New ‘Blog
12 October 2011
I have no idea how many people actually still check this ‘blog, or some people might still be subscribed.
But for those who liked this ‘blog when it was live, I am linking to my new ‘blog: The Urban Seeker.
Some of the pages on here will likely migrate over, or maybe just resurface as a post.
The Wingèd Man Flies Again
6 October 2009
So, I’m going to try to revive this thing. Expect a post soon. Maybe.
Overheard While Swiffering
16 May 2009
A pre-schooler on the potty pretending to be singing in church:
I hear the glory, the glory, the glory; I hear the glory searching for a snack.
This is for real. I guess it’s good for those who need to travel with a pet; I can’t imagine it’s more expansive than a hired dog-walker.
Powered by ScribeFire.
It is in the Little Way that all ways converge. It is not in the big things: rituals performed, ceremonies adhered to, knowledge acquired. The Little Way is the way we treat all the little things, especially time, the littlest thing. Who can see it?
* * *
Today I received a startling email. A former student of mine wrote me and asked my forgiveness for his being so disrespectful and difficult in class.
I granted him forgiveness immediately, and I commended him for his honesty and maturity.
If only we all had that same courage to admit what we have done wrong and make amends.
Rule Resource
12 May 2009
Speaking to the Soul: Building a Trellis (by Margaret Guenther.)
I’ve been thinking about Rules of Life lately, and Derek has pointed out another resource.
After only a brief perusal, I find that Guenther’s thinking about rules is my own.
Powered by ScribeFire.
I mentioned before that I seem to be famous by proxy, in that I’ve known a bunch of famous people, but that I am not famous myself. From what I can tell, it’s a common condition.
I knew Padre Alberto when he was just Albert, a seminarian at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. I met him when I was a youth leader at a retreat held at the seminary. We were actually supposed to camp out that weekend, as the seminary has fairly large grounds perfect for a few dozen campers. But there were thunderstorms the first night we were there and even a tornado warning, so the camp was abandoned and we all headed into the seminary for the night. I slept with the other youth leaders in, from what I remember, either a small auditorium or a large classroom. The younger retreatants were in other rooms.
Albert helped us get the younger folks situated, and then proceeded to stay up with the youth leaders and talk about all manner of things. Albert was different from the other seminarians in that he was friendly, affable, —in a word, normal— while the rest of the seminarians were more or less socially awkward. Having been around a few seminaries in my life, that’s a fairly normal situation, no offense to seminarians. If I was a seminarian, I’d probably be one of the social misfits as opposed to an Albert.
Albert at the time was probably 23 or 24, meaning he was a year or two from ordination. We really got along well, and I admired him. Here was someone I could relate to studying for the priesthood.
That summer, I volunteered at Miami Children’s Hospital, and one day in the lunchroom I ran into Albert. Today, I know that what he was doing was working on his CPE, at the time I just thought he was working as a chaplain. I saw him several times and we would talk and were friendly.
I always remembered Albert, but thought of him rarely. One day a few years ago I turned on the television, and there he was: “Padre Alberto” on a Spanish-language station dispensing advice. By this point he was Father Oprah, the young, successful TV priest, adored by millions of Latina grandmothers who wished he was the son (but more likely, nephew or, more ironically, the son-in-law) they never had.
I was happy to see his success. That he was in the media was no surprise, as he had been a DJ before seminary, and was active in DJing a little bit into seminary.
This whole controversy has made me very sad. Not so much because I am disappointed in Father Albert, but because the paparazzi and media take advantage of it for gain and for the ruin of a person’s life and sometimes several persons’ lives.
Albert made a promise of celibacy, and I feel he should have lived it out, but at the same time he had no choice. Either be a celibate Roman Catholic priest, or be no priest at all. I cannot blame Father Albert, because the very reason I did not go into the priesthood was because I did not feel called to celibacy.
It is possible that he may have been felt called to celibacy at 23 or 24, but that by his 30s he realized not. At that point, what choice is there for a priest, especially a good one? I feel he probably felt trapped, but still called to priestly ministry.
Please pray for Father Albert and all those who know him and are involved in this.
Weekend Travel
8 May 2009
So, we’re travelling this weekend for Mother’s Day. Pray for our safe travels. It should be fun, culminating with a porkloin feast on the beach on Sunday.
There are some scheduled posts between now and then, but next week may be a light posting week.
Happy Mother’s Day to all.
Help for Abstraction
4 May 2009
Anybody out there experienced in writing an abstract for submission to a conference? Would any of those bodies care to look over a one-page double-spaced abstract and give a quick appraisal of its quality, in terms of the conventional requirements.
I’ve written abstracts for papers to present at literature conferences, but I’m thinking that the conventions/methods in theology might be different.
David Ferry’s Translation of the Aeneid
21 April 2009
Last night before bed, I read this excerpt from Virgil’s Aeneid in the February 2009 issue of POETRY.
I must admit, I was surprisingly moved by this. I’ve enjoyed other classical epics, but they are rarely emotionally charged. I found this very affecting.
I’ve not read the rest of the Aeneid; is is all like this?
The Winged Man 