Asking for Guides

Stand at the crossroads and look; and ask for the ancient paths where the good ways lies and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. Jer. 6:16 I enrolled in an online course this past fall that explored the interplay between contemplative practices, such as meditation and prayer, and the creative arts.  WeContinueContinue reading “Asking for Guides”

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”