Latest Posts
-
Bilbo Baggins and Baby Jesus
Recently, my kindergartener had an assignment on traditions. She was supposed to choose a family tradition and create a project around it. When we asked her what tradition she wanted to choose, there was a moment when I seriously worried… Continue reading
-
Remembering Ordination
This past Monday was the 6th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. The date of December 11th, 2017 doesn’t sound all that long ago until I think about how old I was and how old my children were: I… Continue reading
-
Touching Icons
When I first saw an icon, I immediately wanted to touch it. At the time, I was a graduate student at the University of Oregon, studying medieval poetry and, specifically, medieval myths about creativity. There is an art museum on… Continue reading
-
Pockets full of candy (or not)
When I was a kid, our advent calendar was full of candy. That was enough for me. The calendar itself was a length of felt. Its color was off-white, something like the background color of this blog. There were rows… Continue reading
-
Praying with(out) my wife
Recently, I asked someone if he wanted to be a Eucharistic Minister and help me distribute Communion at the Altar. The person politely declined, noting that he wanted to be with his wife in the pew. This made sense to… Continue reading
-
A middle-way for upside-down prayers
My children seem to be most comfortable praying upside-down. Or while crawling on top of one another. Or with their feet in my face. In this, they’re probably similar to most kids. I often hear my parishioners complain about having… Continue reading
-
Leaves, roots, and gravestones
This morning, I joined my church in the rather mundane chore of raking our parish cemetery, though I was met with the rather singular experience of pulling away a thick layer of leaves to find gravestones from two hundred years… Continue reading
-
Priest, Daddy, and Artist
I had to celebrate my first Easter Vigil as a priest with my toddler daughter on my lap. I write “had to”, but that evening was one of my favorite memories as a priest and as a daddy. I had… Continue reading
Incense and Crayons 