Exultet

The saga continues

2011-05-07T09:55:00.001-04:00

In which (1) conspiracy theories about the origins of Christianity are debunked, and (2) it is demonstrated that Lutherans have a sense of humor.

Eureka!

2011-03-27T20:09:00.000-04:00

For quite a while, I've been reading atheist blogs. Although many seem to subscribe to the PZ Myers philosophy of "make enough vulgar jokes about stereotypical religion and the battle will be ours!", I've finally found one worth following. Leah at Unequally Yoked is a lifelong skeptic who brought her vigorous debate with her Catholic boyfriend into the blog world. What distinguishes her from

Quick Takes - Roz's quirky gratitude list

2010-11-19T13:51:00.002-05:00

In honor of the approach of Thanksgiving in the U.S., here are some things that may be unusual to find on a gratitude list: I am grateful that Sometimes, people who don't impress me at first as being anything special turn out to be wonderful. That Jesus went ahead and ushered me into the fullness of fellowship with the Trinity despite the fact that, at the time, I considered him pretty lucky

I don't know

2010-10-06T16:07:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure how to write this post. It may go through many iterations and lose these first lines. It's not often I have an experience leaves me with confused emotions that can't quite sort through right away. But that is me, now. I got (figuratively) socked in the solar plexus last weekend, and I'm still sucking air. The weekend itself was very good. My high school class met for our 40-year

Going to the (adoration) chapel

2010-09-29T12:40:00.001-04:00

Once again (I'm such a creature of habit) Jenn at Conversion Diary has inspired me. She wrote a piece about Eucharistic adoration I began to write a brief comment. When I hit my fourth paragraph, I decided that it was turning into a blog post instead. Thank you, Jenn. You never fail me. My parish has a little chapel behind the sacristy where the Eucharist is perpetually exposed. A dedicated and

How does God want us to ask?

2010-09-29T11:28:00.000-04:00

Jennifer at Conversion Diary wrote recently about petitionary prayers - specifically, how particular or targeted we are when we ask for things. She makes a great point: sometimes pointed requests are expressions of faith, but sometimes they are artifacts of our wanting to be in control ourselves and dictate to the Almighty One the results we want and how we think he should do his job. As she

Worth repeating

2010-09-27T09:17:00.000-04:00

"All I can say is thank God for Pope Benedict. Not only is he fending off wolves in sheep's clothing, but he's facing down werewolves dressed as shepherds." An unnamed blogger on Catholic Light.

I peek around the curtain once again

2010-09-24T23:21:00.040-04:00

I won't apologize for my long absence (that would be arrogant and pretentious), nor will I resolve to begin again posting regularly (because my capability of breaking resolutions is well-documented), but I am breaking the ice, dipping my toe in the water, and performing other relevant idioms as I once again apply keyboard to blank screen at Exultet. I've run across lots of wonderful and

Undiscovered riches

2009-12-20T15:42:00.002-05:00

As if the beautiful hymn O Holy Night weren't already glorious enough, I have a little extra-special gift for you as we approach the joys of the Christmas season. My Dear Husband remarked that the French lyrics of O Holy Night reveal some beautiful theological truths that are missing in the English version. He was kind enough to write them out for me so I can share them with you. Enjoy and be

Lovely person, lovely heart, lovely prayer

2009-12-02T10:19:00.000-05:00

While web-meandering today, I followed a trail of breadcrumbs that started with Gregorian Chant sites, moved on to the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles and their beautiful description of Mary's dwelling at Ephesus (which I've been privileged to visit); at the bottom of which page can be found the lovely prayer for priests written by Mother Louise-Margaret Claret de la Touche, who is

What is faith?

2009-11-18T14:37:00.002-05:00

Atheism must hold that there is no possibility of God, or a god, or supreme being, or anything supernatural. Agnosticism says "Could be -- we don't know." Seeking says, "Could be -- we don't know, but I want to learn more." Hope says, "It looks like there might be." Faith says, "He found me."

Archbishop Chaput's recommended reading list

2009-11-07T11:25:00.001-05:00

. . . has 26 books. Good books. See the list here.

