My Run Thy Neighborhood goal hit a first milestone today: Heights Park (my actual neighborhood) is complete. On to Arapaho Heights next!
Why celebrate Saints?
The church calendar trains us to honor most those people most worthy of being honored.Different Christian Traditions have various official and unofficial ways of canonizing or otherwise recognizing the faithful departed whose lives of holiness have made a profound impact on the Body of Christ. Some of these Saints even have Feast Days on the Church Calendar in recognition of their life and work. Some of these Feast Days have remained culturally relevant long after the religious significance of the holy day has been lost.
A change I made to my work email last week has proven quite fruitful:
Emails that I am copied on now skip the inbox and go directly to a CC folder. I check that folder once or twice a day. With this one change, my work inbox has has gone from hundreds to dozens of daily emails.
Tottenham’s “win or tie even when it’s ugly” approach has finally caught up to them. I would not want to be sitting near Antonio Conte on the flight back to England…
I still think they wind up on top of their Champion’s League group, but this is a much needed wake up call.
One of the benefits of following the Church calendar is the nearly constant reminders that it brings. Holy Cross Day (September 14) is a great example of this: squarely on the other side of the calendar from Good Friday, we are reminded again of the centrality of the Cross.
Holy Cross Day
September 14Calendars, by their very nature, are reminders of important things we already know but that we risk forgetting in the business of life. One of the benefits of adopting the practice of following the Church calendar is the nearly constant reminders that come along with it. Holy Cross Day, celebrated on September 14, is a perfect example of this. On a day that falls squarely on the other side of the calendar from Good Friday, we are reminded again of the centrality of the Cross.
O earth, how like to heav’n, if not preferred
The opening line of Satan’s soliloquy in Book IX of Paradise Lost.
Grass: the great American contribution to world soccer this fall.
The seed, developed by a Georgia-based company, has been selected by FIFA, which has instructed Qatar 2022 organisers to use it for playing surfaces at all stadiums and training grounds.
Introducing Rhythms of Habit - a newsletter about approaching the church calendar as an apprenticeship in holiness
I am thrilled to introduce Rhythms of Habit, a newsletter about approaching the Church Calendar as an apprenticeship in Holiness. In addition to (hopefully) being a helpful and informative newsletter, this project is also a means of finalizing the draft of my next book, called Rhythms of Habit: The Church Calendar as an Apprenticeship in Holiness. If you are already sold, head on over to Substack to join as a free or paid subscriber.
St. Joseph, March 19
St. Joseph is a model of quiet, often thankless work that paves the way for Jesus to be known and loved. George Weigel describes the history of God’s dealing with humanity as “an extraordinary story involving some utterly ordinary people.” An adopted son of a slave with a speech impediment is used by God to accomplish the greatest saving act of the Old Testament. The King of Persia’s bartender is used by God to restore the city of Jerusalem after its destruction at the hand of Babylon.
Intro 3: Why We Need a Calendar
You are what you scheduleImagine today is January 2nd, and a friend bumps into you in the produce aisle of the local grocery store. After picking up the groceries that fell out of your hand you make eye contact and say “Happy New Year” followed by an awkward smile. Your “Happy New Year” is interpreted appropriately by your friend as “Seeing as we are only two days into the new year according to the Gregorian Calendar, I wish you well in the 364 days ahead of us.
Intro 2: Why We Need Habits
Becoming like Jesus by adopting his pattern of lifeOn Thursday, January 15th, a miracle took place in New York. Or so some people say. Flight 1549 took off from LaGurdia headed for Charlotte, NC only to run into a flock of geese minutes later. The damage to the engines was extensive, and it soon became clear that an emergency landing on the Hudson River was the safest course of action.
Intro 1: Why Holiness Matters
"Works" is not a dirty wordLet your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 6:1 When we were pregnant with our first baby, my wife and I decided that we did not want to find out the sex until our child was born.
Introducing Rhythms of Habit
A newsletter about approaching the Church Calendar as an apprenticeship in Holiness.Welcome to Rhythms of Habit, a newsletter about approaching the Church Calendar as an apprenticeship in Holiness. As we live out the Christian Year together, three types of posts will be published: Introductory: these posts explain how following the calendar is good for your growth as a Christian. The first three of these are free to everyone, and help give a foundation for why you might want to start following the Church Calendar.
Rest in peace, and rise in glory, Elizabeth II.
The late Queen Elizabeth II played the hand she was dealt about as well as it could possibly have been played, and this required her to exercise virtues that few of our public figures today even know exist: dutifulness; reliability; silence; dignity; fidelity; devotion to God, family, and nation. We shall not look upon her like again; her death marks the end of a certain world. Its excellences, as well as its shortcomings, are worthy of our remembrance.
This is the moment George W. Bush heard that a second plane had crashed into the WTC.
FWIW: amateur comes from the Latin (via French) amatorem: lover.
An amateur does a thing primarily for the love of that thing.
More than a few friends have slowly become fans of The Beautiful Game by way of two things:
(1) My own peer pressure / love for the game
(2) My introduction of @ayjay’s review of The Language of the Game
Or put another way: what we need most in moments of conflict are the humanities, and what we are offered instead is a dangerous parody.
My latest essay for The Living Church.
Two Football Notes
With more Americans playing in top flight European leagues than ever, and performing especially well in the Premier League, it is hard to not let USMNT World Cup anticipation and expectations grow every weekend. Sure, it could all be a set up for an extremely disappointing winter. But it could also be the preface to a thrilling run deep into the knockout rounds. The Premier League is off to a fascinating start.