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Monthly Archives: January 2019
Children In Church
The “Rebuilt” priest, Michael White, has stirred a nest of hornets in his opinion that parents aren’t encouraged to bring little children to Mass. It’s a reasonable notion. It’s also not the only notion. In his book, he cites testimony … Continue reading
Update
It seems like four out of five times I begin to write a blog post, I ask myself, why? My reading for enjoyment has picked up quite a bit the past two months. But instead of writing a book review … Continue reading
Posted in The Blogosphere
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Dish Or Font?
With fewer parishes withholding the dishes at the door than the common cup, maybe it’s a good time to check in on practices and terminology. “Font” generally means something one can be baptized in, so that term, though common in … Continue reading
Posted in Liturgy
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The Never-Ending Story
The MAGA/Phillips confrontation is still fueling discussion on social media. Since two sides seem to have more or less ossified, facts and information are pretty much irrelevant from here on out. One feature I’ve noticed is circling the wagons around … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Here I Am: Praying with Psalm 40, Isaiah, and Martin Luther King
The text of a prayer I cobbled together some years ago, perhaps helpful for an observance of Monday’s holiday: Psalm: (this recited version, or preferably a musical setting like this or this or this) All: Here I am, Lord; I … Continue reading
Dulcimers Get The Love
Children have a natural curiosity about music, and even after three-and-a-half years in the parish, the hammered dulcimer still gets attention. Long after Mass, as you can see here.
Posted in Music, Parish Life
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Human Composting
I heard this bit on a local NPR station the other day, sort of a trial balloon on human composting. Some interesting bits: The human composting … involves placing bodies in vessels where they can be covered in wood chips … Continue reading
Posted in Liturgy, Order of Christian Funerals
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Not Surprising
Many keystrokes over another sex-and-cover-up revelation, and I admit I was surprised to see the surprise over it, as reported here at Crux. That people in power impose their will on others in the Church canonically and intellectually is no … Continue reading
Posted in sex abuse
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Baptism Of The Lord
This weekend’s feast is a relatively new addition to the Western liturgical calendar. My question for readers: how did your preacher address the “problem”? By that I mean Jesus, the sinless Son of God, submitting to a ritual which, by … Continue reading
On My Bookshelf: Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Readers here know my main thing is science fiction or non-fiction (science or religion). Feeling a bit unsatisfied by my recent sf reads, I went with an unusual choice: not only a best-seller soon to be a feature film, but … Continue reading
Posted in On My Bookshelf
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Catholic Historians On Abuse And Cover-Up
An interesting bit on a meeting of Catholic historians here. According to those who’ve studied it, the epicenters are not Boston, Philadelphia, or the environs of Archbishop McCarrick: Instead, rural, Western dioceses such as Fairbanks, Alaska; Helena, Montana; and Spokane, … Continue reading
The GMO’s Among Us
A human being who can digest dairy is a GMO. If you are one of these, your digestive tract can make something healthy for you from that milk sugar molecule on the right. This article sums up something I read … Continue reading
On Retreat
Most of the US bishops are finishing up their retreat today. I’ve had them in mind and prayer. I’ve also had in mind a discussion I once had with their defenders. My comment involved something like a question: why do … Continue reading
FA Cup 2019
Enjoying the FA Cup weekend in England and Wales. While the concept of professional sports without playoffs is alien to US fans, the Cup competitions and champions leagues more than make up for it. Swansea, the team I follow, won. … Continue reading
Catholic Sensibility 
Waiting For Good News
So, a lot of heat and a bit of light for the unfortunate March For Life post-game between Native Americans protesting their own thing, and Trump-attired Catholic teen boys waiting for the bus. Until this story broke, most of what … Continue reading →