A journal of byzantine digressionS
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Clash of the Titans
The Readings for the 3rd Wednesday of Advent (A1)Memorial of St John of the Cross, Priest & Doctor of the Church Heavens above, rain down justice; let the clouds pour it down. Let the earth open, so that salvation springs up, and justice sprouts with it. I, Adonai, have created it. Isaiah 45:8 (CJB) READING
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Time flies…
LEARNING, TONIGHT, OF TWO different readings of this passage. One will be familiar to my Christian readers, the other to my Jewish ones. There may be some overlap, but they seem to be mutually exclusive. There may be a way to pull in the both-and option, but we’ll see. The Torah Portion that was read
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Our Idols Our Selves
WHILE LISTENING to the most recent episode of Clerically Speaking, I was struck by Fr Harrison’s ruminating on his ADHD and his free will. If we make out a part of us to be “who I am” then everything is filtered through that. Father seemed to be asking if he’s created too much of a
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Patience is a Virtue
The Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (A1) Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,being patient with ituntil it receives the early and the late rains.You too must be patient. James 5:7 (NABRE) WHY IS JAMES ASKING US to be
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Meat Cookies 2022
THIS YEAR I continued my experimentation with Mom’s Sausage and Cheese balls. I think this year is the best I’ve come up with. Makes about 3 dozens.
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What remains
LAST WEEKEND as I passed this spot I saw a homeless guy drawing circles while his gf sat nearby shooting up. Today I found the circles. Obsession becomes art. We leave the beautiful.
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The Echo Here is Amazing
YOUR HOST HAS NOTED elsewhere that in studying Hebrew at CitizenCafe Tel Aviv, he gets exposed to a lot of Israeli pop culture. Listening to modern, secular folks discuss Hebrew – or speak or sing in Hebrew – carries with it these echoes of the Tanakh. It cannot but just as much modern English carries
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A day of walking
Mostly since leaving work at 4. אז שם הייתי, הולך ברחוב קסטרו, שומע לדיסקו ישראלי… “כמה פעמים אני חשבתי שזה טוב…” החיים בסן פרנסיסקו.
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What is a Week End? # 2
SORRY TO BE LIGHT in posts recently. I’ve three weeks of Deacon classes in a row, along with all the reading that would normally come over 6 weeks of classes. It’s sacramental theology which is, really, the most un-Orthodox of Western theology. So I’m having to lean in here. That’s just made the weeks really
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Savory Side Dish
Combine everything like a meatloaf and then stuff in two or three small pumpkins that have been beheaded and gutted. Roast at 350 degrees until a thermometer inserted in the meat registers 160 degrees. That took about 1.5 hours for me, but it depends on your oven and the size of the pumpkins. I used
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A better nog
I called this “English Christmas” in its first incarnation – which was only the gin and some chocolate bitters. Last time I wanted to share it with someone I couldn’t find the bitters at all. On to the Creme which is kinda gross, but it did so mething different. It’s taken a while to get
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Red in the Morning
The Readings for the 33rd Sunday, Tempus Per Annum (c2) Before the LORD, for he comes,for he comes to rule the earth,he will rule the world with justiceand the peoples with equity. Psalm 98:9 (Responsorial) FUN FACT: what the NABRE calls “Malachi 3:19” other translations call Malachi 4:1. NABRE has all the words, but only
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Many Sons had Father Abraham
GOD CALLS Abram to himself, then some things happen. He lies about his wife, God promises him a son, he lies about his wife again, there’s a son, finally, but not the promised one, and then some other things happen. The Wiki resources on this parashah are amazing. Here are some more. And yet more.
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Mystical Evolution
The Daily Office Propers for the Dominican Order contain some very interesting texts, indeed. Yesterday was the feast of All Saints of the Order of Preachers. I found this reading as the 4th or 5th alternate for the Office of Readings: From the Mystical Evolution of our brother, John Arintero. “Through new saints and prophets
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Weekend Update
AN EMAIL Arrives reminding me that today, the First Saturday of November, is the Antiochian feast for my Patron Saint, Raphael of Brooklyn. His feast is in February in the Russian use, I usually miss this one. Raphael is considered the patron of all the Lost Sheep of North America. I figure I still fit
Orthoparadoxy 