Quick takes - Great quotes from Bishop Fulton Sheen

2009-11-06T12:55:00.002-05:00

Click on the post-it to head over to Conversion Diary's quick-takes gathering place.I find that a number of great quotations from Bishop Sheen have found their way into my notebook. So I present them here for you to run deliciously through your fingers.(1) Truth must be sought at all costs, but separate isolated truths will not do. Truth is like life; it has to be taken on its entirety or not at

Committing an act of citizenship

2009-11-05T09:55:00.003-05:00

Today I sent e-mails to my Congressional Representative and the two Senators representing Michigan. I don't expect any of them to be remotely swayed by my urgings, but one does what one can and leaves the rest to God.Here's the text of what I wrote to my representative:To the Honorable John Dingell:Re: Health Care reformIt is of vital importance that the eventual legislation has: (1) Explicit

The truth packs a lot of clout

2009-11-02T17:22:00.002-05:00

Abby Johnson worked for eight years at the Bryan, TX office of Planned Parenthood, the last two as its Director. She piloted the nonprofit through a tough economy, realizing that it had to change its business model from an emphasis on prevention, which wasn't going to pay the bills. "The money wasn't in family planning, the money wasn't in prevention, the money was in abortion."Then she watched

Friday quick takes: Blogger Colleagues Edition

2009-10-22T11:47:00.003-04:00

Click on the post-it to head over to Conversion Diary's quick-takes gathering place.Gotta love Enbrethiliel. Like me, she can't just blog one way. She's the hostess of Sancta Sanctis, a great Catholic blog, but adds the personality-filled Shredded Cheddar to boot. She may just be serious about her tag-line: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you odd." (My own quirky side is on

Quick takes for no particular reason

2009-10-20T15:02:00.003-04:00

I'm usually really busy on Thursdays, so I keep missing the "Friday Quick Takes" tradition that got started over on Conversion Diary. It's been so long since I posted that I'm going to just break into your day with bits of whatever has been striking my fancy lately. It's mostly practical stuff, but we'll lead off with a quotation from the esteemed Cardinal George on the American Catholic Church.

A refreshing musical break

2009-10-01T06:36:00.003-04:00

Here's a beautiful rendition of the newly-popular Ave Maria by Biebl. Our parish choir is singing a version for mixed choir later this month. I can't wait.

Padre Pio

2009-09-23T10:04:00.002-04:00

Julie says: "It was a photo of him with his head thrown back laughing that first made me notice him. I thought, 'Now there is someone I could talk to...that is what a real saint should look like.'"Happy feast day, Padre Pio and all his fans.

I firmly believe in not much

2009-09-21T18:12:00.002-04:00

For those of you who have outgrown the rigid, 'things are either right or wrong', judgmental, fact-based beliefs of your saner years, I offer you the Alternative Apostles' Creed. Thanks to the Rev. Bosco Peters at the Liturgy blog, who knows and oldie-but-goodie when he sees one.(Caveat: I myself have come to see that much of life has more shades of gray then I used to think. However, I don't

Overtaken

2009-09-21T10:21:00.003-04:00

Matt at Creative Minority Report tells us about the first time God broke through to him, though he didn't quite recognize it at the time. [A]s I approached the car I looked up. And my goodness. All the stars. Brilliant splashes of light shimmering like some clumsy angel had spilled a jar of stars over upstate New York. I stopped.And that's how it happens. An unsuspecting kid on the New York State

How I'd rather speak

2009-09-20T21:42:00.003-04:00

I noticed an unusual act of charity in speech today that really impressed me, perhaps especially because one of my besetting sins is criticalness and judgment. Sometimes I keep my little critique-y commentary to myself, but sometimes (usually to my husband) I just let fly with my tactful yet pointed assessment of something that's actually none of my business, rationalizing it to myself as "honest

Quick Takes, a day late

2009-09-19T13:08:00.004-04:00

I've been looking forward to joining the "7 Quick Takes" bandwagon, and then I let Friday go by without doing anything about it. So, though a day late, I hope I'm not a dollar short. (That is a really lame use of idiom. Don't try this at home.)I've started an intermittent series of helpful hints over at In Dwelling that will be tagged "Let me 'splain it to you". Stop on by to say hello.One of my

Kids these days . . . may surprise you

2009-09-17T18:45:00.000-04:00

The Longing Teaser 1 from Kerygma Studios on Vimeo.

Hey, listen to this

2009-09-13T08:27:00.005-04:00

As I perused the latest copy of First Things, I found myself delighted with thoughts, articulations, and turns of phrase; I longed to have someone in the room to whom I could read them aloud and smile in shared enjoyment.Like it or not, you, my friends, are my virtual companions. I will just have to imagine the shared smiles as we read some snippets from the October issue.§ § §It is