• The Crucifix Prayer

    Blessed are you, Lord God,
    Father all-holy,
    for your boundless love
    The tree, once the source of shame
    and death for humankind,
    has become the cross
    of our redemption and life.

    When his hour had come to
    return to you in glory,
    the Lord Jesus,
    Our King, our Priest, and our Teacher,
    freely mounted the scaffold of the cross
    and made it his royal throne,
    his altar of sacrifice, his pulpit of truth.

    On the cross,
    lifted above the earth,
    he triumphed over our age-old enemy.
    Cloaked in his own blood,
    he drew all things to himself.

    On the cross,
    he opened out his arms
    and offered you his life;
    the sacrifice of the New Law
    that gives to the sacraments
    their saving power.

    On the cross,
    he proved what he had prophesied:
    the grain of wheat must die
    to bring forth an abundant harvest.

    Father,
    we honour this cross as the sign
    of our redemption.
    May we reap the harvest of salvation
    planted in pain by Christ Jesus.
    May our sins be nailed to his cross,
    the power of life released,
    pride conquered,
    and weakness turned to strength.

    May the cross be our comfort in trouble,
    our refuge in the face of danger,
    our safeguard on life’s journey
    until you welcome us to
    our heavenly home.

    Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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  • The Prayer of St. Ephrem

    {Making a prostration}

    O LORD, Master of my life,
    grant that I may not be infected with the
    spirit of slothfulness and inquisitiveness,
    with the spirit of ambition and vain talking.

    {Making a prostration}

    Grant instead to me, your servant,
    the spirit of purity and of humility,
    the spirit of patience and neighborly love.

    {Making a third prostration}

    O Lord and King,
    grant me the grace of being aware of my sins
    and of not thinking evil of those of my brethren.
    For you are blessed, now and ever, and forever.

    Amen.

    Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings,
    You have power over life and death.
    You know what is secret and hidden,
    and neither our thoughts nor our feelings
    are concealed from You.
    Cure me of duplicity;
    I have done evil before You.
    Now my life declines from day to day
    and my sins increase.
    O Lord, God of souls and bodies,
    You know the extreme frailty of my soul and my flesh.
    Grant me strength in my weakness, O Lord,
    and sustain me in my misery.
    Give me a grateful soul that I may
    never cease to recall Your benefits,
    O Lord most bountiful.
    Be not mindful of my many sins,
    but forgive me all my misdeeds.
    O Lord, disdain not my prayer –
    the prayer of a wretched sinner;
    sustain me with Your grace until the end,
    that it may protect me as in the past.
    It is Your grace which has taught me wisdom;
    blessed are they who follow her ways,
    for they shall receive the crown of glory.
    In spite of my unworthiness,
    I praise You and I glorify You,
    O Lord, for Your mercy to me is without limit.
    You have been my help and my protection.
    May the name of Your majesty be praised forever.
    To you, our God, be glory.
    Amen.

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  • PWJ: S4E103 – Bonus – “Season Finale” (Part 2)

    David, Andrew, and Matt wrap up Season 4 with the Season Finale. This is Part 2 of that Finale. Listener Survey: https://forms.gle/X4zq7Uk69KmYo1v3A

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  • PWJ: S4E102 – Bonus – “Season Finale” (Part 1)

    David, Andrew, and Matt wrap up Season 4 with the Season Finale. This is Part 1…

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  • PWJ: S4E101 – Bonus – “Jack vs Tollers”

    After the previously-planned interview fell through at the last minute, David sat down to record a solo episode to talk about his newborn son, Sidecar Day, blue flowers in Narnia, and also to make his tongue-in-cheek case as to why C.S. Lewis is better than J.R.R. Tolkien.

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  • PWJ: S4E100 – AH – “After Hours” with The Gray Havens

    The Gray Havens are an American Christian folk pop husband and wife duo, David and Licia Radford, from Crystal Lake, Illinois. On October 8th they will be releasing their new album, Blue Flower, so David Radford came on the show to talk to Andrew and David about how C.S. Lewis inspired their recent work.

