Ash Wednesday During a Pandemic

And we are put on earth a little spaceThat we might learn to bear the beams of love. William Blake    No matter where we have lived this past year, we all have one experience in common:  the pandemic. We all know how it feels to have our personal freedom and choices and pleasures denied asContinueContinue reading “Ash Wednesday During a Pandemic”

The Vespers and a Poem for Advent

Many of us are familiar with the Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, composed as we know it in 1861 but with roots sunk as far back as the Roman Catholic monastic life of the 8th century.  Not as many of us are familiar with the ancient O Antiphons, on which the hymn isContinueContinue reading “The Vespers and a Poem for Advent”

Loneliness at Christmas

Speaking for myself, two of the loneliest moments in my life occur annually: when I put the Christmas tree up and when I take the Christmas tree down.  It wasn’t always that way, not when I had our two children in the house.  We had a regular method of getting the tree ready:  my husbandContinueContinue reading “Loneliness at Christmas”

Light in a Season of Darkness

In my last post, I mentioned crossroads and ancient paths, and how Advent, or the winter months, invite us to reflect on where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going.  Though winter invites us into fallow time, how we approach that time is part of our journey.  This dark seasonContinueContinue reading “Light in a Season of Darkness”