I’m currently reading At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon for the first time and am loving the experience. The novel is charming, the town idyllic, and the character of Father Tim lovable. I have found, as I often do with stories that invite my attention, that there are nuggets of truth within the casing of whimsical story. I stumbled upon one such truth today: “There are race horses and there are plow horses, and the pulpit can make good... Read more
Growing up, I was drawn to the musical and harmonically-inclined geniuses Simon and Garfunkel. I particularly enjoyed their lyrics and found them to be philosophically rich and deep. I mean, who doesn’t want to be a hammer rather than a nail? Ok, a bit of tongue-in-cheek, but I digress. The did commit one line to heart and soul and have been struggling to undo it every since: “I am a rock, I am an island.” Here’s the deal: I’m selfish,... Read more
Our church hosts a monthly Writer’s Guild where individuals can come together, share their piece based on a given writing prompt, receive feedback and critique, and then go and strive to polish and hone their talents. I am so grateful for this group! We met this past Saturday and the prompt was “Elephant in the room”; this is my flash essay response. An alternative title might be “An Ode to Narcissism.” The mood in the living room has changed substantially... Read more
I have been engaged in a new liturgy recently. This liturgy has changed me profoundly. I arrive a few minutes early to each gathering and sit in a room amongst like-minded people. We definitely do not look the same, each coming from different walks of life, but we are all committed to the same principles, traditions, and concepts. The one presiding over the meeting will call the gathering to order, read some opening acclamations about the purpose of our time... Read more
I remember it like it was yesterday: I was sitting in my freshman history class at George Mason High School and my teacher, Mr. Peloquin, was giving us a homework assignment. The assignment was simple. Actually, at the time I thought the assignment was stupid. We were to read through old political articles from the 1960’s and 70’s and make comments in the margins. That was it. We were supposed to write questions, comments, and other commentary on the pages... Read more
This is a sonnet I penned for the Writer’s Guild at our church. The prompt was “Rite of Passage” and my mind immediately turned toward baptism. Enjoy! Rite of Passage: A Sonnet A journey through water and into light The response of faith to the beckoning call A night brighter than any day or night The riteful passage offered one and all Death and life, descent and ascent The grace of our Lord ne’er will relent Draw near the... Read more
As I continue my doctoral journey it seems most natural for me to periodically offer up reflections or updates on both the process and my discoveries, personal and academic. This is currently taking the form of a pseudo-series entitled, “The Work of Research.” The actual insights and learnings may be categorized as “insider baseball” for those who are liturgically inclined, but the more general principles can be universally applied and/or appreciated. I hope you enjoy the trek as much as... Read more
The subtitle of this post may well be: “Learning to Embrace (Academic) Uncertainty” or “The Possibility of Being Wrong.” You will find very little–if anything–in this post on the nature of liturgical theology or the content of my dissertation. Instead, this is a short reflection a lesson I have learned from the work I have been attempting over the last year. I knew that I wanted to pursue a PhD in liturgical theology after reading two things: the works of Alexander Schmemann... Read more
I have included both the transcript to my sermon and the audio link below. They are somewhat different. Cheers! AUDIO LINK For the 103rd time yesterday, a group of 197 riders were sent out from Mont Saint Michel along the coast of France. Each rider bears the name of his institution along his back, representing his people (both nationally and locally) along the way. These riders, these pilgrims if you’ll allow me the metaphor, were sent out with a common... Read more
This is a guest post from Dr. Eugene Schlesinger, a Rev. John P. Raynor, SJ Fellow at Marquette University from 2015-2016, and author of the forthcoming book, Missa Est! A Missional Liturgical Ecclesiology with Fortress Press. Ressourcement or Reinventing the Wheel Perhaps the most significant event in my theological development was getting fired from the church I’d helped plant, whose culture I’d helped to shape, and to which I’d devoted three years of my life.[1] For the five years between my seminary... Read more
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