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  • PWJ: S4E99 – AH – “After Hours” with Mike “Gomer” Gormley

    As we approach the end of Season 4, David is joined on the show by Michael “Gomer” Gormley. Among other things, they discuss Ted Lasso, tea, and the Atonement. Also, find out what Gomer would do if he ever became the Pope!

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  • PWJ: S4E98 – AH – “After Hours” with Patti Callahan

    New York Times bestselling author, Patti Callahan, returns to the show to talk about her forthcoming book, “Once Upon A Wardrobe”, which will be released on October 19th.

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  • PWJ: S4E97 – AH – “After Hours” with The Tolkien Road

    A few months ago, John and Greta from The Tolkien Road podcast did a series of episodes on religion in Tolkien’s Legendarium. David invited him onto the show to talk about those episodes and to encourage the Pints With Jack listeners to listen to them.

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  • PWJ: S4E96 – AH – “After Hours” with Rod Bennett

    Author Rod Bennett joined David to talk about a presentation on he gave at a big Christian rock festival about C.S. Lewis’ relationship to “Pulp Fiction”.

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Fairy Tale Through And Through

elephantcaterpillarsnow

“We have grown dull toward this world in which we live; we have forgotten that it is not ‘normal’ or ‘scientific’ in any sense of the word. It is fantastic. It is a fairy tale through and through.

Really now. Elephants? Caterpillars? Snow? At what point did you lose your wonder at it all?” – John Eldridge, Epic, Page 45

Mum’s Trip

As some of you know, my Mum came to visit me in San Diego recently. In case anyone was looking for ideas for things to do when friends visit, I thought I’d post some of the things we did (or tried to do) while she was here :

Church
Saturday Midday Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary
Daily Mass at The Immaculata
Evening Mass at The Mission
Sunday Divine Liturgy at Holy Angels

Food
Sandwich lunch at Hillcrest Sandwich Store
Lunch at Peohe’s
Gelato at Pappalecco (Little Italy)
Sunday Brunch at Pappalecco (Hillcrest)
Dinner at El Prado

Walks
Balboa Park and the Spanish Village
Pacific Beach. Watch the surfing off Tourlamine
Evening walk along Seaport Village
Mission Bay
Torrey Pines

“Culture”
Cinema Under the Stars
Catholic Answers Gala
Little Italy Farmer’s Market
Show at The Old Globe
Fashion Valley Mall
Drinks at the Wine Cabanna

Mum on the beach

What makes a real man?

Firstly, I just wanted to welcome the new subscribers to The Restless Pilgrim. I’ve noticed a real increase in traffic over the last couple of months, so thanks for stopping by 🙂

Secondly, there has been a lot more chatter in the Comments section recently – long may it last!

Finally, I wanted to thank everyone who shared the Real Men Still Do This post as well as the Art of Manliness article. You helped make it the busiest day for this blog in terms of Internet traffic! Seriously, you guys rock.

As a “thank you”, here’s a video from Texas A&M University in which the question is asked: “What makes a real man”?

So, I’m really interested to know how the you’d all answer this question: What is it that makes a “real man”?

The Garter Alternative

There is one wedding “tradition” which I had never come across prior to coming to the United States. It’s the “tossing of the garter” where, in front of all guests, the groom takes off his bride’s garter (sometimes using only with his teeth) and then tosses it to all the single guys, much in the same way as a bride throws a bouquet:

garter

Now, maybe I’m overly sensitive or maybe it’s just because I’m English, but I think this is a custom which is both extremely tacky and undignified:

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Pithy Christian One-Liners

1. It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

2. People are funny; they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.

3. Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews.

4. Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.

5. The good Lord didn’t create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.

6. Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever.

7. Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn’t belong.

8. If your church wants a better Minister, it only needs to pray for the one it has.

9. God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you? We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges

10. Some minds are like concrete: thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

11. Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

12. Forbidden fruits create many jams.

13. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

14. God grades on the cross, not the curve.

15. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

16. The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

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