Sarx

Christ is Risen! In the Eastern tradition, regular hourly prayers are suspended through bright week (from Pascha until the following Saturday). During that time the following Paschal Hours are read for all the “minor” hours – The midnight office, Prime, Terce, Sext and None and Compline – during the day (Matins, Vespers are also in [...]

Learning how to focus and attend through observing the daily offices has opened me to a whole new relationship with God – one that fills me with peaceful reassurance that I live in a world that is not simply a meaningless round of hard work that ends in ignominious annihilation – a standard culural belief [...]

OR THE WEEK From 1 October – the Eastern Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos – to 7 October – the Western Feast of Our Lady of Victory – a set of prayers to Our Lady asking her help and protection for all Christians. These two feasts seem to me analogues. And [...]

Christ is Risen! CTUALLY, Yer Host is very sucky at maintaining a rule of prayer for any period of time (9-12 months is about average). For the last year I was using the Church of England’s Common Worship: Daily Prayer which I love. But it’s rather light… and the lectionary is choppy. Right now I’m [...]

Christ is Risen! AD Had another pulmonary issue today – a blood-level reaction to the medication he was on. Mom called at 2:19 and I tweeted it and facebooked it. You know, when people talk about “feeling supported” by prayer, I’ve never actually had an understanding of what they were talking about until now. Even [...]

UST SO We’re clear, the USCCB says Reiki therapy is ‘superstition’. “For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems” the guidelines continue, saying that employing a technique that has no scientific support or plausibility is “generally not prudent.” What is ironic about that is that A) there’s no scientific evidence for exorcisms, [...]

EMEMBER, O Lord, the souls of you servants departed in sleep, Bessie, Kenneth, Walter, Katherine, Edward, James, Raymond, Doris, Gregory, Bud, Linda, and all my relatives according to the flesh; remember Joe, Nina, Alan, Sheila-Mary, Brian, Michelle, Edward, Grace, Raymond, Elsa, Timmy, Raymond, Katherine, Sunnie, Gus, Alejandro, Timmy, William, David, Thomas, Mills, Bernie, Victor, Barbara, [...]

God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquillity the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were being cast down are being raised up, and things which had [...]

S WE Used to say at Mass, I ask your prayers for two special intentions, invoking especially the help of St Jude and St Dymphna.

LEMENT’S Chapter on prayer… I feel like I don’t pray enough. Most of the stuff that I do (MP, EP, Compline, devotions, chanting, Jesus prayer, Mass, sundry church services, whatever…) are all simply preparation for that moment of Zen silence when I’m finally open to God and, for a brief moment, can shut up and [...]