Category Archives: Musings

Into the Presence of God

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The first reading today is taken from the Book of Leviticus and is paired with the memorable passage from Matthew 25. Leviticus is likely the least read book of the Old Testament. It is long and seems to be filled with all kinds of arcane information. The opening verse starts out with instructions on how to perform the ritual of burnt offerings while the people are still in the beginning of the wilderness trek of Exodus. Not the best “hook” to draw one into the book. Continue reading →

Who knew?

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Part of my daily routine is to check the Word-of-the-Day from Merriam-Webster. I guess I have a reasonable vocabulary as most often I already know the meaning of the word, but the reason I check in daily is to read about the etymology of the word, Fascinating stuff. As you might expect lots of words come to us from Latin and became cognates in spoken English. Some came from Middle French and of course, especially here in the United States we adopt words from other languages when it seems beneficial to do so. Think “burrito”…., the food, …not the diminutive for burro. Continue reading →

Stories of Friday abstinence

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The capybara is the largest member of the rodent family. Abundant over much of northern and central South America, this plump, pig-sized cousin of the sewer rat spends much of its time in the water, foraging for food (mostly aquatic grasses) and protecting itself from predators like jaguars in wetland areas and semi-flooded savannahs. Its webbed feet and easy-dry fur make its semi-aquatic life easier to manage, and it is still possible to encounter herds of up to 40 capybaras in many South American countries. They’ve even showed up as an invasive species in Florida’s endless wetlands. Continue reading →

What’s next in your Lenten journey?

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Ash Wednesday has come and gone. I hope you were able to celebrate. Lent has begun and you’ve “40 days” in the journey. So…what’s next? Take some time today and make a plan (if you have not already). Don’t let this time quickly recede in the Lenten “rear view mirror.” If you blink again, it will be Holy Week and the “best of intentions” will have to wait for another year. So… what is your plan for Lent? And I ask about “your plan” because each of us are called to be intentional in our life of prayer and to create a place and space in our life to be in relationship with God. This is especially true in the Season of Lent. Now that Ash Wednesday has passed, what is your Lenten plan to make room in your life to be filled with God’s grace? How about a Lenten checklist to help you get started? Continue reading →

Oat bran and ashes

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There was a couple who lived very strict lives of practices, diets and exercise. They would eat a healthy diet, watch blood pressure and cholesterol, get exercise and absolutely eat incredibly intentionally and purposefully. Perhaps the great symbol of all of this was the omnipresence of oat bran: cereal, muffins, the ever-imaginative addition to more recipes than can be remembered; Oat bran every day. They lived to the late nineties. Both died and went to heaven. One day while walking around and seeing all the wonders one said to the other, “Gee, I never imagined it would be like this.”   The other said, “Just think we could have been here years ago if it wasn’t for all that oat bran.”  Continue reading →

Sage Advice

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The first reading is from the Book of Sirach (also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira or as Ecclesiasticus – not to be confused with Ecclesiastes). The book is part of the Bible the Catholic Church refers to as Deutero-Canonical, meaning “second canon,” while some parts of Reformed or Protestant Christianity refer to it as part of the apocrypha (from the Late Latin apocryphus “secret, of doubtful authenticity, uncanonical”). In other words, not accepted as part of Sacred Scripture. Why? That is a topic for another time. What is clear is that the book was widely used in early Christian communities and churches in presenting moral teaching to catechumens and to the faithful. This is likely the reason for the name “Liber Ecclesiasticus” meaning “church book.” Continue reading →

All in the name

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In Italian, Lent is quaresima or forty (days). In German, it is Fastenzeit or time for bodily restraint. Our English word comes from an older Anglo-Saxon word for spring—len(c)ten—whence our Lent. Italian tells us how long it will last (with its symbolic overtones). German tells us what to do in that time. But English tells us what is supposed to happen, that is, we are supposed to experience a springtime of faith, a time of growth and new life.

Ash Wednesday and Sundays in Lent 2023

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lent-2-heartlargeAsh Wednesday, the first day of the penitential season of Lent in the Catholic Church, is always 46 days before Easter Sunday. It is a “movable” feast that is assigned a date in the calendar only after the date of Easter Sunday is calculated. How is it calculated? I’m glad you asked.

According to the norms established by the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and later adopted for Western Christianity at the Synod of Whitby, Easter Sunday falls each year on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. This year the vernal equinox falls on March 20, 2023 and the first full moon after that occurs on Thursday, April 6th. Therefore, Easter Sunday is celebrated this year on April 9th. If you want to know the date of Ash Wednesday, just count backwards 46 days and you get February 22nd. Continue reading →

Good News – Bad News

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We people of a certain age grew up watching “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”, a documentary television series about the world beneath the waves. At some point we were introduced to the voice and calls of the humpback and other whales. You can listen to a sample here. To me the calls always sounded melancholy – and in a way, they were. By-in-large, the calls are done almost exclusively by males and are part of a mating ritual. Continue reading →

Listening and Being Present

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Earlier this week I presided at a burial interment at Quantico National Cemetery. An 86-old woman was being buried alongside her husband, an Army veteran, who has passed away in the mid-1990s. The woman was born in 1947 in Berlin amidst the destruction and occupation following the war. She met her GI husband and they fell in love. He wanted to remain in Germany, but she wanted to start their new life together in the United States. It is not an uncommon story. Continue reading →