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Sunday, September 02, 2018

Sacred Spaces ~

As a child I had my holy places where it was quiet and filled with meaning: the church on McKean Street, the Capuchin monastery not far from town . . . It was the feeling of being enveloped in a mysterious, meaningful space.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947

12
You said things to us in silence
that fell into deep furrows
of understanding.
So changed were we
that only on reading
about Francis
did we begin to fathom
what had happened to us.


Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947

13
You said things to us
in silence
that fell into deep furrows
of understanding.
So changed were we
that only on reading
about Francis
did we begin to fathom
what had happened to us

 

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Thomas Merton ~


This is the church at the Abbey of Gethsemani that Thomas Merton knew when he entered the monastery in 1941. 

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947


39
Who ever counted 
our myriad passages
through silent confines
of corridors and halls
in ordered rhythmic traffic
on porous yellow tiles?

Sunday, July 01, 2018

                                                   

45
And all during those years
minutes were being measured
diligently
by the onlooking clock
in low swinging arcs
there on that wall
where all our corridors met.


Thursday, June 28, 2018

Weighty Distractions ~

American monks cannot keep their thoughts on things spiritual nowadays because their minds are distracted by the plaguing question so many are asking: What kind of a country are we becoming?

Tuesday, June 05, 2018

Notes of a Young Seminarian ~ 1947


85
We had all the order
of the Parthenon
within those walls,
for You hewed
into our dimensions
the pillars
of Your presence.
How could we have ever seen
that our poor yellow bricks
were crumbling?

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Words Written on a Dilapidated House ~

Yipee! Wir sind am Ziel unserer Träume.
Translation:
Yipee! We have reached the goal of our dreams.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Reacting ~

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students in Parkland.
We thank you.

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Cardinal Karl Lehmann ~ Bishop of Mainz, Germany

† March 11, 2017
In an interview with SWRadio this extraordinary, fearless bishop stated that when all is said and done he would believe neither in the Church nor in Christianity, but in God alone. For God will always exist -- the Church, on the other hand, perhaps not.

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Revving Up~

When will he be advocating that pastors and priests start toting a pistol?

Monday, February 05, 2018

A Measure of Power ~

. . . and none of the players kneeled or remained on the bench during the National Anthem at the Super Bowl . . .

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Winter Morning at Sunrise ~

I look out over the wide field covered with snow and imagine it will one day be green with grass, or brown with wheat swaying in the breeze. Ah--I must be dreaming.

Friday, January 12, 2018

A Measure of Power ~

. . . when in the presence of six senators he could say "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" . . . and no one reacts.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

They All Do It ~

Here in Germany the Volkswagen bosses are breathing a sigh of relief and gleefully clapping their hands on hearing that Ford USA has been caught cheating with diesel emissions.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Climate Change ~

It has warmed up so much that the snowman the grandchildren made sunk down on its knees and lost its carrot nose.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Wednesday, December 06, 2017

American Future? ~

I am beginning to see States breaking away from the Union as a result of growing division due to viral political convictions.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving 2017 ~

What will the topic of conversation be today when families sit down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal?

Monday, November 13, 2017

Playing the Piano ~

I am beginning to feel something new going on with my hands when playing. It seems as if they are no longer two separate instruments. I can feel them as one, giving the feeling I am gently throwing balls, like a juggler, from one to the another.

St. Benedict ~

He was a genius to have made a rule under which men could live together in community and thrive. His key was the virtue of humility that he insisted on instilling in his members. A perfect Benedictine, following the Gospel dictate should always "take the last place".

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

An Offhand Remark ~

I heard someone say: "Fingers have memory." Ever since hearing that my piano playing has improved noticeably.

Monday, October 09, 2017

Local Beauty ~


The neighbors next-door cut down this stately red beech tree this morning. 

Leaf-raking was too much of a chore. . .

Just lost a friend.

Sunday, October 01, 2017

Choice of Words ~

"Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!"

                                              ~ President of the United States

Monday, September 25, 2017

Was Ist Los? ~

80-90 seats in the German Bundestag will now be filled by the new extreme right AfD party that won yesterday in the elections.

Sunday, September 03, 2017

Cavalier's Delict ~

Here in Germany no one is really upset about VW and Audi cheating. No rage, no protests, no demonstrations. Cheating is all part of the game.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Seasons Don't Wait ~

Sadly, I see the first tinge of autumn today on the maple trees along my path.

Monday, July 31, 2017

Boy Scouts of America ~

It was reported that the chief executive of the Boy Scouts had apologized for the President's speech held at a national gathering of Boy Scouts because of his rousing political statements. The White House spokeswoman deftly sidestepped saying: "I saw nothing but roughly 40,000 to 45,000 Boy Scouts cheering the president on throughout his remarks and I think they were pretty excited that he was there."

Saturday, July 01, 2017

Protectors ~

Two stately San Bernardino dogs out in front of a lady with their unneeded leashes would turn every thirty paces to see if she were coming along.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Newfound Energy ~

Five new windmills on a hill in the distance rotating day and night, counterclockwise.

 

Monday, May 08, 2017

Remembering with Gratitude ~

Today is VE-Day. 

I look out my window and think what it would be like had Hitler not been stopped.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Thursday, April 06, 2017

Yevgeny Yevtushenko ~


† April 1, 2017

BABI YAR
by Yevgeny Yevtushenko

No monument stands over Babi Yar.
A steep cliff only, like the rudest headstone.
I am afraid.
Today, I am as old
As the entire Jewish race itself . . .