A little bit of fun this morning….
A digital Christmas
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Category Archives: Musings
The Importance of Celebrating
The last time this happened was 2006. We had to know it would roll around again. We could have seen it coming, given it some thought, been better prepared. After all this is Advent, a time when we are encouraged to stay alert! Still, it is almost here. And the inevitable questions will be coming.
It was 2006 when the fourth Sunday of Advent fell on December 24. And yes, that means Christmas Day falls on a Monday. I can already hear the wheels turning in some folk’s brain…maybe this means we can get a Christmas two-fer! I’m waiting for an email from one of the faithful asking about the possibilities of attending one Mass and “getting credit” for two. They’ll ask if they attended a Mass on Sunday the 24, say the 4 pm Christmas Eve Mass, since it was technically still Sunday, and we have a Sunday evening Mass normally at 5:30 pm, couldn’t that count as a fulfilling the obligation for both the fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas? Answer: no. Does the Church really expect people to come to Mass two days in a row? Answer: yes. Aren’t fourth Advent and Christmas really celebrating the same thing? Answer: no. Continue reading
For your Advent enjoyment…
Changing the Lord’s Prayer?
Recently, Pope Francis offered that the church should modify the translation of the “Our Father” to clear up the confusion around the phrase “lead us not into temptation.” “That is not a good translation,” the Pope said. The phrase in question appear in Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4 as μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν. The Greek verb for lead is “eisphero” and the original Greek word for testing or temptation is “peirasmos.” Continue reading
Finding Joy
I like words, their origin (or etymology if you prefer) and the ways in words affect people – and people affect words. Such as the word “peruse” which people understand to mean “glance over, skim,” etc. Yet originally the word means (and I would argue still does) to read completely and in exacting detail. Another interesting word whose meaning has done an about face is “egregious.” Today it means to be conspicuous or flagrant – and almost always in a negative sense. Yet the origin of the word from the Latin ex-“out of” and greg- “flock” to give us egregius “illustrious” or in a more modern sense, “outstanding.” Somewhere in the late 16th century the word was increasingly used in an ironic sense, until that usage became it every day meaning. Continue reading
A Harvest of Gratitude
Did you know that gratitude has been scientifically studied? In just the last 10 years, there have been hundreds of studies that have documented the social, physical, and psychological benefits of gratitude. The graphic and the following text all point to some of the benefits of practicing gratitude: Continue reading
Gratitude to Happiness
I don’t remember – it has been so long now – but somewhere, sometime ago, I began to start emails, letters, cards and the like with the same phrase: “May the grace and peace of Christ be with you.” It is an expression that begins many of St. Paul’s letters, in one form or another, e.g., Galatians 1:3. It is not a scripted beginning; there is a great deal of intention about it. There are times when I am in a hurry, responding to emails, that I am reminded at the end to return to the beginning and insert the greeting. It often leads to editing of the email if there is some part that does not have grace or peace about it. Continue reading
Greatness
Just the other day I watched “Thor: Ragnarok.” It was another entertaining saga in the Marvel Comics universe in which Thor and some of the Avengers appear. And of course, in such films one is always on the lookout for Stan Lee, the founder of the Marvel universe. Let me just say you will never look at your barber or hair dresser the same way after seeing his cameo.
If you are a fan or planning to see the movie, I will try to give enough context – or [spoiler alert] you can read a description of the full plot here. Continue reading
A Way of Life
I am often given to repeating St. Bonaventure’s wise counsel: humility is the guardian and gateway to all the other virtues…and the first evidence of it is gratitude. We can all have moments in which we are profoundly grateful, but are we grateful people? The first is a description of a moment in time, deeply remembered; the second is an intrinsic condition of who you are as a person. It is at the root of your being, it is the lens through which you see the world, and it is the mode by which you engage the world. Even as I write that last sentence, I am thinking, “Gosh, I want to be that person!” Continue reading
The House We’re Building
The Lateran Basilica in Rome is not the oldest church in Rome – that honor seems to belong Santi Quattro Coronati (314); but then that depends on what sources you believe. Old St. Peter’s, the original church on the spot where the current St. Peter’s stands dates to 324, the same year as St. Lorenzo and St. John Lateran. In fact, the Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome – the place from where the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, leads his diocese even as he leads the church universal. Continue reading
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