Draggin’ Hoses on St. George’s Day

Drag those hoses when the weather is dry
April’s grass is paling, and oak leaves wither
All the new plantings cry for a drink of water
And the rains of winter have now retired…

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An Evening with Fr Mike Schmitz

This past Saturday – May 2nd, 2020 – I had the opportunity to attend JESUS aCROSS the Border’s Virtual Event, Virtual College Night with Fr Mike Schmitz. Fr Mike is well known in Roman Catholic circles for his pithy and humorous videos answering many questions through Ascension Presents on YouTube.

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Spring 2020: The Church & The Means of Grace

Join us as we explore the Church and the Means of Grace. In these pages you will learn what different people mean by “means of grace” and “sacraments”, things we all hold in common and things we disagree on. You will find non-fiction, poetry, reflections, puzzles, book and media recommendations, and a look at how prayer shows up in a manga series. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

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Dear Patrick Stewart

Thank you for reading us Shakespeare each day –
Sonnets from your balcony and from the stairs
Smooth flowing iambics from all your chairs
Precise pentameter to smooth the way…

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Secret of Kells

While not as explicitly Christian as most Christian reviews would like, The Secret of Kells is full of Christian imagery, especially once you consider that the Book of Kells is a Bible…

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Now They are Imprisoned Twice

We cannot volunteer in prison now
The grids and grills that shut the prisoners in
Now serve to shut most everyone else out
And bars now bar us from teaching each other

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Matter Matters

Gnosticism is probably the oldest heresy…. Gnostics claim that physical matter is evil and spirit is good. The Gnostics taught that this is not our “real life”, that this physical world is inconsequential. Therefore, Jesus could not have risen bodily from the grave, because matter is evil.

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Notre Dame

Editor’s Note: This poem was written soon after the Notre Dame Fire just over a year ago.
Notre Dame, why do you cry?
Notre Dame, what are you trying to say?
Will you be born again anew
Like your Master on Easter Sunday?

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Witnesses Bearing Myrrh

Mary barely slept that night; she didn’t want to miss the sun’s first light as it came over the horizon. She and a couple of other women, both named Mary as well, were going to anoint the body of their dead Master with myrrh and other sweet spices to keep it from smelling…

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With a Dog and an Oxygen Tank

An old man with a dog and oxygen tank
Steers his duct-taped golf cart to the café
For the morning liturgy at his corner seat
The vinyl cathedra where he presides in state…

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Morning Sun

The sun slowly rose in the east, its rays heading out to do their job. First, the sky began to lighten as the dark blue of night melted away into colors of rose, purple, and yellow, paving the way for the bright blue. Next, the shadows of the land are chased away as one after another, the rays touch the earth.

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Heaven’s View

The moment finally came, their King approached the gates of Heaven with a multitude of people. The angels rejoiced and trumpets rang as the people were welcomed into Heaven. As the souls entered the heavenly realm, the Trinity spoke to each other for a little bit.

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Happy Easter

He is risen, alleluia!! Have a blessed Easter season! From all of us at LSM

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Living for Old Stoney

Jest as soon as we got our kits settled, an orderly ordered us to a drill area where we proudly showed off our new fightin’ skills to General Abner Stone, the base commander. He looked grim at our display, but we quickly decided that he always looked this way.

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Everything for Portugal: the Life of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar Part 4

The remainder of Salazar’s career would focus on his efforts to retain the Portuguese Empire. Salazar clearly saw that granting independence to Angola and Mozambique would more than likely result in nothing but an even greater influence for Communism in Africa. Accordingly, he jealously guarded Portuguese Africa until his death.

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Everything for Portugal: the Life of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar Part 3

Many critics, both during Salazar’s life and after his death, accused Salazar of being a fascist dictator. But there were significant differences between the Portuguese nationalism that Salazar encouraged and the German nationalism that Hitler manipulated. Portuguese nationalism was never aggressive…

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Evening – Palm Sunday

The waxing moon knows nothing of Holy Week
And stars care nothing for sacred liturgies
Nor do the fireflies flitting among the trees
And ‘round the darkening lawn as evening falls…

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