Reflections
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And So It Begins
And just like that, the weather turned warm, the faeries beneath the earth’s crust pushed their backs against the grass and weeds, the greenery sprung up, the winged insects flew sorties off the decks of their craft, the world became filled with song, and here it is again, time to cut the grass. I couldn’t have asked for a better day to start this half-a-year activity. Seventy-two degrees, breezy, titanium-white clouds courtesy of Bob Ross, a stare-worthy sky of most regal blue. The morning wasn’t even halfway over when I looked outside my window at work and decided that today would be the day. Once home, I prepared the mower…
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The Most Catholic Thing
Tomorrow I will embark on the most Catholic thing I’ve done to date: I will begin the 33-day preparation for a consecration to Mary on the Feast of St. Loius de Montfort. I’m looking forward to the focus and the discipline of this preparation. So many of the events swirling in the air today have reminded me of exactly why I began to be drawn to traditional Roman Catholicism some years ago, setting in motion a series of broken friendships and relationships that still grieve and perplex me to this day. *** I saw my bicyclist friend on the side of the road yesterday morning, in the rainy dark. I…
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For The Beauty
The force that through the green fuse drives the flower Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees Is my destroyer. And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose My youth is bent by the same wintry fever. The force that drives the water through the rocks Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams Turns mine to wax. And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks. The hand that whirls the water in the pool Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind Hauls my shroud sail. And I am dumb to tell the hanging…
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A Capital Spring Day
Rarely have I seen a season on this spinning earth make its entrance with such perfect, almost stereotypical grandeur. Yesterday was gray and raw and sparse, the birds and beasts and even the rocks themselves seeming to flee from the scudding clouds, riding the wind. The night came, and all was silent. And then this morning, it had all changed. Remarkably warm, the day began in the dark with the birds gathered in a holy choir loft that very much resembled a bowl of trees and fences. They sang the sun into the sky, and they spent the day announcing their joy, their intentions, their meditations, their feathered vocations. When…
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Winter Has Ended
Today is for me a vivid reminder of all that slumbers during the cold and bleak times, when all seems dark or lost or hopeless or lonely or silent or uncaring. Beneath the covering of dead and moldering leaves, beneath the sheen of tenacious frost, behind the apparently lifeless gray sticks and clumps — life itself slumbers. May the Giver of all life bless us with a strong sense of His presence, and may we expend our energies in following our own unique God-given paths, and less energies in worrying about the jackals that howl and bark from the underbrush on either side. The world is awakening from its slumber.…
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Even Within A Mere Ninety-Six
At the end of a trying day, I was driving home through the late winter mist, watching the cars near me for the too-frequent signs of someone texting while driving, thinking of the long walk I would take Jinx on after I got home and fed him supper, determined to find a way to control some of his excess energy. My phone rang. My wife was calling. “I have some sad news,” she said. “Okay….” “Helen [our nearest neighbor, from the next farm over] called me. A man came by, and he was looking for his dog. It was Jinx.” I felt my throat close like a fist. “Oh…
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A Gift On Saint Patrick’s Day
Daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises of heaven. — Saint Patrick of Ireland Contemplating this quote, I thought this morning of how real St. Patrick’s expectations were. At any moment, he could have lost his life or his liberty at the hands of those among whom he lived, by those whom he served. I doubt that he would have wasted a second wondering if the village market had sufficient hand sanitizer or toilet paper, even if such things had existed. He saw the opportunity to completely expend his life for Christ as…
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Luck Of The Paw
I took off yesterday from work so that I could take care of some things on which I’ve been procrastinating. It was Friday the 13th, so it seemed an appropriate day to venture out and seek accomplishments. The main objective was to take care of some business with the Veteran’s Administration. The closest VA center is located a few towns over, and we got an early start. My wife and I found our way to the sprawling campus and were surprised at how busy it was. Friendly guides were everywhere, helping the incoming veterans to park and to find which building they needed to transact their business. We watched silver-haired…
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A Quiet And Powerful Parade
On the dark drive to work, I was thinking about how unquiet my heart can sometimes be, and I found myself longing for a more peaceful day. I can always assess my drift towards melancholy because I catch myself sighing a lot. When I arrived at work, my wife forwarded me a text from one of our daughters-in-law, a text with a video attached. The video gave me just what I was longing for. A man in Pennsylvania has a camera set up year-round on his property, stationed at one end of a log that spans a creek. The camera records all the creatures that use the log to cross…
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Memories Of My Dog
Some years ago, there was a television commercial for cheese, an ad in which people were shown doing all sorts of risky and humorous things in order to acquire a piece of golden cheddar. At the end of the commercial, a mellow male voice would intone, “Behold the power of cheese.” We saw this power in action a few times with our dog Bonnie. One wintry day several years ago, Bonnie was outside exploring. My wife heard her run up onto the back deck, and so she went to let the dog in. When she opened the door, she saw Bonnie holding the rear half of a large rabbit in…