Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem. How often these words are with me and in particular lately. January 7, 1979 was my first visit to Abbey of the Genesee. I wanted to join the community at … Read more
This is a well written piece by an author whom I have come to appreciate. I’m increasingly concerned that we are watching the decline and fall of our country. For years I’ve listened to the corporate propagandists who fill our air waves with their talking points. They seem indifferent to the suffering of the masses. … Read more
True contemplation is the work of a love that transcends all satisfaction and all experience to rest in the night of pure and naked faith. This faith brings us so close to God that it may be said to touch and grasp Him as He is, though in darkness. And the effect of such a … Read more
And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28 That verse and the thought of it is has been with me. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and I don’t think that God fore ordains those … Read more
The so-called progressives in this country are going nuts about President-elect Obama’s choice of Rick Warren for the invocation at his inauguration. Rick Warren’s not my kind of guy, but give Obama credit for doing what he promised and attempting to change the culture. We are not a gay America, nor a straight America. We … Read more
That is how Thomas Merton describes his ultimate call to solitude. I just got through watching PBS’s Thomas Merton special. I’m glad I found it. I missed much of the program, but what I did see was interesting and informative. I drove to Abbey of the Genesee again today. I completed some of my Christmas … Read more
When I read this quote on Gerry Straub’s blog attributed to Mother Teresa I was struck by its similarity to a quote that I recently posted fromThomas Merton. I know how much my own growing longing for silence means to me. Later today I hope to visit Abbey of the Genesee, another place that thrives … Read more
Last night my wife left for an overnight with our daughter. The mission for them is Christmas shopping. Whenever I ask my wife what she’d like for Christmas, the answer is, “don’t buy me any clothes,” or “I don’t need anything.” Truth of the matter is neither of us really needs anything. We’ve got our … Read more
Tomorrow is my birthday and I’m very happy to be celebrating another year of life. This weekend I was able to join my mother, my wife and two children for a basketball game and dinner. It was great to be together again. I suppose the one cause to which I’ve devoted much of my life … Read more
I owe this quote to Gerry Straub’s blog. I keep coming back to Thomas Merton. Today more than ever we need to recognize that the gift of solitude is not ordered to the acquisition of strange contemplative powers, but first of all to the recovery of one’s deep self, and to the renewal of an … Read more
