Posted in Main on March 31, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Today we celebrate the Annunciation (a subject on which I briefly commented here in explaining my choice of Fra Angelico’s Annunciation at the top of the page). An angel appears to a young girl and says, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and [...]
Posted in Poetry on March 30, 2008 | 1 Comment »
My friend Beth over on Journey posted St. Teresa’s prayer yesterday, which led me to pull out a book containing some poems of Teresa’s. Teresa of Avila has long been one of my favorite mystics and those who have not read any of her poetry are missing a lot. Here is one I’ve shared with retreatants. It [...]
Posted in Main on March 29, 2008 | No Comments »
In the judgement passage in Matthew (Chapter 25:31-45), those who are saved are told that what saved them is that “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink,…naked and you clothed me…” Christ’s message was clear: what determines our judgment before God is: did we recognize and [...]
Posted in Main on March 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
The Gospel reading from Mark we hear at Mass today ends with Jesus’ charge to the apostles to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
In each of the three synoptic Gospels, Jesus commissions the disciples before he departs from them. And the language used in Luke and Matthew is similar to [...]
Posted in Main on March 28, 2008 | No Comments »
My friend Gerry just sent me the following quote by Dorothy Day. And, although you certainly can’t tell it is spring by looking at the snow I see out of my study window, I thought I’d share it:
“It is surely an exercise of faith for us to see Christ in each other. But it is through such exercise [...]
Posted in Main on March 28, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I mentioned in a post last week that I’m currently reading Mother Teresa’s book, Come Be My Light. Early in the description of her long period of interior darkness, it is observed that Teresa “sacrificed willingly the consolation of felt union with Jesus for the challenge of living by pure faith.”
I’m struck as I write [...]
Posted in Main on March 27, 2008 | No Comments »
I was thinking of Thomas Merton last night, prompted by the final section of a book I just finished reading (Virgin Time, mentioned on my Recently Read page). So much of Merton’s writing is wonderful, but one of the things I come back to again and again is his beautiful description of God’s love in [...]
Posted in Main on March 26, 2008 | No Comments »
We live in a world infused with the reality of an Incarnate God. We live in the reality of Christ Jesus, who walked among us as a human. Who showed us by his life what it means to live transformed by God. Who showed us by his suffering and death what one can withstand with the [...]
Posted in Poetry on March 25, 2008 | No Comments »
Sometimes when I sit down to pray, everything flows easily. There are, however, times when I have something I want to express to God and just can’t find the words to do it. There is a short poem by Mary Oliver, called Praying, that is good to keep in mind on those occasions. She writes:
It doesn’t have [...]
Posted in Main, tagged Christianity, Jesus, resurrection on March 24, 2008 | No Comments »
The morning after….the guests are gone, the dishes washed and extra chairs put away after the big Easter dinner….things back to normal after the whirlwind of the Triduum services of the past several days.
But, wait, no - that’s not right. The holiday is not over and there is no back to normal. Christ is risen. [...]
