Church Life
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Friday In Passion Week
Since yesterday marked the Feast of the Assumption, I had hoped to write a post to commemorate the day. But we had thunderstorms pushing through the area, and I thought it best to keep my laptop turned off and everything unplugged. We’ve had a few less-than-pleasant experiences in the past with lightning and decided to lay low and take no chances. I did not know until recently that the Church used to teach that the date of The Annunciation, March 25th, was the date God began His work of creating the heavens and the earth. I do so enjoy learning these sorts of tidbits; it’s like discovering a yellowing photo…
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Spiritual Busywork
In an old Seinfeld episode, Jerry and his pals attend a party. The host is known for assigning jobs to his guests, as in “Jerry, you’re in charge of the stereo. Make sure no one messes with the volume.” Or “Kramer, you’re in charge of the coat pile. Whenever someone arrives, make sure they put their coats on the proper bed in the spare room.” The guests take their responsibilities seriously, and it takes them some time to realize that the host’s ploy is simply to keep them out of mischief while they’re in his apartment. I can remember in my Protestant days how the leadership of every church used…
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Padraigh of Erin
A profound pity that the feast day for the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, is known more for drunken revelry and boorishness than for holiness and piety, especially since the feast in smack-dab in the middle of Lent. Reflecting on the saint’s life, I am grateful for men like Patrick, men who were brave and self-sacrificing and single-minded. How few of them there are today, and even fewer on the horizon and in the cribs. Ah, for a man to drive the serpents from the land, eh? And though it has nothing to do with Saint Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share one of my favorite Irish folk…
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From a New Discovery
I recently discovered a blog I’m enjoying very much, written by a venerable gentleman from Nebraska who styles himself “The Old Curmudgeon.” The blog is located here, and one of the items I found very motivating today is the one I’ve included below. Enjoy. ~ S.K. Orr Talks on the Sacramentals, by Msgr Arthur Tonne – Pictures by Jovan-Marya Weismiller on his blog, Musings of an Old Curmudgeon “Whose are this image and the inscription?” St. Matthew, 22:20. One of our American missionaries to China was telling some years ago of the difficulties in keeping convert Catholics faithful to the Church, and how laborious a task it was to keep…
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The Ides of March
“Beware the Ides of March!” I said that today at my office, and one of my coworkers, who has a college education, asked me what I was talking about. “You know, from Julius Caesar? The day he got turned into a pincushion by the Senate?” She frowned as if I had asked her for money. “Who?” “Never mind.” And as I do so often, I turned away. I can’t wait until Wednesday. “Saint Who?” A week ago, the migration of hummingbirds back to these climes began. This evening, I was sitting in our office here at home, gazing out the door at Jinx, when something bulleted past. There was a…
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The Fourth Sunday in Lent
When Jinx and I went for our walk this morning, a group of cows was standing near the horizon, the pink-hued sun about to rise behind them. One of the cows was clearly trying to calve. I waited and watched for a minute, but Jinx was cavorting around in the field adjacent to that one, and I didn’t want to disturb the mama while she was in such a difficult situation, so I walked on. By the time we returned, she was gone. I don’t know if she gave birth to the calf, or if she simply relocated. There are so many spring calves in the pastures right now, it…
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The Third Sunday in Lent
My Old Farmer’s Almanac tells me that today marks the beginning of the hummingbirds’ migration north. The little wonders will arrive here and we will have their feeders ready for them, and our hearts will be glad to see them, and we will enjoy their company morning and evening as they swoop past and talk to us with their whirrs and squeaks. Speaking of birds, I have neglected to mention that we have a lovely little screech owl living in our barn. She was perched on the limb of the maple out back the other night when I was outside with Jinx, and she flew closer to the house and…
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The Trip and the State of All
I spoke at length today with an aged woman. She told me about the death of her husband a month ago. I expressed sorrow for her loss and the void it must have left in her life. She thanked me, then shook her head. “But you know,” she said, “we had a good life together, a good long life. And he went home to Jesus just as easy as pie.” I liked that, and I asked her to elaborate. This is what she told me — “He’d been ailing for some good little while, and one night, he seemed to get his strength back. I cooked him a good supper…
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Footfalls
Out in the yard this morning with Dixee (Jinx was off rambling, in search of the source of some mysterious howling my wife heard before dawn), I felt the frost crunching beneath my shoes and was reminded that this afternoon I will return to the podiatrist. I hope that he will be able to accurately assess the effect, if any, of the temporary orthotic insert I’ve been wearing since my initial visit. Looking at the state of the Catholic Church today, I am tempted to be disgusted and to withdraw into myself. But then I am reminded that for most of the 2000 years since Christ ascended into Heaven, the…
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Lauds
From this morning’s Office: In a desert, pathless, and waterless land: so have I come before Thee in the holy place, that I might see Thy power and Thy glory. From Psalm 62 — Deus, Deus Meus This spoke to me as I said it aloud in the quiet room with the dogs snoring and the clock ticking and the crucifix gleaming in the soft light. I am grateful for it, for the words and the Spirit behind the words, for the salmon-tinted dawn roaring up outside in the east, and for the unmapped day ahead. Grateful for all of it. ~ S.K. Orr