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.
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.
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. … Read more
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 … Read more
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.
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
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.
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]
