Sine proprio. It means “without grasping.” It’s Latin, a phrase used in the vows taken by Franciscan friars—or that’s what I learned from my friar friend, anyway. Specifically, sine proprio is the phrase used for the vow of Poverty. I would’ve thought they’d use a phrase like “without money” for a vow of poverty. But the point …
First of all—hi. Warmly. Because that’s how you’ve always greeted me—with love. Remember me? You were a big brother or sister to me a long time ago when I warily stepped into church—a spiritual seeker, highly skeptical of Christians—and you shocked me with how kind you were and how closely you listened. That one night—when …
I’ve been using this Advent series to mull over some of my struggles with the season, which has made for some serious posts. Here, I talk about my petulant Christmas cards. Here, I talk about seasonal depression. Here, I question how we’re supposed to hope when we can’t even figure out what to hope …
{…continued from The Light Box (Advent for the Skeptical and Weary, Part 2)} The light arrived, and it looked like this: I opened up the directions. Oh, shut up, I thought.
Here in New York, it’s normal for grown-ups to grouse about winter. Much complaining about the ice-crusted driveways and shoveling and and the dark days and the flu. That thirteenth snowfall is so magical, said no New Yorker ever. (By the way, this is part 2 of a series of little musings called Advent for the …
I guess I’ll start with the Christmas cards. Most years, if I even manage to get cards out, I make them myself. Last-minute. Stapled together with a couple of Instagram pictures printed out on our low-toner inkjet. I actually like it this way. Punk Rawk Xmas! We’d never had a professional family portrait, until a few …