postmodernpilgrim

I recently caught Deep Water,  the Donald  Crowhurst biopic on PBS.  It tells the story of Crowhurst, a  British   businessman   and amateur  sailor  who died while competing in the  Sunday Times Golden Globe Race , a  single-handed, round-th e-world   yacht race . Crowhurst had entered the race in hopes of winning a cash prize from the  Sunday Times . Instead, it is believed that he encountered difficulty early in the voyage, and secretly abandoned the race while reporting false positions, in an attempt to appear to complete a circumnavigation without actually circling the world. His boat,  Teignmouth Electron, was found without him on board as well as sailing logs (believed to have been doctored) and personal journals of his experience .   The readings from the journals, that frame testimony from friends and family as well as news and personal film footage of Crowhurst and family, are especially haunting.  I have previously blogged about my fondness for the book and recent movie ...

on·to·log·i·cal  ( ŏ n't ə -l ŏ j' ĭ -k ə l)  adj.   1.     Of or relating to ontology. 2.     Of or relating to essence or the nature of being. Of or relating to the argument for the existence of God holding that the existence of the concept of God entails the existence of God. func · tion · al (f ŭ ngk'sh ə -n ə l)   adj.   1.     a. Of or relating to a function.             b. Of, relating to, or indicating a mathematical function or functions. 2.     Designed for or adapted to a particular function or use: functional architecture. 3.     Capable of performing; operative: a functional set of brakes. 4.     Pathology Involving functions rather than a physiological or structural cause. from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition . Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 25 Jun. 2008 As I have continued on the quest to discern my own calling into ordained ministry, I have had the opportunity to dialogue w...

Check out a prayer that I picked up at St. Gregory's, been using each morning this week and find extremely helpful in centering and focusing my prayer for peace.  Posted link so you can explore the entire Sisters of Providence website as well.  May it add blessing to your life.   http://www.sistersofprovidence.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?3208&dwContent_contentID=254

Shaved my beard and cut my hair yesterday.  Had been growing for nine months, so the whole experience was as close as I come in my life to gestation and birthing something.  Feel lighter and a whole lot cooler.  Feel, however, that something missing (like my chin) so let June 23rd, 2008 be set as the new first day back to full growth.  It should be an interesting nine months.  If you see me in the meantime, please do not point and laugh.   Don't really know why I as growing it out.  Many people assumed I was protesting something or making a point with my beard.  Honestly, I just got tired of shaving on a daily basis.  In the end, I think that I grew out my hair and beard to make the statement that I no longer care what anyone else thinks of me.  In my recent trip to St. Gregory's Abbey, looked over some of the sayings of the Desert Fathers.  One of them stated that a holy man who had been in silence for years was alerted that an important person wanted to hear from him.  The ho...

"Lord our God, through Your loving kindness,  hear and answer our prayers as they rise to You in this offering. Through Your saints, Benedict and Scholastica , You have called many to the school of Your service. We ask that many other men and women, throughout the world,  would hear and answer Your call in our monastic way of life,  especially here at St. Gregory's Abbey. Grant each of us the gift of holy perseverance-that we may prefer nothing to Your love. This we ask through Christ our Lord.  Amen." -Prayer for Vocations, recited at the conclusion of Vespers- After spending the past week at St. Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee, Oklahoma in fervent prayer and academic focus upon monastic spirituality, it has been a tough couple of days acclimating back to life as usual here in the real world.  It is hard to explain how deeply this experience has impacted me but I will make an attempt.   First, I came to this experience with the presupposition that one would pursue monasti...

“Something is  over.  In the deepest levels of my existence something is finished, done.    My life is divided into before and after.”  Nicholas Wolterstorff , Lament for a Son "Vere tu es Deus absconditus : Truly you are a hidden God." - Blaise Pascal Taking three weeks to look at how Scripture handles the ONE thing that I most fear; death, was an interesting prospect to begin with.  It was an emotional and theological roller coaster but one that I definitely came out of the other end enjoying. The class was deeply rewarding and helpful in almost forcing me to look into the mirror and come to terms with my own mortality.  In the end, I know that "I see through a glass darkly" on this subject but see much clearer than I did when the course began.  After looking through literature, Scripture, film,  art, and music I have found that, though I possess no more concrete answers than I did at the beginning of the course, in the end I have come to these observations: Go...