- Header image courtesy of Beyond Belief Media. (Adapted from the Christ Pantocrator icon in St. Catherine's monastery, Sinai, 6th century.)
Subscribe via RSS feed
-
-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
- To see what books I'm reading, visit my Shelfari page.
Category Archives: Poetry
John O’Donohue reads his poem “The Nativity”
Renowned Irish poet John O’Donohue (1956–2008) wrote a poem on each of the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary, a set of meditations on key events in the life of Jesus. These are published, along with other poems, in his 2001 … Continue reading
The Christmas song that gets me every time
I am very rarely moved to tears by music. But “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is one song that consistently evokes that reaction in me. The acclaimed American poet Henry Wordsworth Longfellow wrote the words on December 25, … Continue reading
Holiday ritual in the boyhood home of Jesus
Here meet together the prefiguring day And day prefigured. ‘Eating, thou shalt stand, Feet shod, loins girt, thy road-staff in thine hand, With blood-stained door and lintel,’ — did God say By Moses’ mouth in ages passed away. And now, … Continue reading
“Life, a Bubble” by William Drummond (1585-1649)
This Life, which seems so fair, Is like a bubble blown up in the air By sporting children’s breath, Who chase it everywhere And strive who can most motion it bequeath. And though it sometimes seem of its own might, … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
Tagged boy blowing bubbles, memento mori, mortality, poem for lent, scottish poetry
Leave a comment
“Welcome, all wonders . . .”
“Welcome, all wonders in one sight! Eternity shut in a span! Summer in winter, day in night, Heaven in earth, and God in man! Great little One! whose all-embracing birth Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heaven to earth.” —Chorus from … Continue reading
The Christmas Truce of 1914
This December marks the centennial of the famous ceasefire along the Western Front during World War I. On Christmas Eve, 1914, along the four-hundred-mile frontline, enemy soldiers spontaneously emerged from their trenches, arms laid aside, to celebrate Christ’s birth together. … Continue reading
African Names of Jesus
He is the one who cooks his food in huge palm-oil pots. Thousands of people have eaten, yet the remnants fill twelve baskets. If we leave all this, and go wandering off— if we leave his great gift, where else … Continue reading
“O Christ, What Burdens Bowed Thy Head”
I love discovering old hymns of the faith and incorporating them into my private worship. I’ve realized only in the last few years how vast the trove is, and I’m grateful for contemporary musical artists who sift through it, dusting … Continue reading
“Blessing of the Stew Pot” by Alla Renée Bozarth
Blessed be the Creator and all creative hands which plant and harvest, pack and haul and hand over sustenance — Blessed be carrot and cow, potato and mushroom, tomato and bean, parsley and peas, onion and thyme, garlic and bay … Continue reading
The Jesus Question 