“Enough now, take my life,” the leathered saint, Weary, careworn, lonely, prayed his God; “I can no more, no better, and I faint; Lord, be it finished, let me lie this sod And rise no more.” He prayed his God alone, Who woke him, ran him to the storm rent mount, Forestalled with wind and quake and flame, then done, Turned all his silence on the careworn saint Who thought to be destroyed, but heard instead: “Eli – Eli –... Read more
Let’s talk about Pokemon. I did not play with Pokemon cards back when they were cards; I don’t play Pokemon Go right now either. This is not because I’m better than people who enjoy playing silly games, mind you. It’s because I prefer other silly games. I’m hoping to be able to afford to buy the brand new Cyan Worlds game and write a review about it here when I do, so you’ll get to hear me geek out then. But... Read more
I have, in my bedroom, a beat up old icon of Saint Michael the Archangel. It didn’t used to be so beat up, but I ruined it by sticking it under my pillow during a summer-long bout with insomnia and nightmares. My insomnia is mostly healed, but all the gold leaf wore off onto my sheets and the tempera is dented up. Still, I like that icon. Sometimes I lay my head against its battered surface and complain for fifteen minutes or... Read more
There’s too much killing and chaos in the world today. Turn off the news a minute, come here and pray a chaplet with Michael and me. Please? O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, amen. By the intercession of Saint Michael and the celestial choir of Seraphim, may... Read more
I wake up, the morning after yet another terrorist attack in France, wondering what on earth I can say. I have commentators informing me that I shouldn’t have prayed, because “religion is the cause of violence.” I don’t agree; I think human beings are the cause of violence, and everything in the human sphere– culture, country, language, economy, religion, tools, technology– becomes a violent thing when we turn it that way. A truck, for example. Last night it was a... Read more
I’ve just received the shocking news that there has been a terrorist attack in Nice, France, during their Bastille Day fireworks. A truck filled with explosives deliberately crashed into a crowd of people, murdering at least seventy. My heart goes out to the people of France. Michael and I invite all of you to pray for peace in France and the world over, and for victims and perpetrators of this and all terrorist acts. Saint Michel Archange, défendez-nous dans le combat:... Read more
I was talking with my new friend just the other day… She and I hit it off right away, because we’re Catholic mothers of relatively small families. I’ve mentioned only have one daughter so far; by God’s grace I hope to have more someday. My friend has four beautiful daughters. In the eyes of the world, four children is a whole lot of children, but in some Catholic circles that counts as a small family, and she’d been judged for... Read more
I promise I’ll go back to my long-winded meditations next time, folks, but I’ve got to try out this fancy new slideshow format at least once. Here are eight fun things I’ve learned on the internet lately. (photo courtesy of Door Number 9’s Etsy) 1. My friend Elisa from Door Number 9 makes quilted cloth book icons, and you can get one here. I don’t get a kickback for advertising her things, I just think this is an awesome idea. It contains icons of the... Read more
Today, according to my Byzantine calendar, is the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel. His principle commemoration is on March 26 but today we celebrate Archangel Gabriel for all his apparitions over the course of salvation history. I’m excited and you should be too. Gabriel’s name is usually translated as “Strength of God.” I don’t speak Hebrew, but that’s what Strong’s Concordance is for, and this way I can blame Strong’s Concordance for any mistakes. I looked up the Hebrew word “Geber”... Read more
My little town in the Ohio Valley is just big enough to have its own bus service– eight to six, two bus routes, seven actual buses, a transfer across the river to West Virginia twice a day, an abbreviated schedule for Saturdays. It’s not a big city bus, just a fleet of strange vehicles bigger than a Handicap-access van but smaller than a truck. Fifty cents gets you from downtown to the mall, fifty cents gets you back. If you know the driver, you... Read more
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