15
Jun
22
May
Whatever happened to the Vigil of Pentecost?
When I was a young altar server at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Toronto (OLPH-- Old Ladies playing hockey) I remember how pitiful the Easter Vigil had become. (This was in the 1950's) It was held not after dark, as now, but Saturday morning. Very few people attended. Besides myself and the presiding priest there were only a handful of participants....
16
May
Pentecost – a poem
You better believe it, brother Now we're cooking with gas Not that we had no fire before The self-starting Spirit clicked us into flames...
12
May
Ascension – A Poem
At Bethany our big buy-in was his bright bow-out.We craned our necks skyward like condo projects, eager for heaven and high densities....
11
May
Mother’s Day – A Postscript
A favourite picture is one of myself as a child nestled in the arms of my 26-year old mother. My Madonna image. I am pre-occupied with my small peaked cap, while my Mom beams in the direction of the photographer. My Mom was a physical beauty - I'm sure that you've noticed the family resemblance. I'm now twice as old as my mother was in that photo. Where have the years gone?...
08
May
Ascension and the Inner Life
The Ascension of the Lord commemorates the fortieth day after Easter Sunday. It celebrates the completion of God's work of human salvation (which started with Good Friday), Christ's entry into heaven, and the promise that we will share in eternal life with God. Benedict XVI speaks about this feast: "The meaning of Christ's Ascension expresses our belief that in Christ the humanity we all share has entered into the inner life of God in a new and unheard of way. It means that we have found an everlasting place in God."...
06
May
Named into Love
One of my most favourite lines in Scripture is John 20:16: "Jesus said to her, "Mary!" With one word, the resurrected Christ transformed the life of Mary Magdalene....
06
May
Winterbloom
I had to stop and take a second whiff. What was that? Recently, on one of my regular walks to the Spanish Banks, I was sideswiped by an amazing, sweet, spicy aroma. Nothing like Chanel No. 5 or the latest Parisian scent to turn the head or the heart. But this scent emanated from a gorgeous, yellow-floraled shrub called the witch hazel or Hamanelis mollis....
05
May
Spring – a poem
Meanwhile Alzheimer terror rattles your cage; the mindless way that Mum has left you feels like she's betrayed your childhood trust: makers should know what they've made....
27
Apr
Spring: The Spirit of Youth
What a winter! I have forgotten how often in the past few months I muttered the line from Shakespeare's Richard III: "Now is the winter of our discontent." I have enough self-knowledge to realize that my discontent would have lessened if I just stopped complaining and learned to appreciate the unique beauty of winter. But no! The path from self-knowledge to action is lengthy....