Thoughts on the world of open source
I am writing from the House of Peace, the main house at Mt. Irenaeus. I have come here for a time away from, a retreat, on the Feast of St. Nicholas. It has been several years since I’ve been on a retreat like this. It’s just a day of quiet in a still spot with some of the most peaceful and holy men I know. Continue reading “Quiet time”
Today my usual was interrupted by mother nature. We awoke to a blanket of five inches of snow and then freezing rain on top of that. I was to travel to Mt. Irenaeus for Mass and then a meeting our Secular Franciscan fraternity. I called Fr. Lou and then a couple of our members and decided it best to call off the meeting. Mt. Irenaeus is located at the top of 2200 foot hill in rural Allegany County. It sits astride a dirt road that can be treacherous with a coating of ice. Continue reading “Beautiful Solitude”
My very good friend, Brother Joe Kotula, OFM who is one of the most peaceful and loving people I know sent me this lovely link which I hope you too will enjoy and send to your friends. Take a moment to enjoy this and may the Lord give you and your family peace this Thanksgiving.
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.–St. Matthew 5:16
Today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
The Archbishop of St. Louis has stooped to a new low in threatening Rudy Giuliani with “no communion,” because of his stance on abortion. That really doesn’t strike me as something Jesus would do. Communion for most Christians even nominal ones is a sacramental rite and it was never meant as a reward and or punishment. I guess this just goes to show that even bishops can do dumb things. I’m not a supporter of Mr. Giuliani either but I think it shows some real shortsighted thinking on the part of the church and the archbishop. If communion really is the body of Christ and I believe it is, doesn’t that hold some hope as a change agent in Mr. Giuliani’s life? I think it does. In the first Eucharist even Judas receives communion and I think that’s the standard that Jesus set.
Recently Jeff tagged me for a Mathetes award. I’m honored to be so highly regarded by a fellow blogger. That tagging carries with it some responsibility to tag others too. Continue reading “Mathetes tag”
It sometimes happens that the men who preach most vehemently about evil and the punishment of evil, so that they seem to have practically nothing else on their minds except sin, are really unconcious haters of other men. They think the world does not appreciate them, and this is their way of getting even.–Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation.
This quote struck me once again tonight as I pondered the ramifications of the U.S. Senate’s recent vote to pass the Kyl-Lieberman amendment Continue reading “Merton and morality”
This afternoon as I was getting home from work I received a text message asking me to call my senators at 202-224-3121 and ask them to support the Reed-Levin amendment to bring our troops home from Iraq. Continue reading “Reed-Levin and more”
I owe Paula for this video clip. It’s powerful and needs no further introduction.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvPjdEOKsVY]
I’m indebted to a recent visitor to this blog for the following powerful message from Fr. Stan Fortuna, CFR. I had not heard of Fr. Stan nor his ministry until tonight, but I’m impressed and blessed. I hope you will be too.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-aaKUnzfXA]