Anamnesis Four-or more-syllable words are intimidating, like this one: anamnesis. But to lovers of words, this one means far more than remembering, recalling to mind. Or a psychological term indicating a return of lost memories. Wordsworth’s poem, Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, describes anamnesis without ever mentioning the word. Because it […]
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Knowledge is power The phrase, knowledge is power, is a well-known mantra. One that, for some, is unquestioned. It was Sir Roger Bacon who first wrote ipsa scientia potestas est in his Meditations. But much earlier, the Book of Proverbs attests to the strength of the wise man and the man with knowledge. The voices
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It is good for us to be here: Transfiguration The Transfiguration is the last miracle performed by Christ, marking the end of his days on earth. Peter, James and John are invited by Christ up to the peak of the mountain to pray. For weeks, he has warned his disciples that the Son of Man
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Giving- Do you still not understand? Tuesday’s Gospel, the day before Lent began, functioned as a bellwether for these forty days of Lent. It’s so for two reasons: a meditation and a homily. Tuesday’s Gospel reading was Saint Mark: Mark 8:14-21 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with
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The empty sanctuary of ordinary time. The churches were glorious during this Christmas season. For more than twenty days, the poinsettias stayed vibrant, and outside Saint Matthew’s Church in San Antonio, the soaring tribute to the Triune God became, literally, a tower of light. Now, emptied of Christmas decorations, the empty sanctuaries are stark. The
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On the Strange Symmetry of Beauty and Death By contemplating the beauty and use of each thing, [a man] is filled with love for the Creator. He surveys all visible things: the sky, the sun, moon, stars and clouds, rain, snow and hail … the four-legged animals, the wild beasts and animals and reptiles, all the
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Christmas Wake-Up Call: Stoning, Massacre and a Trump PS on Becket Wake-up call? Why do we need a Christmas wake-up call? Consider that for much of the world, Christmas starts right after Thanksgiving. Christmas music plays everywhere, shopping ads begin and the Christmas trees go up. Weeks later, when Christmas Day finally dawns, the excitement’s
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The blood of the church: love Just as the human heart must have blood to maintain life, so must the church have love to live. The metaphors are not mine but Madeleine Debrel’s, Venerable Madeleine Debrel. The blood of the church: love. She was a poet, this French mystic who poured out her life for
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Feast of Christ the King of the Universe: The Holiness of Ordinary People Just a few moments of reflection about the state of the world in 1925 compels us to stop. And think very hard about the inspiration which led Pope Pius Xl to proclaim the Sunday ending the liturgical year in the Christian liturgy as the
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Remember the wife of Lot El Greco’s painting soberly adorns the cover of this month’s Magnificat. The artist placed the Lord’s left hand upon the globe of the earth, while Jesus’ right hand is raised in a calculated gesture. What kept me mesmerized by this painting, though, was the light. The sole source of light
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