour at a time, so I was on and off my laptop a lot to try and pass the time. A little… Continue reading A Welcome Wake-Up, and the Wonderful John Newton
Two More Ash Wednesday Reflections
A few more thoughts struck me after I went to Ash Wednesday Mass last night. Since St. Mary’s is remodeling, weekday masses are held in the Lyceum, normally. But the Lyceum is way too small to handle the expected Ash Wednesday crowd, so it was in the gym instead. The crowd was enormous — it… Continue reading Two More Ash Wednesday Reflections
The State of the English Church Through a Novelist’s Eyes
I recently read an excellent essay called “A Time of Trial” on the state of English Catholicism by Piers Paul Read from his book Hell and Other Destinations (pages 83-92 here). Although a few of his comments are specific to England, his overall evaluation is largely true of the American Church as well. His tone… Continue reading The State of the English Church Through a Novelist’s Eyes
Prayer for America
Father, we beg Your blessing for the Right to Life, the Unborn, the weak, the sick and the old; all who are finding themselves being targets of the vicious culture of death; that our Lord Jesus bless and protect all who stand up for the Christian dignity of persons. That God enlighten those who are… Continue reading Prayer for America
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, now Secretary of Health and Human Services, has rightly come under a lot of fire for her views on abortion and her seeming friendship with the now-murdered abortionist George Tiller, and it’s particularly depressing that a self-proclaimed “personally opposed” Catholic heads the HHS, the government agency most naturally connected to… Continue reading Garbage In, Garbage Out
Speaking of Laptops…
It turns out that some people don’t need their laptop to get stolen to spend some time “unplugged.” Jen at Conversion Diary purposely went a week without computer access, and learned a lot from it. Jen and I are certainly at different points on the santification journey.
In Essentials, Unity…
Someone* famously said, “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity,” a phrase so famous it’s become known as the Friedensspruch. This mantra has been used by a variety of Christian denominations, most famously with the so-called Christian Irenics after the worst of the Reformation. These people, looking on the relative insignificance of… Continue reading In Essentials, Unity…
A Beautiful Nighttime Contemplation
“Here dies another day during which I have had eyes, ears, hands, and the great world around me. And with tomorrow begins another. Why am I allowed two?” – G.K. Chesterton.