Now nearly 2000 posts later,  taking a vacation from blogging for a time Oremus pro invicem ..read more

  It is World Series time/ where the purpose of every baseball game is to "get home."/ Spiritually, there is our heavenly home to hope for,/ but there is also that immediate home/ which is to live in the heart of Christ becoming fully Christ's sister;/ Christ's brother./ May we desire this above all else./ We pray to the Lord. We pray for our parish family at Mass today./ May there be a spirit of openness among us,/ where we share and lift up each other's prayer as we pray our own./ For the gift of persistence in prayer./ We pray to the Lord. For those who lead nations,/ states,/ count ..read more

weightless wren's enormous song At every Mass we hear the priest, "Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, through your goodness we have this bread, this wine to offer..." And we respond, "Blessed be God forever!"  A lovely brief moment of grateful praise. But it is also a phrase we can take with us through the day, acknowledging the gifts along the way. I've tried it out and left lines at the bottom for you add your own praises. All that awakens... noisy flock of sparrows in a bamboo grove, the English Gothic church made of schist-rock sparkling, White Pine needles pouring do ..read more

  This is an illuminated page from a 15th century liturgical book. Of course it is a tender depiction of Christ's Nativity. We see the Father en-rayed, looking down on Bethlehem through the night sky. The Holy Child is there on a bed of straw which is placed on a red-royal second bed. Mary prays. The cow and donkey stand outside the wattle fence. They know who this Child is. The monk who created the page must have been a tender-hearted and thoughtful fellow — he has Joseph seated and warming the baby's blanket by the fire.  But what I find most intriguing is the larger stylized ga ..read more

The name Gethsemane means olive press./ As Jesus prayed in that garden the night before his death,/ was it the vision of all the world's horrifying wars that pressed him to the ground?/ On Sunday,/ we ask the Risen One for the healing of our war obsessed world./ We pray to the Lord. Like much of the world,/ the church is bitterly polarized and distracted./ Many people long for a return to the past/ while others are satisfied only with innovation./ "May the Church be overwhelmed by joy,"/ Pope Francis prays./ Grant that the Christian people would re-discover Christ,/ where this First ..read more

  I stumbled upon this 18th-19th century icon recently and felt drawn to it immediately because Jesus is a little tilted. Has he stopped along the way, seeing me in the crowd? His eyes are bright; he seems to be smiling. He understands. His head is large because it's filled with us and with heavenly ideas. His hair reminds me of nature's lines and folds — a palm frond, tree rings, the underside of a mushroom, a tilled field, a striated rock, the ripples of water. The icon is called, Christ of the Fiery Eye.  Here are some possible Prayer-Starters as we sit or stand before thi ..read more

 Monastic Chapel ~ Weston Priory, Vermont Prayer After Mass Strengthen, O Lord, the hands which have been stretched out to receive your holy things, that they may daily bring forth fruit to your glory. Grant that the ears which have heard your songs may be closed to the voices of clamor and dispute; That the eyes which have seen your bright love may also behold your blessed hope; That the tongues which have uttered your praise may speak the truth; That the feet which have trodden your courts may walk in the regions of light; That the souls and bodies which have fed upon your livin ..read more

  The United States grows about 200 unique varieties of apples in 32 states./ As we appreciate this tremendous variety during October,/ National Apple Month,/ may we also be the nation which all the more appreciates people/ in their tremendous variety and need./ We pray for the conversion of hearts filled with fear and the hatred of others who look,/ sound or think another way./ We pray to the Lord. Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination in the United States./ The second largest denomination is fallen-away Catholics./ Many claim to have abandoned the Church because  ..read more

This tender painting is titled, Old Lady with a Rosary. It was created by the Scottish portrait painter, George Fiddes Watt (1873-1960).   There is so much to notice here. This elderly woman lives in extreme poverty. Her dress is faded and worn. Her threadbare, tattered curtains are useless. There is what's left of a broom leaning against the wall under the window. Her spinning wheel is there as well, but I sense she is now too frail to use it. The wooden table with the damaged edge has been around a long time. There is a small pitcher on the table and a cup of tea perhaps. She ha ..read more

  There are two angel feast days on the liturgical calendar: October 2, the Feast of the Guardian Angels, and September 29, the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.  The flowers in the picture above are called Michaelmas Asters as they are guaranteed to be in full bloom for the archangel's celebration, even into October's first frost The flower's name is surely a survivor of the Protestant Reformation  which changed the names of all the flowers that had spiritual significance. Anyway, Father Rahner writes that angels are the Entourage of Jesus. Lovely. Ento ..read more