1. Happy Feast of the Epiphany! From my reflections this morning: why those three gifts of the magi? The foremost is recognition of Christ’s three roles as King, Priest, and Sacrifice, as elaborated on in the famous song. But there’s something else as well which becomes clear when we consider that these are gifts offered … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: The Epiphany and Other Thoughts
Faith
Friday Flotsam: Retreat Reflections and Bad Movies
1. As I say, last weekend was a silent, Ignatian retreat for me; an intense few days of prayer and meditation, with no conversation, no media, nothing to distract me. Long days of talk, prayer, meditation, talk, prayer, sacrament. It was a wonderful experience that I feel brought some much needed clarity and a greater … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Retreat Reflections and Bad Movies
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
"For the honor of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian religion, We declare, pronounce, and define, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and … Continue reading Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Coming Soon: ‘A Gentleman Instructed’
Very excited to finally announce my next publication: a very different kind of project than any I've done before, and one that I've been working on again and off again for a year or more (I once thought it would be ready in April, which is either a testament to hope or an indictment of … Continue reading Coming Soon: ‘A Gentleman Instructed’
Friday Flotsam: Voting, Veterans, Video, and a Gospel Verse
1. I voted this past Tuesday. Might be the last time I do, since I reject the liberal paradigm that the practice represents and I find the whole thing to be frankly absurd anyway. Though I'll probably still vote in local elections, once I settle down somewhere, since I think those are the only ones … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Voting, Veterans, Video, and a Gospel Verse
Friday Flotsam: Mostly On Halloween
1. "The spirit of wickedness in high places is now so powerful and so many-headed in its incarnations that there seems nothing more to do than personally to refuse to worship any of the hydra's heads."-J.R.R. Tolkien (from a letter written in late 1969) 2. Our problem with Halloween is that we miss half the … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly On Halloween
Sunday Thoughts: The Heart
The heart is the seat of the passions, the raw, blazing energies that mediate between the reason and the appetite, enforcing the will of one or the other, according to how they are trained. We perceive goodness with the reason, but we feel it in the heart. As C.S. Lewis said, we moderns are, in … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: The Heart
Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Take some time today to meditate and pray over the Seven Sorrows of our Mother, who must feel such anguish over the state of the world, the loss of so many of her children, and the ingratitude and contempt shown towards her Son. You can read more about this feast and find a good devotion … Continue reading Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
The Queen is Dead. Long Live the King
Rather fitting that on Feast of the Nativity of the Queen of Heaven and Earth, the longest reigning Queen of England should pass away. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest … Continue reading The Queen is Dead. Long Live the King
Sunday Thought: On Seeing God
The fact that we can so easily become distracted at prayer is proof of just how inadequate our ideas of God and the Heavenly Court really are. For, of course, if we had even a faint understanding of just what we were dealing with, it would be almost impossible for anything else to have a … Continue reading Sunday Thought: On Seeing God
Serpent's Den 