Yesterday I had my first “real” confession in two years.
I love confession. For those of us brought up Catholic, the word conveys a sense of either beating up oneself, or getting beaten up by the priest; for those of us who were raised Protestant, the word smacks of “papism,” something Those Catholics do, and [...]
Archive for March, 2005
Back on Track
Posted in Uncategorized on March 31, 2005 | 2 Comments »
Memory Eternal
Posted in Uncategorized on March 18, 2005 | 1 Comment »
At 3:35 this afternoon, my Aunt Mary fell asleep in the Lord.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected; she was 83 years old, she had macular degeneration and a wonky heart, and her life over the past year had been rather wretched: one of her sons had mortgaged her house, then defaulted on it, so that she [...]
Forgiveness: Not an Option
Posted in Uncategorized on March 17, 2005 | Leave a Comment »
As mentioned in my previous post, I have managed to almost completely alienate two people whom I care about very much, and have apologized to both. One has accepted my apology, the other…much more resistant.
I can understand that. Some things are harder to forgive than others. For me, there are four things I have struggled [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on March 15, 2005 | 1 Comment »
I never feel really prepared for Lent — it’s always all I can handle just to fast. I don’t think a young mother should even think about fasting — being a mother is enough! (One reason it’s such a good idea for our priests to be married — it’s harder for them to [...]
Weather or Not, Here Comes Lent!
Posted in Uncategorized on March 12, 2005 | 1 Comment »
It’s snowing. Again.
Normally, I like snow. I certainly prefer it to the broiling heat of summer, when the sun glares down on you through a haze of humidity and all you can do is sit around the house in survival mode. When it’s 25 or so degrees out, and the snow is [...]
Musical Muttonings
Posted in Uncategorized on March 10, 2005 | Leave a Comment »
Have had a comment to my last post on my Xanga site, asking, “What is a Triodion, and what is an Octoechos?” Worthwhile answering in a separate post.
The Octoechos is the weekly prayer cycle of the Orthodox Church. It was set up in the eighth century A.D. by St. John of Damascus, and [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on March 9, 2005 | Leave a Comment »
Here we sit, in the middle of yet another blizzard, this one with not so much snow, but with winds howling all around — sustained at 20 mph, gusts up to 50. It will be good for starting to work on the Triodion — yes, now that the Octoechos is finished, I decided to [...]
Being Broken
Posted in Uncategorized on March 5, 2005 | Leave a Comment »
Thy creating command was my beginning and foundation; for desiring to fashion me into a living being out of that which is invisible and that which is visible, Thou didst form my body out of earth, and didst give me a soul by Thy divine and life-creating breath.
– from the Aposticha for Friday evening Vespers, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on March 2, 2005 | Leave a Comment »
There’s something to be said for getting sick at, or near, the beginning of Lent.
Since Saturday I have had a cold, although on Saturday I didn’t know it, and on Sunday I was just beginning to wonder about it. By Monday it was definite, and yesterday was the worst; and today, I’m still not [...]
