Faithful Friday: Martha of Bethany

July 29, 2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things…” (Luke 10:41). This is probably not what Martha expected she would be known for, on the off chance she expected to be remembered at all.

There’s An Atmospheric Pressure

July 28, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

There’s an atmospheric pressure That’s in more than just the air It’s a sluggish, heavy parasite That hides behind the glare

But Which Jaw Drops?

July 26, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

An advert assures us its product is jaw-dropping
If true, this loss of body parts would be painful
And which part of the purchaser’s jaw drops?

In Father’s Footsteps

July 23, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The man pushes the mower,
Carefully cutting the grass,
Followed by his son.

Faithful Friday: Mary Magdalene

July 22, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

Among all the women in the Bible, none remain so controversial as Mary Magdalene, a mysterious female disciple who was very close to Jesus, almost as close as the Twelve.

Of Munster and Men

July 21, 2022.Reading time 55 minutes.

“Last night Matilda took my axe and attacked the mirror! Smashed it to smithereens! Kept goin’ on about a critter in the mirror! I didn’t see it, but she swears up and down she’s seen it. Now she’s practically beside herself, because of all the critters in the woods around our house!”

A Discarded Cat

July 19, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

She adopted us several weeks ago And after the usual hissings and spittings Was accepted by the other cats…

Watch and Listen and Read

July 16, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

There are days that I love
When all I must do is
Watch and listen and read

Faithful Friday: St. Bonaventure

July 15, 2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

Many may know Saint Bonaventure’s name, but few know his story. This pious Franciscan monk was born in 1221 in Bagnoregio, Italy. He was initially baptized as John, but changed his name to Bonaventure when he joined the Franciscans. During a bout of severe illness in his youth, Bonaventure’s mother asked for the intercession of the recently canonized Saint Francis of Assisi.

There’s A Wasp Within the Cloister

July 14, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

There’s a wasp within the cloister
There’s a wasp that sits and spies

Sombre Absurdité

July 14, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

O grand giants of Gath in grotesque graves,
will ye dread the deer that dance in your lays?
Does and bucks do the dead ye not revere?
And the dark dense depths do ye truly fear?

Pipe Tobacco and Memories

July 12, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

Today I smelled tobacco from a pipe
Although there was no one around except
Perhaps the ghost of the hardware store savant
Whose wisdom filled the air along with smoke

Unworthy

July 9, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Lord, I am not worthy,
That Thou should enter me.
For I am but a sinner,
Yet Thou hast set me free.

Faithful Friday: St. Kilian

July 8, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

St. Kilian (sometimes spelled “Killian” or “Cillian”) was born in the mid 600s in Ireland. He became a missionary and a traveling bishop in the custom of the Irish Church…

Fireflies

July 7, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Trees form an arch overhead, /  shading my eyes from the fierce sun.  / I’m winding down the twisted paths, /  meticulously moving through the shadows. /  Back and forth, the road bends and turns.

The Truth Is At An Undisclosed Location

July 5, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

Books have many authors, and the Author of All Blesses them and us with their waves of words

Faithful Friday: Junipero Serra

July 1, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

If you’ve ever heard the Ink Spots’ 1940 hit “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano”, you have St. Junipero Serra to thank. Junipero was born Miquel Serra on Majorca, an island off the coast of Spain. He joined the Franciscan monks…

Time is But the Livestream I Go a-Programming In

June 30, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Someone near and dear to my pancreas gave (“gifted” is not a verb) me one of those clever aluminum MeWatches that claim to make one’s life more interesting in many ways and which come without any instructions because not sending instructions with a product is such a cool thing now.

The Stillness of the Summer Solstice

June 28, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Short strings of words that breathe and sigh as songs
Sunflowers fainting in the afternoon
A treefrog pulsing on the windowpane
Ladybugs drowsing on a tomato leaf