Wait for Me!
In my Introduction to Theater class as a college freshman, one of the plays I read was Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. The main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, sit around waiting for the arrival...
View ArticleLooking at Lent with Rose-Colored Vestments
Laugh and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone. For this sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. The famous opening lines of Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s...
View ArticlePilate Said To Him
“Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’” (John 18:38a) In a few days, we will see Jesus standing in the praetorium and Pontius Pilate, a government official and not a philosopher, asking Him this...
View ArticleThe One Who Would Betray Him
From that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. (Mt 26:16) According to Catholic tradition, today, Holy Wednesday, is also called Spy Wednesday, in reference to Judas’s secret...
View ArticlePope Francis and Egotistic Adoration
When a man gets ordained, the first thing that generally happens after he bestows first blessings is that those who know him throw a huge party. And this makes sense; when something beautiful happens,...
View ArticleMaslenitsa and Preparing for Lent
Mardi Gras, Shrovetide, Carnival, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday – the names for today, the day before Ash Wednesday are many and varied, but they all say essentially the same thing. It is a time of great...
View ArticleHouse of Cards on an Ash Wednesday
Can there be any redemption in the dark Netflix political thriller House of Cards? Within the show, probably not—morally speaking, Frank Underwood is so far back in the woods, he’d have to come out to...
View ArticleBe With Us, Lord
Here at the Dominican House of Studies, it is common for guests to join us at Compline, the last common prayer of the day, on weeknights at 9:00. The guests may notice several elements of the Divine...
View ArticleFriday Fish and the Poor
I don’t like eating fish. Partly it’s a taste thing. Although I have had delicious pan-fried tuna once in my life, most fish dishes do not compare favorably against a delectable cheeseburger or a slice...
View ArticleIn the Desert with Jesus: Lenten Conferences
In various ways, the Scriptures foreshadow the forty days of Lent. After the Exodus, the Israelites wandered forty years in the desert. For forty days they waited in the desert, while spies...
View ArticleAsh Wednesday: Carry the Fire
“You have to carry the fire.” “I don’t know how to.” “Yes you do.” “Is it real? The fire?” “Yes it is.” “Where is it? I don’t know where it is.” “Yes you do. It’s inside you. It was always there. I can...
View ArticleMore Than Fish
Yesterday we entered once again into the holy season of Lent, received our ashes, and were reminded that “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” or more explicitly, were exhorted to “repent, and...
View ArticleBreaking Cold
This just in: “4 Cities Set All-Time Record Lows”… “DC hasn’t seen this since 1885 — or ever?!”… “5-story ‘ice volcano’ forms at NY geyser”… “Great Lakes most ice since recorded time… AND ANOTHER BLAST...
View ArticleMemorandum
Take a pagan city, throw in a reluctant preacher, and give him three days to spread the word. Nineveh, a city long accustomed to despoiling others, is herself threatened with ruin. The king does not...
View ArticleThe Virtues of Lent
In today’s Gospel at Mass, Jesus describes the righteousness one needs in order to reach the kingdom of heaven, noting that it must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. He discusses the...
View ArticleLenten Conference Audio: St. Francis of Assisi
Dominicana Blog is happy to offer this audio recording of “St. Francis of Assisi: The Poor and Happy Way of the Cross.” It is the first installment of a four-part series of Lenten Conferences, given at...
View ArticleHeart and Sacrifice
Why sacrifice? Imagine yourself on a pilgrimage. Not to Lourdes or Fatima, but wandering in the Sinai desert en route to the promised land of Canaan. You’re told by Moses and company that the land...
View ArticleThe Jorrowful Mysteries
No, that’s not a typo. “Jorrow” is a term meant to capture the ties that bind the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries. For bound they are. Just think, for example, about the Joyful Mysteries themselves, and...
View ArticleLenten Conference Audio: St. Catherine de Ricci
Dominicana Blog is happy to offer this audio recording of “St. Catherine de Ricci: The Counsel of the Cross.” It is the second installment of a four-part series of Lenten Conferences, given at the...
View Article5 Ways St. Joseph Can Help Your Lent
How can St. Joseph help you this Lent? I propose five ways. Simplicity In John 6, when Jesus boldly declares, “I am the bread of life,” his hearers murmur among themselves and ask, “Is this not...
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