Giotto, 1297-99, Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, (WikiArt). Welp, I know what I want to give up for Lent this year: Chemotherapy. That's what. Yesterday I celebrated Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, by beginning my last cycle of chemotherapy at the Southern Illinois University medical school's Simmons Cancer Institute. No pancakes, but I did eat … Continue reading A chemo-infused reflection on Ash Wednesday, St. Francis and the first few signs of spring outside the window
Caring for creation in a time of environmental crisis: Stewardship, sacrament and Laudato Si’
Jubilee Farm, Center for Ecology and Spirituality, Springfield, Illinois, April 2022 In my inbox today, by coincidence when I've been doing keyword searches for ecumenical resources on Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', a copy of Richard Rohr's summary of this week's daily meditations on the theme "A Sacramental Reality." One of those coincidences we're reminded … Continue reading Caring for creation in a time of environmental crisis: Stewardship, sacrament and Laudato Si’
‘A child is born in Bethlehem’: New life in an old carol for postmodern, independent cats and misguided sheep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRyiOB4as9c DR Pigekor (Danish National Girls' Choir), dir. Philip Faber, 2021 Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. -- Charlie "Bird" Parker (Wikiquote). … Continue reading ‘A child is born in Bethlehem’: New life in an old carol for postmodern, independent cats and misguided sheep
Notes on a scientific study on spirituality — how doing good does you good; also Jewish-Christian relations, book of Hebrews
When I taught mass comms at Benedictine, I used to tell the kids sometimes you can do pretty darn well for yourself by doing good. I thought it fit our mission as a faith-based college, and, besides, I believed it. Now comes Lisa Miller, a psychologist at Columbia Teachers College, with a study offering scientific … Continue reading Notes on a scientific study on spirituality — how doing good does you good; also Jewish-Christian relations, book of Hebrews
A spiritual mutt discovers Franciscan spirituality in a time of apocalypse, learns he knew at least some of it all along
Click here https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2021/ for directory. Last week I signed up for Richard Rohr's daily meditations. I figured a brief daily exercise might lend a little discipline to my spiritual routine (or lack thereof) in these days of lingering pandemic, self-quarantine and isolation. I've read his stuff before, and it liked it. So I haven't been … Continue reading A spiritual mutt discovers Franciscan spirituality in a time of apocalypse, learns he knew at least some of it all along
Connecting the dots between a gospel reading from Mark, the historical Jesus, St. Francis and monarch butterfly eggs
Brother Caterpillar and Sister Milkweed (photo Debi Edumnd Ellertsen). Mark 7 [NRSV]. Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless … Continue reading Connecting the dots between a gospel reading from Mark, the historical Jesus, St. Francis and monarch butterfly eggs
The historical Jesus and the Christ of faith on a dark and stormy night (Pentecost IV)
Bread and wine for Holy Communion on Galilee tour boat Mark 4 (NRSV): 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm … Continue reading The historical Jesus and the Christ of faith on a dark and stormy night (Pentecost IV)
The parable of the mustard seed, the historical Jesus, the kingdom of God and a couple of kudzu jokes (Pentecost III)
Mustard plants in Galilee (I think the sign says 'no trespassing' in Hebrew) Mark 4 (NSRV). 26 [Jesus] also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth produces of … Continue reading The parable of the mustard seed, the historical Jesus, the kingdom of God and a couple of kudzu jokes (Pentecost III)
God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lx-iI-kFDA St. Patrick's Breastplate, Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore, Wash. John 3:1-17 (NRSV). 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being … Continue reading God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday
‘Christ was born in Bethlehem’ — an Appalachian ballad that sums up Holy Week and the Easter season
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzmzb1ZyL6c Norm Williams, Amanda Parker and Bob Mallalieu, Maidencreek Festival, Maier's Grove, Blandon, Pa., Aug. 29, 2010 (song begins at 1:29). Our services for Holy Week are all online this year, and it's quite a different experience for someone who always sang in the choir and couldn't quite shake the feeling they were performances. I … Continue reading ‘Christ was born in Bethlehem’ — an Appalachian ballad that sums up Holy Week and the Easter season
Ordinary Time 