The Psalm-prayer from the third psalm of Lauds (Morning Prayer) spoke to me, today, and invited itself along as my lectio for today–the notion I will return to, throughout the day: Father, the body of your risen Son is the temple not made by human hands and the defending wall of the new Jerusalem. May this holy city, built of living stones, shine with spiritual radiance and witness to your greatness in the sight of all nations. The long road... Read more
I’ve been feeling called to pray for him over the past few months, on and off Now, my prayers for him will be daily, on. Hitchens has recently had to cancel speaking engagements discussing his recently released memoir, Hitch-22: A Memoir A look back at a post on this maddening, fascinating and brilliant writer, whose prose I so admire: HITCHENS’ WHACK-A-CHRISTIAN DEBATE TOUR Because people know I greatly admire his writing (and often, his reasoning) my email is overflowing with... Read more
I’ve written before how my fraying life snapped back into focus during a chance encounter with Eucharistic Adoration. I’d been driving down a street with the windows open and heard the noontime bells ring as I passed a church. Obeying an impulse – ahem – I decided to stop in and maybe light a candle. When I entered the church I saw the altar, alive with candles, and the gleaming monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. “Oh, they do Adoration here,”... Read more
Have been meaning to embed this all day, a video from CBS Sunday Morning, picked up via Deacon Greg: This is a stunning, sad, heartbreaking story, with a twist at the end that may surprise some. Deacon Greg, who in his past employment knew this couple, describes the pain as palpable. That, it undeniably is. Please watch it and share your thoughts. I have thoughts of my own, but I don’t want to put them out, yet; I want to... Read more
From a homily by St. Gregory of Nyssa; I’ve been meaning to share this for almost a week. It is rather in keeping with my thoughts about how Jerusalem, the City of Peace, is more than Real Estate, but a state within ourselves, but it is about much more: In the language of Scripture, to see is to have. May you see the good things of Jerusalem is the same as May you possess the good things of Jerusalem. When... Read more
Love this, from Deacon Greg, and Currents, of course. Reminds me a bit of this reflection on vocations and another great video:Â Read more
Some of you may be a little familiar with Patheos.com because of Timothy Dalrymple’s current three-part article, linked from this site–and also by Hot Air and Instapundit–exploring whether the Tea Parties might be considered a Christian movement. Patheos has begun a summer-long series on The Future of Word Religions. Each week knowledgeable writers will share their ideas on the future of their own religions. This week the focus is on Hinduism, with the schedule as follows: Interesting reading. Why not... Read more
Everyone once in a while, someone uses this site to portal into Amazon to make a purchase, and they’ll buy something that just knocks me off my seat. Like this, for instance. Who knew you could such things at Amazon? Thank you for accessing Amazon through this site, though. That generated a nice kickback and will pay for another textbook, come September! Much appreciated! Also, since we’re talking kickbacks, don’t forget that any purchases you make via links to Mystic... Read more
When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. Today’s Gospel, from Luke 9:51-62, is one of those readings that sets some people on edge, as Jesus can seem a bit curt: But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”... Read more
Heehaa! Time to round up those little doggies in my tab bar and send them into the corral afore the weekend gits busy. Here you go, cowpokes! I was in the middle of putting this post together when the Great Big Siege of First Things occurred and left me unable to finish culling together all the links. So, instead of opening your weekend with all these links, you can spend a leisurely Sunday perusing them! Start with this: a priceless... Read more
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