Death as a kind of detachment
Today was All Soul’s Day, the day the Church reminds us of the dead who still suffer the pains of Purgatory. My other blog, The Four Last Things primarily concerns itself about such things, and you can...
View ArticlePatience has a practical purpose
The Reading from Evening Prayer for today has advice concerning patience, a topic not unfamiliar in 12 Step Meetings: James 1:2-4: “My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come,...
View ArticlePatient endurance
The Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours for this morning had “A treatise on the value of patience, by St Cyprian” from which I excerpt the following parts: “What we do not see, we hope,...
View ArticleGratitude: Wanting what you have
One of my least favorite 12 Step meeting topics is “gratitude”. Not that I am not grateful for anything in sobriety, for I have plenty to be grateful for. My main issue whenever this topic is brought...
View ArticleCrucible of Faith
Earlier this month I wrote: Just enough. This is a sequel. The reason I am writing this sequel is that I need to expound somewhat on the “suffering” aspect of that post. Although you might think that...
View ArticleA Walk With the Novena of Mary Undoer of Knots, Day 9
Today is Day 9 and thus the final one in our Novena of Mary Undoer of Knots. We ask Mary’s intercession for “this knot in my life…You know very well the suffering it has caused me…” So, what knot is...
View ArticleGratitude: Wanting what you have
In the rooms of AA, I’ve learned that gratitude means “wanting what you have.” At first I had thought this was silly and trite. Of course, I “want what I have!” But upon further thinking it became...
View ArticleAn Exhortation to Persevere from the Book of Sirach
While doing my morning meditations today I read the following passage from the Old Testament “Wisdom” Book, the Book of Sirach (Chapter 2, Verses 1-13). I found it to be a very good and hopeful...
View ArticleWWJD
There’s a fad, mostly over, I think, concerning how a Christian should behave in a particular situation. “WWJD,” as in “What Would Jesus Do?” The implication is that He would be “nice.” There’s a joke...
View ArticleHow St. Rita can help those of us in recovery
St. Rita, whose feast day is today, May 22nd, is the patroness of ‘impossible cases,’ as well as women in abusive marriages, mothers and those with serious illnesses and especially of wounds. A lot of...
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