The week before last was a challenging one at work. The most challenging, in fact, in several years. It was not pleasant, not fun, and above all, tiring. Sunday came and I argued with myself as I began waking up in the burrito of blankets my bed had become… to go to liturgy or to…

Harmonious Unity Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth*- all that is seen and unseen.Mine the Word that darkness shall never overcome,And the angels, and the Mother of God , Mystical Rose, who prays for us now and at the hour of our death. The elephant, eagle, platypus, and daffodil—mine.Mine the Wisdom who…

I ended my workday today by going to a coffee shop that magically appeared to me sometime before Christmas during a major downpour. For a variety reasons, that afternoon I was walking home instead of taking a bus. While under an awning enjoying a respite from rafting, I noticed a sign advertising “Coconut Coffee and…

It’s Valentines day. Contrary to a day typically associated with love, friendship, and good feelings, I woke up feeling grumpy, stuffed up, and way too sparky for my own good. It seemed a day destined to be one of those rare “Don’t Mess With the Nun” days. I got to school and received my first…

I have been caught thinking about two different contrasts lately. No surprise to those who know me, I place a high value on my facility with language. I love combing my trove of vocabulary to find the word(s) that most accurately surround(s) the feeling or idea I wish to express. Words enflesh, they fill out,…

I enjoy watching things get ready at Mass. In fact, I am usually there a good hour ahead of time so that I can sit in big quiet, pray, and be in the space as it breathes between liturgies. I have a regular spot I prefer in one of the apses that affords a view…

Penn station at 5:20 AM is an interesting experience. I was one of a minority to be there using it as a starting point. For the vast majority of the others there at that time, it was less a point of origin than a point of passing through on a transient journey from locations unknown…

Rather than ride down to church this morning on the train, I opted for the 5th avenue bus. When I have the time, this is an observational treat. Another change in routine was that I was listening to music while riding. My view had a soundtrack. How interesting to see what songs come up while…

The Feast of Epiphany is tomorrow…it is one of my favorites in the Church year. It is for me one of the most easily imagined stories… I can imagine the travellers, the camels (“galled and sore-footed” according to Eliot), the curiousity that must have been present among them, the doubts and certainties, the question of…

Lately my reading tastes have expanded a bit. I have been reading more and more about food. Not necessarily cookbooks, but “food writing” as the section is labeled in the bookstores. I forget what the initial draw was to bring me to these shelves in the first place, but I have been the veritable kid…