The sweet-briar rose of summer glades We lay upon another shrine ; [1] The lily of the Mohawk woods, O dusky maiden! shall be thine.
Category: Literature and Poetry
The Four and Forty Rivers
The four and forty rivers are rallied at the heights, In the melting of the days, in the dripping of the nights, In the condensation of clouds:
The Poet’s Eye: Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Margaret Clitheroe”
Of all the books I have read on the lives of saints and holy personages, none has ever moved or inspired me as did Dr. Malcolm Brennan’s Martyrs of the English Reformation. Perhaps it was because, beside such luminaries as … Continue reading
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
The groaning of the peddler’s cart Is droning slowly through the mart of Alexandria. The climbing sun blows as he goes Higher still and higher, A wreath of golden burning fire, On that far city of the Orient. The wilting … Continue reading
The World Upside Down
In this our world of great renown, So many things are upside down. Pious divines preach evolution And kings join the revolution.
Who is Next?
It need not be the one, expecting to depart, The one with the ailing lungs or failing heart.
The Little Flower
Knowing that it would burn she courted fire; And who shall wish to chide her heart’s desire?
Hymn of the Angelus by Edgar Allan Poe
At morn, at noon, at twilight dim, Maria, thou hast heard my hymn!
Citizen of the World
No longer of Him be it said “He hath no place to lay His head.”
Saint Boniface and the Missionary Culture of the Faith
Oh you who are anxious to learn what it is to enjoy the Word, prepare not your ear but your soul; for it is grace that teaches it and not language. This secret remains hidden from the wise and the … Continue reading
The Shire, not the Borg
Recently, on two separate occasions, I discussed our apostolate with a couple of members of the media. One had something of a grasp of our community’s purpose. The other was far less aware and seemed swayed by some of the … Continue reading
J.R.R. Tolkien and the Eucharist
It is well known that J.R.R. Tolkien, the celebrated fantasy writer who gave us The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a Catholic. He was not a writer who just happened to be also a Catholic; he was … Continue reading
Tolkien and the Eucharist
In honor of yesterday’s Feast of Corpus Christi and its Octave, remnants of which still exist in the 1962 Liturgy, this is something of a literary tribute to the Bread of Life.
