The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there and the battlefield is the heart of man. The Brothers Karamazov, book iii, ch. iii – Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Battle of Virtue Virtue can feel like a battle. Battle takes planning. Especially when the world around us is increasingly tempting us with comforts that point to selfish consumption rather than giving of ourselves. As the quote above says, God is constantly... Read more
Happy Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God! Also, Happy New Year! And, Happy Octave of Christmas! Or still, Happy Feast of the Circumcision of Christ! It makes sense that there is a lot to celebrate at the start of a new year. Beginning new has the feeling of maximum potential and initial purity. No ink has stained the paper of the year yet. Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God For a long time, I assumed that the Church placed this... Read more
Want some new music in the house this Christmas, but appreciate that classic Christmas sound? Here are 3 new, yet classy Christmas songs from the Bygones: Allison Young and Joshua Lee Turner. About the Bygones I have been a fan of Joshua Lee Turner Guitar for quite some time on YouTube. As a guitarist myself, I appreciate his skill and style in a wide variety of genres from rock to jazz and classical. More recently, Josh has dueting with Allison... Read more
It’s been wild weeks in our lives since our new baby was born! Having a newborn in the house led me to do some reflecting on the Holy Family and their life before and after that Nativity scene that we all know so well. Do We Picture the Whole Nativity? I don’t know about you but I have an image of the crèche or manger when I imagine the Nativity. It probably is a combination in my head of all... Read more
As 2023 comes to an end, let’s pause to reflect and review. This year has been a beginning for this column. Not being a full year, I’d like to review a short list of articles here at Formed by a Flame. Then I’ll discuss a plan for going forward. Top Articles Review at Formed by a Flame Top Article by Most Views – “Little Blue” “Little Blue” by Jacob Collier – an Accidental Ode to Mary? This article has had... Read more
Happy All Saints Day! This All Saints Day, I’m going to think of my top 11 Saints that I’d like to ask for prayers. Like a starting line up of a football team, these will be my go-to intercessors for this month of November. 11. St. Andrew Despite St. Andrew being my name saint, I rarely think of him until recently. This All Saints Day, I’m choosing Andrew to intercede for us because he was the first apostle to notice... Read more
You may have heard of Lectio Divina, but what about Audio Divina? What if you took the same steps of Lectio Divina, or “divine reading” and applied it elsewhere in your life as another way to hear God in your life? Why Practice Audio Divina As a missionary, my team and I would sometimes share music with eachother with the purpose of praying with the lyrics. We called it “Radio Divina”, but to make the jump from reading (lectio) to... Read more
This week, I stumbled across the latest release from Jacob Collier featuring Brandi Carlile, “Little Blue”. Jacob is always impressive musically, but I was mostly struck by the lyrics in this song. Although it’s likely accidental, I was amazed to hear a beautiful tribute to Mary. Jacob Collier’s Music If you are not familiar with Jacob Collier, you should look up his many YouTube videos. He is a young grammy winning multi instrumentalist known for wild reharmonization of classic songs.... Read more
In my last post, I briefly mentioned the physicality of the Catholic faith, including receiving the sacraments. This reminded me of all the ways we show love with the 5 Love Languages – physical touch being only one of them. So this week I thought I’d lay out some ways we can give and receive love from God following the 5 Love Languages. What are the 5 Love Languages? If you haven’t already heard of them, the 5 Love Languages... Read more
Lionel Messi’s arrival in the United States has been drawing a lot of new attention to soccer in America. Soccer is regularly referred to as the “the beautiful game”. Like other forms of beauty, the appeal of the sport is hard to explain. It is better observed. If I had to try to explain the beauty in soccer, it’d be simplicity, precision, and intentionality. Intentionality is the Goal Beauty in the Sport An embarrassing own goal or open net counts... Read more
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