The Rule of Saint Benedict leaves no stone unturned. It provides guidelines for monastic living on most everything--sleeping, working, traveling and entertaining guests. He even devotes two chapters to addressing day-to-day concerns about drinking...
The Neanderthal man and Joachim Neander (1650-1680) share something in common. Joachim was a 20-year-old theology student, yet his heart wasn't in it. A contemporary said of him, "His student life was spent in vanity of the mind, forgetfulness of...
The College of Rhode Island wanted to give him an honorary doctorate, but he declined the offer. Who does that today? He refused numerous opportunities to serve more prestigious churches, preferring to labor at his modest assignment thirty-five...
Time flies. I mean, it's December 31st already! Wasn't it only yesterday that we were writing 2024 for the first time? In the words of the great philosopher Dr. Seuss, "How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is...
In New York City, instructions accompany buttons at busy intersections that pedestrians can press to direct traffic lights to change. There is only one problem: they don’t work! The city deactivated them in the 1980s when they installed high-tech...
Martin Luther stood before a tribunal demanding his retraction from writing and speaking against the established church. Martin defended his actions with the memorable words, "My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot, and I will not...
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...