Walking like Royalty

Earliest dawn is a rose. Watch a little longer, and the rose becomes a ruby. Before I even reach my morning coffee, I feel rich, bejeweled, the recipient of Nature’s wealth. I suppose I should walk with regal step throughout the coming day wearing my Dawn tiara.

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The Air Is So Heavy

November is my twelfth favorite month of the year. The sky is gray, the grass is brown, the trees are bare. With the change of the hour hand on a clock, the evenings are suddenly very, very dark. Clouds hang low, and I can almost feel their weight on my shoulders. The earth heaves a…

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Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe

Before Vatican II the Solemnity of Christ the King was the last Sunday in October. although now the Solemnity rightfully occurs on the last Sunday of the Church Year (this year November 26). Kings and kingdoms may sound pompous, but the Gospels for Christ the King show a humble and generous king. In cycle A…

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Make Your Own Calendar of the Saints

The Church Year continually evolves. In the first couple centuries the anniversaries of the deaths of martyrs were remembered, and many of those early saints are still on our Church calendar, such as Saint Lawrence on August 10. The list gets longer with each new decade. Robert Taft, S.J. suggested each parish church having its…

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All Saints Have a Past; All Sinners Have a Future

Saints have a past. One denied his Master, and another doubted Jesus’ resurrection. Some were scolded for their lack of faith. Some couldn’t control their anger or addictions. Hagiographers portray several as eccentric. Reading the lives of some saints, we may even feel sorry for their families, friends, or community members who had to put…

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