The deep down things

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things [....]

From "God's Grandeur" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. The complete poem may be read at Bartleby.com.

Volf on religion and violence

I just found out I missed hearing theologian Miroslav Volf speak on Christianity and Violence on the public radio show Speaking of Faith. As I wrote here shortly after September 11, I believe Volf is one of the most significant contemporary theologians.

I haven't had a chance to listen to the program yet (I can't get Real Audio to install correctly), but from the detailed notes on the website, I think the program will be well worth hearing.

Benedictine everyday life

Currently, the readings from Sister Joan Chittister's commentary on the Rule of St Benedict discuss household management. The reading and commentary for March 10 are as follows:

The goods of the monastery, that is, its tools, clothing or anything else, should be entrusted to members whom the prioress or abbot appoints and in whose manner of life they have confidence. The abbot or prioress will, as they see fit, issue to them the various articles to be cared for and collected after use. The prioress and abbot will maintain a list of these, so that when the members succeed one another in their assigned tasks, they may be aware of what they hand out and what they receive back.

Whoever fails to keep the things belonging to the monastery clean or treats them carelessly should be reproved. If they do not amend, let them be subjected to the discipline of the rule.

To those who think for a moment that the spiritual life is an excuse to ignore the things of the world, to go through time suspended above the mundane, to lurch from place to place with a balmy head and a saccharine smile on the face, let this chapter be fair warning. Benedictine spirituality is as much about good order, wise management and housecleaning as it is about the meditative and the immaterial dimensions of life. Benedictine spirituality sees the care of the earth, and the integration of prayer and work, body and soul, as essential parts of the journey to wholeness that answers the emptiness in each of us.

These words are so easy to write—even easier to cut-and-paste!—yet so difficult for me to live out.

Almanac entry

At 3:00 PM today, it was 90 degrees F / 32 degrees C.

Non-leaded regular gas: USD 2.17 / gal.

Lenten reflections

From a sermon by Rev. Dr. Peg Schultz-Akerson, preached Ash Wednesday 2004:

The biggest tragedy they say isn't that we're going to die. The bigger tragedy is that of never fully living. Fully living in the midst of a broken world isn't possible unless we get beyond fear of the brokenness. If we're afraid the brokenness has the final word we'll be afraid to fully live. To trust that God, who raised Jesus from the dead, will keep such surprises coming is to live by faith rather than by fear.

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

One cannot help but be glad to be alive on such a glorious day and grateful for good health to savor it. It is fully sunny but chillier than it has been. I stood before the heaped cauliflower at the Farmer's Market this morning just staring at sight of creamy white framed with green. Delicious enough to eat. With the cauliflower I also got broccoli, turnips, asparagus, grapefruit, and Satsumas.

Then I drove over to Glendale to Swain's Art Supplies. The view from the 134 freeway over LA and out to the ocean was unmatched. The recent heavy rains have washed the air so one can see, uncharacteristically, for miles. The purpose of the trip was to buy a Moleskine journal (pronounced mol-a-skeen'-a; I called around asking for a "mole skin" journal until I came across a phonetic spelling), inspired by two entries at Hoarded Ordinaries. It is a lovely journal.

Knitting blessings

A year ago I posted an entry about knitting and praying. The current The Lutheran magazine writes about knitting again, this time publishing reviews by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of two knitting books, Knitting into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl-Knitting Ministry and KnitLit (Too): Stories from Sheep to Shawl...and More Writing About Knitting.

In a slightly longer version of the Knitting into the Mystery review, more of the "Prayer of Blessing," by Cathleen Murtha, is excerpted from the book:

"A blessing to my mind [...] to be free to enter this time of contemplative activity . . .
A blessing to my hands [...] to be the source of creating something of beauty and love . . .
A blessing to my soul [...] to be open to the promptings of prayer and reflection . . .
A blessing to my yarn [...] to be shaped into patterns of love and caring . . .
A blessing to my needles [...] to be the holders of stitches as they become a whole garment . . .
A blessing to my knitting [...] to be a work of heart and hands, body and spirit . . .
A blessing on the one who passed this ancient art to me . . .
A blessing on the one who will receive the fruit of my prayer and my knitting . . .
May this [garment] be welcomed in the spirit in which it was knit . . .
May we become one with the One who knitted each of us in our mother's womb. [....]
Amen."