Sadness is a common human mood. Extended sadness without any apparent cause is what our forebears called “melancholy.” Robert Burton (1577-1645) devoted the better part of his life to his one and only book, The Anatomy of Melancholy. He...
Catholics and Protestants fought to the death over how Christ is present in the Eucharist. I wonder what they would think of our modern, efficient practice of offering a communion wafer and grape juice in a safe, hygienic package, but perhaps I...
I have completed nearly two years' worth of prayer posts (726, to be exact!). Some people I've highlighted for prayer multiple times, no one more so than Augustine of Hippo (350-430), whose prayers I have featured six times. I have shared in...
Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1621) had a wonderful way with words. His sermons were full of imaginative metaphors and elaborate wordplays. It's no surprise that he became the leading translator for the King James Version Bible. He aspired to master one...
I have long appreciated Madeline L’Engle’s (1918-2007) transparency and open-handed vulnerability in her writing. “Faith is what makes life bearable,” she wrote. “I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the...
Matthew introduces Jesus to his readers with the words, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us" (Mt....
A team of archeologists in 1899 excavated the ancient ruins of Priene, located in western Turkey today. They uncovered from the city's ancient marketplace two stones from 9BC celebrating the birthday of Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor in power...
I was raised in the country, far away from the glare of city lights. It's dark in the country, real dark. Some nights, bereft of moonlight, are pitch black dark. It's no exaggeration to say that you can't see your hand in front of your face at...
During spring break, two college friends and I drove to Florida to stay with my parents, who were vacationing there. My buddies and I drove my dad's car to a beach two hours away to meet up with friends. I went swimming in the ocean with the car...
When I was young, my Uncle John, the family genealogist, told me that Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Robin Roberts was my ninth cousin. As an avid baseball fan, I was over the moon about it. For the record, a ninth cousin means that Robin and I...
I introduced in yesterday’s Prayers from the Cloud the first of the seven Great Antiphons. These "O Antiphons," as they are sometimes called, originated in the ninth century as titles for Jesus sung and recited during Advent as monks remembered...
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a Christmas carol that originate from our great “cloud of witnesses.” The hymn dates to the ninth century or earlier when monks chanted the Great Antiphons or O Antiphons in evening vespers during Advent to prepare for...
He was born into a poor sharecropping family in a small Italian town. He was one of fourteen children who joined their parents in the fields to earn their keep. Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli (1881-1963) was never a rich man. At the time of his death, he...
Once upon a time, there was a king who loved a humble maiden. She had no royal pedigree; she lived in a hovel, the humble abode of a peasant. But the king fell in love with her the way kings sometimes do. This put the king in something of a bind....
How do you respond to the question, "Are you born again?" Some of us comfortably identify ourselves this way to express our commitment as true followers of Jesus and not just nominal ones. Others are wary of using the loaded phrase, as it has come...
The bubonic plague struck with force in Wittenburg, Germany in 1527. Wittenburg University faculty and many prominent citizens relocated to safer areas. Reformer Martin Luther was one of the lone holdouts who decided to stay put and sent a pastoral...
Nativity plays for children have long been a staple of churches during the Christmas season. I participated in nativity dramas as a child. I was never chosen to play the lead role of Joseph since I couldn't be trusted to remain at Mary's side...
Connie Ruzich was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to research lesser-known poetry written in England during World War I. The irony is not lost on me that soldiers endeavored to write beautiful poems despite the ravages of war. One poem Connie...