"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.
William Shakespeare, As You Like It Act 2, scene 1, 12–17
If you’re not quite sure what this means, you might like to check out this commentary.
Today’s song is “Rescue Story” by Zach Williams:
There I was empty-handed
Crying out from the pit of my despair
There You were in the shadows
Holding out Your hand You met me there
And now where would I be without You?
Where would I be Jesus?
You were the voice in the desert
Calling me out in the dead of night
Fighting my battles for me
You are my rescue story
Lifted me up from the ashes
Carried my soul from death to life
Bringing me from glory to glory
You are my rescue story
You are, You are
You are my rescue story
You are, You are
You were writing the pages
Before I had a name
Before I needed grace, oh
Singing songs of redemption
‘Cause every time I ran away
You were louder than my shame
You never gave up on me
You never gave up on me
You are my testimony, ohh, oh-ohh
You never gave up on me
You never gave up on me
You are my testimony, ohh, oh-ohh
You never gave up on me
Oh, You never gave up on me
Oh, this is my testimony
This is a fascinating document about Fr. Lazarus, “The Last Anchorite”:
This past week, a friend of mine visited my Byzantine Catholic parish. Afterwards, she admitted that she had been rather apprehensive about how her small child was going to react to the whole experience. After all, she knew that the Byzantine Liturgy was typically ninety minutes long, rather than the forty-five minute Mass which her son had previously been used to experiencing.
Even though I have no children of my own, I offered the somewhat counter-intuitive claim that the Byzantine Liturgy is in some ways better suited to children than a Novus Ordo or Tridentine Mass. A bold claim, I know, but I stand by it! So, here are my top ten reasons why I think the Byzantine Liturgy is great if you have small children…
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Watch your thoughts. They become words.
Frank Outlaw?
Watch your words. They become deeds.
Watch your deeds. They become habits.
Watch your habits. They become character.
Character is everything.