What we choose to fight is so tiny… When we win it’s with small things, and the triumph itself makes us small. — Rainer Maria Rilke, from the poem “The Watching Man”
What we choose to fight is so tiny… When we win it’s with small things, and the triumph itself makes us small. — Rainer Maria Rilke, from the poem “The Watching Man”
There’s an old saying that goes like this: “To a man with a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.” That’s where we are today as developed societies. Science is reshaping our morality and social thought, when a genuinely sane culture would have it the other way around. — Archbishop Charles J. Chaput […]
“Live as a contingent being” — caught this phrase from a post by Fr. Stephen. Interesting. con•tin•gent |kən’tinjənt| adjective 1 subject to chance : the contingent nature of the job. See note at accidental. • (of losses, liabilities, etc.) that can be anticipated to arise if a particular event occurs : businesses need to be […]
A song by Regina Spektor (listen): No one laughs at God in a hospital No one laughs at God in a war No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests No one’s […]
If I had a theme song for this summer, it would be Keith Urban’s upbeat and bouncy, “Somebody Like You”. (Listen) The first stanza, especially the third line, is what caught my attention when I heard this song on the radio this morning. It is full of energy and joy. Except for the third line […]
I think there is a choice possible to us at any moment, as long as we live. But there is no sacrifice. There is a choice, and the rest falls away. Second choice does not exist. Beware of those who talk about sacrifice. — Muriel Rukeyser She is mostly correct, but her warning needs clarification. […]
Found this quote on the internet. It was in reference to technology but holds much spiritual insight. Virtual: Something that you think you have, but you don’t. Transparent: Something that you don’t know you have, but you do. — Tony Karp (via) Ego, pride, control—all virtual. God—transparent. Reminds me of a line from a science […]
The song “Down to Earth” by Peter Gabriel is a catchy little song played over the closing credits at the end of the movie, WALL•E. The song fits perfectly with the ending of the movie and with its hopeful allusion to the future. After further listening, I noticed that the song is dripping with great […]
As luck would have it, I was having a bad hair day on picture day.
From Br. Joseph — This is the last reflection of a series on seven signposts. The first reflection began Lent, and now this one bridges us into the Easter season and beyond. Signposts give us direction. They point to some place. They involve action, movement. Many signposts call us to remember something important, some thing […]
My heart is a little giddy with excitement and anticipation for tonight’s Easter Vigil Mass. It is my favorite Mass of the whole year, with Christmas Midnight Mass a close second. It has been a long and dark Lent for me, and the hope Easter brings is fresh and renewed. It is easy to live […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the fifth reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Gravitate to humility. This signpost points in the exact opposite direction the world points by pointing to the First Beatitude, the Beatitude from which all the Beatitudes spring forth—blessed are the poor in spirit. […]
Near the end of the film Into Great Silence (technically it is a film, but it is something more), there is an interview with an old, blind monk. The years of solitude do not wear heavy on him. He is truly happy, and peace envelopes him, coming to you even through the camera lens. His […]
On a country road in Kentucky where the pavement changes from blacktop to dirt, the sign posted says: Pick rut carefully, you’ll be stuck in it for next 20 miles.
From Br. Joseph — There is a philosopher’s axiom that says, “Whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver.” In other words, how you see is what you see. This is best illustrated by a little story. A fat, overweight Buddha was sitting under a tree one day. An arrogant, young […]
A bird was flying south for the winter. Cold and hungry, the bird found refuge in a barn on a farm. His wings were nearly frozen stiff with icicles. The bird thought to himself, “I am dead for sure.” A cow in the barn came by, sniffed around and unloaded a big, stinky cow pie […]
In front of TV, on the couch sits Apathy, quite comfortably.
Every day I say to myself—today I will begin. — Saint Anthony of the Desert
“To sin, it is not necessary to break the rules,” the sage said. “just keep them to the letter.” It is more than possible to make rules for our existence, the measure of our souls. But when rule-keeping takes precedence over the very essence of spirituality—justice, compassion, and union with God—rules become the very thing […]
A philosopher’s axiom: “Whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver.” This is best illustrated by a little story (via). A fat, overweight Buddha was sitting under a tree one day. An arrogant, young soldier walked by, saw him, and said, “You look like a pig!” The Buddha looked up at […]
Anthony de Mello tells the following story in the forward of his book, Awareness: A man found an eagle’s egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking […]
Everyone has a bad hair day; the trick is not to have one on picture day. (Advice given to my students.)
What a coincident! In light of some of my recent journal entries, I happened to open up a daily prayer book for 2003 this morning and found a very timely reading. The ironic thing is that I have not opened this particular book since June. I have been reading the Church’s daily readings through the […]
The Pickle Jar Theory of Prayer is not really a theory but more of a method of prayer. It is based on a theory of time management involving a pickle jar. The analogy is to think of the many tasks that you must complete in a single day as rocks and pebbles. All of these […]
Fr. Boyer told this story about a time he was sitting on an airplane while it was loading passengers. A young man sat down next to him and noticed his cleric collar. The young man asked Father, “Are you saved?” Father replied, “Well, I would prefer to think that I am being saved.” The young […]