In a post yesterday, I posted a winter beach picture from the Gulf of Mexico at Clearwater Beach – somewhat pining for the balmy breezes and amazing winter skylines in Florida. I probably needed the warm thoughts and memories. Here is a picture from today:
A burial/interment at Quantico National Cemetery…just a day in the life. A cold day, but a good day.
The above photograph was taken by Holly Baumann of Clearwater, FL and appeared in their local newspaper (Tampa Bay Times). I miss hanging out at the beach, especially in the off season when some of the most amazing weather fronts move into the area. As I write this, here in Northern Virginia we are expecting snow. The plows and salt trucks are at the ready. Alas, salt is for the ocean…. 😦
Ignatius was was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch. While en route to Rome, where he met his martyrdom, Ignatius wrote a series of letters. Here is a short excerpt from his letter to the Ephesians:
These are the beginning and the end of life: faith the beginning and love the end. When these two are found together, there is God and everything else concerning right living follows from them. No professing faith sins; no possessing love hates.
A thought for the day.
Image credit: Pexels
A Michelin Star is awarded to culinary institutions offering outstanding cooking. They take into account five universal criteria: the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavors, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine and, just as importantly, consistency both across the entire menu and over time. A culinary institution can receive as many as 3 starts in the Michelin Guide. Continue reading
One of last year’s celebrated movies was “Everything Everywhere All at Once” – a tale of a middle-aged Chinese immigrant who is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led. Continue reading
I can remember coming home from 3+ years of mission in Kenya, friends were driving me home, and as we wound through trees, I could see the porch light on at my home in the foothills of the Blue Ridge. Even from afar, it shone like a welcoming beacon. It was the sign I am home in a place I have always belonged. It is the same moment we have seen on the evening news, in newspapers, on-line in the experience of our men and women serving overseas in foreign lands. Coming home writ large is the heavy bags dropped on the tarmac, the faces of unbridled joy, parents sweeping up children in their arms, a loved one embraced, and the moment they know: I am home. Continue reading
The Gospel of John is perhaps the most subtle of all the gospels with layers of meaning and nuance that can be overlooked in just the daily readings. Today’s gospel starts at John 1:43, but interestingly it leaves out the opening words (underlined): “The next day [Jesus] decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Granted “the next day” is not needed for this pericope/snippet from the longer narrative, but if you have been reading along you’ll have noticed this is not the first occurrence of “the next day.” Continue reading
“…the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”
Today the Church in the United States celebrates St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American to be named a saint. Born in 1774 she was born into privilege among the prominent people of New York City. She was not born into a Catholic family, but was raised in a dedicated Episcopal family. The practice of the faith was sustaining for her family and Elizabeth. Which was good, as her story is one of a slow unraveling of privilege, security, and family. Her mother died when Elizabeth was three years old. Her father remarried and her new stepmother introduced Elizabeth into social outreach to the poor and sick as a ministry of the church. But that marriage eventually failed. The stepmother left with her own children as Elizabeth’s father moved to London for further medical studies. Elizabeth entered a time of great darkness in her life, grieving the loss of father and a second mother. Continue reading
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” We hear the same expression at every Mass, but do we hear the words in the same way as John the Baptist would have understood them? For us, the image of a lamb conjures up thoughts of innocence, cuddly and cute. Continue reading
I grew up in Orlando, FL and it was a common enough experience to see a space launch from our front yard. I wasn’t the spectacular, earth-shaking experience of being over at the beach, but it was still fascinating. At school we all knew the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, but the especially interested kids knew the lift rockets: Delta, Saturn, Atlas, Titan and others. Eventually it became routine and our interests moved on to other concerns. Continue reading
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