Silencing Rooster Cogburn
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … True Grit appeared on the Orwellian telescreen the other night, and I found myself watching that wonderful film yet again. The climax comes when…
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The Turning of the Year
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Not minding my own business I urged a tree / Yes, their children are gone / Yes, their children are grown / But the Christ-Child / is here
Read MoreGuardians Of Atlanta Episode 2 – Crusader: The White Knight
By Joshua David Ling … The rearing of William Avery was the best that it could be. / From the age of three he learned to sing in four part harmony. / At five, he learned to fence and soon he learned to read and write. / But the Bible was his one true joy in morning and at night.
Read MoreThe Stable is Wherever You Are
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” … My friend prays at the Stable each Christmas Eve / In statio at St. Michael’s, waiting for the Light / (But indolent half-pagan that I am / I want an early bed on any night)
Read MoreMerry Christmas
How long does Christmas last? Read on…
Read MoreA Little Child Shall Lead Them
By Ruth Amsden … Ebenezer Scrooge, a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner,” appears upon introduction to be beyond the reach of love, human or divine. Scrooge is an object lesson for St. Paul’s exhortation to St. Timot
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Great Martyr Anastasia
By T.K. Wilson … The Great Martyr Anastasia was born in Rome, the daughter of a pagan and a secret Christian. During the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian, she ministered to those in prison, slipping out in disguise, keeping this from her pagan husband. She used her wealth to free the captives and also, using her skill as an herbalist, cured many wounds and diseases, hence her title Deliverer from Poisons, as she knew how to reverse poisonings.
Read MoreTwo Verses in the Eternal Hymn
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … A river flows out into all that is / And with it your music across the universe / To sing the happy beginnings of all things / To celebrate the holiness of being
Read MorePrepare for the King
By Amanda Pizzolatto … It began with a prophecy uttered long ago / Bringing hope to a people that fell from grace / That the Son of God would come to Earth / And not only show us His heavenly Face / But also offer Himself up for our sins / So the Heavenly gates would open to the human race
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Hieromartyr Hilarion
by Ian Wilson … A brilliant theologian and defender of the Russian Orthodox church, Archbishop Hilarion was born Vladimir Alexievich Troitsky around the year 1885 in the Russian village of Lipitsa. He was born into a family of clergy and theologians, and followed in his father’s footsteps.
Read MoreA Gift of Omelettes
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … We leave the comfort of a little fire / And repair to the kitchen for a morning repast / Of bacon crisp, of toast from home-baked bread / And omelettes more golden than the morning sun
Read MoreThe Evangelical Octopus
By Luke Towns … I handed my pastor the plush octopus and told him, “This is the best animal in the basket.” It was after I returned to my seat that a random thought popped into my head seemingly out of nowhere. “I want my spiritual life to be like an octopus.”
Read MoreFaithful Friday: St. Bernadette
By Sarah Levesque … St. Bernadette was born Marie-Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844. She was considered a sickly child, and had asthma. Whether due to ailments or other difficulty learning, Bernadette was unable to read, write, or learn her catechism lessons properly as a child, which delayed her First Communion. At the age of fourteen, over the course of six months, she had eighteen visions of Mary, Mother of God…
Read MoreLike Children Dancing
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Like children dancing, leaves form up in rows / Then skitter across each corner and street / As shoals in rolling ranks overflowing other ranks / Or little tornadoes laughing through circles and swirls
Read MoreDiscerning With Mary
By Cordelia Fitzgerald … First, “I will not serve!” echoed through the heavens, but the second great rebellion was silent, the fruit in the mouth of Eve speaking louder than words. Yet stronger than these rang the simple statement of a Virgin: “Be it done to me according to thy word.”
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Edmund Campion
By Caroline Liberatore … Edmund Campion is notably remembered and celebrated yearly with a feast day on December 1st. Although there are many components of his later life which we annually recall and commemorate, his entire life was remarkable upon examination.
Read MoreA Good Enough Leaf-Time
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … No more the withered summer-browns of death / Crumbling and sere upon the dry and crackling ground / Beneath a Rime of the Ancient Mariner sky – / Leaves in autumn colours are falling now
Read MoreFirst, Catch Your Cookbook
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … The arc from Thanksgiving to Christmas is when the thoughtful cook will seek out MeeMaw’s cookbook to verify seasonal specialties: Waldorf salad, corn casserole, turkey fried or baked or broiled, ham fried or baked or boiled, and those old traditional dishes special to each family.
Read MoreFaithful Friday: Andrew Dung-Lac
By T.K. Wilson … Beginning in the 1600s, the Catholic Church was violently persecuted by the Vietnamese government, but that did not stop the church from growing. One of the main heroes of the Vietnamese church was Andrew Dung-Lac.
Read MoreThanksgiving as a Singleton
By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Memories of a drive-through just won’t do / Set something on your table, if only for you / A turkey plate from the grocery store / Two side dishes from cans, or maybe more
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