There’s nothing ‘ordinary’ about the way in which Ordinary time has begun in our neck of the woods. Two waves of ice and sleet have hit the region in the past 24 hours…with a third expected overnight.
Much of ‘ordinary’ life, as a result, has slowed to a crawl: Events canceled…schools, stores and businesses closed…and streets virtually deserted, save for the passing of the occasional salt truck.
On days like today, there’s really just one disadvantage to a home-based business: Having to send my dear spouse out into the gathering ice-storm to work her shift…while I hunker down all snug and cozy in my basement office, a blazing hearth just a few steps away.
Granddaughter Hannah celebrates her third birthday this weekend—perfect timing, as it happens, for her Gramps to ponder the great blessings she has conferred upon him since making her debut.
It’s not that becoming a grandfather has made me a Wise Man, exactly. But it has offered myriad opportunities to gaze upon the world in a richer, more satisfying way.
On the final day of 2016, John has some intriguing words to share with his readers.
Ever notice? This time of year, the stars seem especially bright. It’s almost as if the sky is clearer…and the heavens are closer to earth… than they are in the summertime.
O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expected of the nations and their
Savior. Come and save us, O Lord our God.
O King of the Gentiles and the Desired of all, you are the cornerstone that binds two into one. Come, and save man whom you fashioned out of clay.
O Rising Dawn, Radiance of the Light eternal and Sun of Justice: come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
O Key of David and Scepter of the House of Israel; you open and no man closes; you close and no man opens. Come, and deliver from the chains of prison those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
For the most part, our grandson Francis seemed mildly amused by his impending baptism on Saturday afternoon.
Then he dozed off, just before the water was about to cascade over his forehead.
With Us Still 