“During the winter season the office of vigils begins with this verse recited three times; Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. To this should be added the third psalm and the Gloria. Then will come the ninety fourth psalm chanted with its antiphon and after that an Ambrosian hymn, followed by six psalms with their antiphons” (The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter Nine). Benedict is nothing if not practical. Sure, he has a lot to... Read more
For these boys in red on Christmas night. Christmas with them is always Christmas at home. Finally living in a place where people eat their black-eyed-peas for good luck on New Year’s. (It’s almost impossible to find black-eyed peas in Philadelphia or San Francisco and it just feels wrong to go without those little gray beans on New Year’s Day.) That we go to a church where we get to celebrate Christmas for 12 days…way into the New Year. It’s... Read more
…and they are: The pursuit of more silence. Seriously, how unspecific can I be here? I started an entire blog almost two years ago in order to pursue more silence in my life and I still haven’t figured out how to do it yet. But, the journey I’ve been on has been teaching me that my idea of intentional 6 am silence is not always possible. What is possible is the holding up of my heart while I fold laundry... Read more
“Pious imagination and nostalgic music rob Christmas of its shock value, while some scholars reduce the crib to a tame theological symbol. But the shipwrecked at the stable tremble in adoration of the Christ-child and quake at the inbreak of God Almighty. Because all the Santa Clauses and red-nosed reindeer, fifty-foot trees and thundering church bells put together create less pandemonium than the infant Jesus when, instead of remaining a statue in a crib, he comes alive and delivers us... Read more
“…a son, a male child, who will rule all nations with an iron scepter.” -Revelation 12:5 He entered, not a barn, not a hay-filled nursery, but a galaxy, a kingdom groaning for his rule. He arrived, not from a young woman, trembling and homeless, but a queen enthroned in stars. We saw him, one fleshy hand raised in reflex, as if in his infancy, we might grasp deliverance. He was found, not in David’s town, not in swaddling cloths, an... Read more
“and for him to see me mended / I must see him torn.” -Luci Shaw “Mary’s Song” He stood at the door, wet-faced and panting. in his hands three baby birds. They’re hungry, he sniffed, nested them in a bowl with grass, fed them worms until they died. After, I held him for an hour, his soul too much for this world. Who doesn’t want normal for her son? Yet he chose the lonely of the children, played ball with... Read more
It was “Ring of Fire” in my head that day as I moved through our house, 3-year-old at my heels. I was singing… Love is a burning thing And it makes a fiery ring. Bound by wild desire I fell into a ring of fire. Maybe I could’ve gotten away with such lyrics leaking from my mouth on a random Wednesday morning while I folded laundry, but the words were too good for August to ignore. This same boy who... Read more
“Holy Scripture, brethren, cries out to us, saying, ‘Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled,and he who humbles himself shall be exalted’ (Luke 14:11). In saying this it shows us that all exaltation is a kind of pride, against which the Prophet proves himself to be on guard when he says, ‘Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are mine eyes lifted up; neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonders above me'” (Ps. 131:1). –The Rule of St.... Read more
Having a friend like Jamie in Austin, who was up all night with her 4-month-old and still willing to drive us to the airport at 4:30 am. Yay for friends who love us Boys who go to sleep on airplanes and choose not to scream. Thank you, children. The gift of being able to see family we love, even though they are so far away. Hugging my husband’s little sister and sharing a chair with her because there are too... Read more
“For Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” –Handel’s Messiah (from Isaiah, chapter 60) “Immensity, cloister’d in thy dear womb, / Now leaves His well-beloved imprisonment. -John Donne “La Corona” We are all some mother’s child, all born through great pain, then a flood of... Read more
Micha Boyett
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In