“So it is good to take a break occasionally—from preaching as from fishing—to repair your nets,” so says Ludolph, one of my medieval guides. As we enter the summer season, I find his counsel so good. June invites me to take a break—from preaching, from teaching, from grading; from PowerPoints and syllabi and schedules. June invites me to return to Ludolph* to help me repair my nets. They got a little worn this year, even threadbare in places. “After... Read more
Simeon (Lk 2.25-35) is one of my favorite saints. I love the way he emulates life in the Spirit. Whatever Paul teaches us (Rom 8; Gal 5-6) about the Spirit, we see beautifully depicted in this amazing old man. I love that he is old, ready and willing to let go of life, weary of waiting. I love that he has been waiting in the wings of life his whole life. Whatever else he did, it all fades to this... Read more
As we celebrate the season of Epiphany–of revelation, of universality, of adoration–we follow in the footsteps of the three wise men (and their inevitable companions on the road: servants, armed guards, animal caregivers, etc.). Much has been written on the symbolism of the three gifts they brought: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. “Bernard suggests that the magi gave the gold to assist the mother and child in their poverty, the incense as a perfume to counteract the fetid odor of the... Read more
If you want to follow Jesus into a new year in new ways with a new heart, it’s hard to imagine a better gospel passage to begin the year with than the Sermon on the Mount. It seems designed to discourage any high-handedness with God or self. Do not try this at home unless you really, really cannot give up Jesus. It begins with the Beatitudes, which “set the table” for this Jesus business. Plan on deprivation. Dispossession of... Read more
As we near the end of the Church calendar, approaching Advent, many of us might be feeling a bit deluged by the approaching tidal wave of holiday seasons: cooking, company, shopping, wrapping, planning, juggling expectations, cards, more company, decorating, and so on. (All right, I am the one feeling deluged. I’m easily overwhelmed by high seasons. The very idea of Ordinary Time thrills me.) My friend Ludolph is inviting me into a November consideration of what comes before Advent.... Read more
As I finish up Hebrews again, I’m struck by the last few chapters and the ways they address those of us who, for whatever reason, find ourselves drooping, losing heart, gutted by life. The author pushes us to persevere, to push on into faith with reminders like this: “draw near to God in confidence,” “encourage one another,” “do not throw away your confidence.” Then that majestic testimony to the power of faith in the lives of so many: the victorious,... Read more
“This is a blessed, well-irrigated way of life. … To live like this is sweet and lovely.” I fall back to the Prologue of Ludolph’s Life of Christ for today’s reflection. Here he gives an apology for this meaty writing, an explanation of its benefits. “Let us hasten to live in a way worthy of God.” Here are his seven arguments for the advantages of meditating on the life of Christ: Forgiveness: “When we judge ourselves, accuse ourselves in confession,... Read more
Ludolph of Saxony, a 14th-century Carthusian monk, wrote a beautiful Life of Christ, telling the stories of the gospels with commentary drawn from a rich treasury of patristic literature. One scholar commented that “it is one of the most beautiful and erudite works to have come down to us from the Middle Ages … Almost all of the patristic literature can be found incorporated in it.” We know that Ludolph’s work was Ignatius of Loyola’s inspiration as he recuperated from... Read more
Many who know about 17th-century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer think first of his “The Girl with a Pearl Earring,” that lovely portrait of a young girl looking over her shoulder. Or perhaps they think of “The Milkmaid,” capturing the woman standing in the light of a window before a kitchen table. Both are gentle, captivating pieces that play with light and soft shadows, and they exude a spirit of peace and simplicity. This piece is entirely different. It’s complex, a... Read more
In my last post, I acknowledged the “falling apart” of our present version of American Christianity. “Fallings apart” are always painful, and this one is no different. We mourn the sense of chaos, the suffering of the faithful, the indifference of those who should know better, and, most of all, the befuddlement of those tearing down the walls all the while thinking they’re defending them. Peter Wehner sheds light on the real-time disintegration here. It’s the topic “du jour,” so... Read more
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