Category: meditations
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The Mystery of Mercy
This is part of a series of posts on the invocations of the Jesus Psalter. There is a menu of these posts at the bottom. The invocations will be considered thematically. Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, have mercy on meJesu, Jesu, Jesu, help meJesu, Jesu, Jesu, strengthen meJesu, Jesu, Jesu, comfort me THE OPENING Invocations on the…
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7LW: Forgive
This is the first in a series of posts on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord from the cross. This series will continue through Lent. There is a menu and a posting schedule at the bottom of this post. Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Forgiveness IS NOT ONLY Something…
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The Jesus Psalter: Intro
ENGLAND’S PERSECUTION OF the Catholic Faith began with what is euphemistically called the Herician Reform. Henry VIII had no intention of “reforming the Church” but rather of creating a new Church with himself as the head. He wished to replace an infallible Pope with an omnipotent King. To this end, much like politicians today, he…
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7LW: Introduction
FOR LENT THIS YEAR, as I have done for Advent for most of the last 20 years, I will post a series of meditations on a regular schedule. The theme for this series is the Seven Last Words of Our Lord, spoken from the Cross on Good Friday. There is a menu at the bottom,…
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On Tricking Yourself
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE A whole lot of things will click together and I have to write them down lest I forget them. This is more of a ramble than anything else, but maybe it will point us towards some conversations. This semester’s class on Church History is reading James Hitchcock’s History of the…
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Suicide and Reincarnation
LOCKDOWN HAS LEFT ME Dealing with a mild depression. A medical evaluation has indicated this is not so bad as to require medication, but rather a bit of self-management. I need to get out more, albeit safely, and take steps to mitigate the issues that might arise. A mild depression, indeed! If this is mild…
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In the Shell of the Old
ONE AND DONE CONVERSIONS are a dime a dozen. There’s a kind of change and an emotional rush and then things go on as they never did before. Or at least so we are told in fairy tales end conversion movies. The Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. Scrooge kept Christmas the best…
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Gotta Start Somewhere
OVirgo virginum, quomodo fiet istud?Quia nec primam similem visa es nec habere sequentem.Filiae Jerusalem, quid me admiramini?Divinum est mysterium hoc quod cernitis.O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be?For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after.Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me?The thing which ye behold is a divine…
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This Changes Everything
OEmmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,the hope of the nations and their Saviour:Come and save us, O Lord our God. GOD WITH US: what can that mean? How can the infinite be with us? How can there even be a…
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Power of the King
O REX Gentium, et desideratus earum,lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:veni, et salva hominem,quem de limo formasti.O King of the nations, and their desire,the cornerstone making both one:Come and save the human race,which you fashioned from clay. MODERN DEMOCRACIES from Athens and England, to latecomers like France and America, are pretty much brainwashed into thinking…
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Power of light
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.O Rising Dawn, splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. RBUCKMINSTER FULLER, aka Bucky, was an American architect whose gigantic, dome-shapes are probably familiar to…
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Power of the Keys
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;qui aperis, et nemo claudit;claudis, et nemo aperit:veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;you open and no one can shut;you shut and no one can open:Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,those…
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Jesus: the Great Reset
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,super quem continebunt reges os suum,quem Gentes deprecabuntur:veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;before you kings will shut their mouths,to you the nations will make their prayer:Come and deliver us, and delay no longer. WALKING THROUGH the Great…
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Jesus is in Control
O ADONAI, et Dux domus Israel,qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,et ei in Sina legem dedisti:veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bushand gave him the law on Sinai:Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm. The…
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Discerment and FOMO
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,attingens a fine usque ad finem,fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,reaching from one end to the other,mightily and sweetly ordering all things:Come and teach us the way of prudence. In the Serenity Prayer, we ask God…
Orthoparadoxy 