A journal of byzantine digressionS
  • I know you are but what am I

    I know you are but what am I

    The Readings for the 16th Saturday, Tempus per Annum (C2) Jeremiah 7:1-11 Matthew 13:24-30 He replied, “No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.” Matthew 13:29 ONE MIGHT BE TEMPTED to worry if one is a weed. Likewise, one may be equally tempted to imagine one is wheat.…

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  • Seduxisti me Domine 

    Seduxisti me Domine 

    The Readings for the Feast of St Mary Magdalen16th Friday, Tempus per Annum (C2) Song of Songs 3:1-4b 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 John 20:1-2, 11-18 I have found him whom my soul loveth. Song of Songs 3:4 THIS VERSE SOUNDS like romance – and it is, certainly. I have seen it on a wedding ring. But…

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  • Making Shallow Wells

    The Readings for the 16th Thursday, Tempus per Annum (C2) Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 Matthew 13:10-17 “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. Matthew 13:11 EVERY SUMMER my brother, sister, and myself would spend time with my Grandparents at…

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  • Perpetual Adoration

    Perpetual Adoration

    The Readings for the 16th Wednesday, Tempus per Annum (C2)Memorial of St Apollinaris, bishop and martyr Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 Matthew 13:1-9 Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying to me, See, I place my words in your mouth! Jeremiah 1:9 LET’S OPEN UP with an episode of Catholic Stuff You Should Know.…

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  • Always distinguish.

    Always distinguish.

    The Readings for the 16th Monday, Tempus per Annum (C2) Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 Matthew 12:38-42 You have been told, O human, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 AT TIMES the entirely orthodox language of…

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  • Come in and sat a spell.

    Come in and sat a spell.

    The Readings for the 16th Sunday, Tempus per Annum (C2) Genesis 18:1-10a Colossians 1:24-28 Luke 10:38-42 The mystery hidden from ages and from generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones. Colossians 1:26 CLOSING (ALMOST?) EVERY video & podcast they make, the folks over at the Bible Project recite their Doctrinal…

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  • What Did We Do?

    What Did We Do?

    The Readings for the 15th Saturday, Tempus per Annum (C2)Memorial of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Micah 2:1-5 Matthew 12:14-21 On that day a satire shall be sung over you. Micah 2:4a AT THE END OF the wonderful Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), Mr Wonka reads the riot act to Charlie and his…

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  • The Liberal One.

    The Liberal One.

    The Readings for the 15th Friday, Tempus per Annum (C2)Saint Bonaventure, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor of the Church Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 Matthew 12:1-8 I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. Matthew 12:6 NASTY RELIGIOUS PEOPLE in today’s Gospel are trying to make the Disciples follow their mean nasty rules. Americans…

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  • Like Jimmy Carter said…

    Like Jimmy Carter said…

    The Readings for the 15th Thursday, Tempus per Annum (C2)Memorial of St Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 Matthew 11:28-30 Your name and your title are the desire of our souls. Isaiah 26:8 NOT REALLY SURE What the lectionary crafters are doing here. The translation “your name and your title” is an odd turn…

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  • ABBAbandonment Issues

    ABBAbandonment Issues

    The Readings for the 15th Wednesday, Tempus per Annum (C2)Memorial of St Henry, King Isaiah 10:5-7, 13B-16 Matthew 11:25-27 No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27b TO WHOM DO YOU PRAY? I’ve been wrestling with this a lot lately. So much Christian…

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  • Turn, turn, turn, will be our death.

    Turn, turn, turn, will be our death.

    The Readings for the 15th Tuesday, Tempus per Annum (C2) Isaiah 7:1-9 Matthew 11:20-24 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. Matthew 11:21 WHOA, there! Jesus is being rather…

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  • Turn on. Tune in. Drop out.

    Turn on. Tune in. Drop out.

    The Readings for the 15th Monday, Tempus per Annum (C2)Memorial of St Benedict, Abbot Isaiah 1:10-17 Matthew 10:34-11:1 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Matthew 10:40 THIS WHOLE PASSAGE can seem strange. Swords, dysfunctional family fighting, etc. Ranks up there with the cut off your hands and…

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  • Very Near Indeed

    The Readings for the 15th Sunday, Tempus per Annum Deuteronomy 30:10-14 Colossians 1:15-20 Luke 10:25-37 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” Luke 10:26 LET’S FIRST LOOK at Moses, speaking in Deuteronomy. Our NABRE translation uses the pronoun “it” in verse 14: No, it is something very…

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  • Mouth on Fire

    Mouth on Fire

    The Readings for the 14th Saturday, Tempus per AnnumMemorial of St. John of Cologne, OP, & Companions, martyrs Isaiah 6:1-8 Matthew 10:24-33 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. Isaiah 6:6 DURING THE LITURGIES OF St John Chrysostom and St Basil the…

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  • Xanadu

    Xanadu

    The Readings for the 14th Friday, Tempus per Annum Hosea 14:2-10 Matthew 10:16-23 Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking…

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