Our great friend, alumna and oblate Noreen McDermott Haiston died May 31, 2011. We all will miss her tremendously. Obituary
Holiness after Absalom
Reading Psalm 3 by my two remaining orange poppies this morning, I noticed a theme that’s caught my eye a great deal in recent years: the holiness of God as something that abides through every betrayal.
Psalm 3 is attributed to David when he’s fleeing his son Absalom, who has killed his brother Amnon for raping their sister Tamar. Not exactly healthy dynamics in the royal family! None of it ends well, for Absalom is eventually hung by his hair when it gets tangled in some trees while he’s trying to flee his father’s men on a mule. Continue Reading
A Beautiful Take on the Beatitudes
Hi Everyone, Here is another reflection on the Beatitudes by Oblate Linda Jani. Please email yours to me if you wish to post it here!
1. Blessed are they who are not attached to things or results, they shall live in God’s freedom. Continue Reading
The Beatitudes written by Oblates
Hi All, I had my two oblate groups do their own versions of the Beatitudes, and asked if they would be interested in sharing them on the blog. Here are two.
From Amy Carr:
Blessed are the poor in spirit = blessed are the quieter ones, who don’t seek the spotlight, but do attend to what is needed, for they will walk on the plain of God’s heart. Continue Reading
Patterns of Speech
This Lent one thing I am hoping to grow more aware of is the way (or ways) I speak with others. Especially when I’m feeling at ease and commenting instinctively on this or that. Continue Reading
January Retreat
Cynthia and I enjoyed a splendid private retreat at St. Mary Monastery last Wednesday through Saturday. We prayed the Office with the sisters, took walks in the snow, slept plenty, ate just more than enough, read entire books, and talked and talked and talked. Continue Reading
Merry Christmas, Darling
I stepped in it. Just before getting into bed on the night before Christmas eve, I stepped in it. It felt cool on my foot, and slimy—definitely slimy. It squished up between my toes. And it was sticky—it took several minutes under the bathtub tap with soap to get it all off…and then I had to work to get it off the soap bar as well. The cat had left her gift of hairball right in the middle of the rug on my side of the bed, precisely placed to be found as I set my foot with my full weight to launch onto the high four-poster. Merry Christmas. Continue Reading
Lectio with General Patton
Unexpectedly on Christmas I saw the 1970 movie “Patton,” a nuanced portrayal of General Patton during WWII. Hearing lines from the psalms echo in the background of some solo shots of the General walking across a landscape, it was easy to see his instinctive identification with the ups and downs of David’s own military conquests, his times in and out of exile and being on the run. So now for a time I suspect I’ll be praying in the psalms alongside this image of Patton and all the morally ambiguous values regarding war that he embodied.
Rising from Sleep
Read Advent reflections from the Benedictines!It's a Question of Asking the Right Question
Often, I fall into the trap of asking, “Why, God?” Why am I here, at this place, at this time? Why do these things happen to me and to those whom I love? Why can’t those I love make better choices? Why do bad things happen? Why do good things happen? Why am I me and not someone else more or less fortunate?
Benedictine Oblate Musings 