October 14, 2021
Way-Makers are always survived by unfinished work. This is why heroes are always conquered by a monster. Why authors have posthumously published work. Why artists have models and half-sculpted forms in their empty workshops. If they were not in the middle of creating that change, of forging that way, when death came upon them, they would have ceased to be a way-maker long before their heart ceased to beat. These things do not exist because they are failures, but because they are successes. Beowulf’s death is not a defeat, but a victory!
Way-Makers are always survived by unfinished work. This is why heroes are always conquered by a monster. Why authors have posthumously published work. Why artists have models and half-sculpted forms in their empty workshops. If they were not in the middle of creating that change, of forging that way, when death came upon them, they would have ceased to be a way-maker long before their heart ceased to beat. These things do not exist because they are failures, but because they are successes. Beowulf’s death is not a defeat, but a victory!
December 8, 2020
Immaculate Conception Prayer during a time of sterilization and social distancing in the churches
Dear Mother Mary,
On this your day of days, with love in my heart, I come before you as your child, asking you to reveal to my heart your immaculate plan.
I have experienced great difficulty thus far in attending Mass, receiving Our Lord, praying the Rosary daily, and honoring your day.
Recognizing that our God is a God of mercy, I have relied on His graces to fill these negligences, and allow for grace in spite of my difficulties. But I do not want to presume.
Please Mother, wipe away any presumption on my part. Make me pure, holy, and dedicated to honoring your dignity.
Mother, I do not want to be angry on your day. I do not want to attend a church that I feel dishonors you in the celebration of its mysteries. Mother, it fills me with ire, bitterness, and angry tears.
Please release me from this anger. Mother, please fill me with your wisdom, continual mental prayer, heroic patience, profound humility, blind obedience, and mortification in all things. Amen.
June 24, 2020
Jesus, why does enforcing the requirement to wear a mask scare me so much?
We have become a faceless country. Jesus, I am angry! This is not a political issue, or a medical issue, or a race issue - it is a human issue.
We are human beings with faces, with courage, with souls. We are not dying by the thousands - we are being led, by thousands, like sheep to the slaughter with no concern for our hearts, spiritual nourishment, or need for community.
We are communal people, created for fellowship, love, joy, and celebration! Jesus you created us for celebration.
March 17, 2020
Prayer to St. Patrick in time of global crisis
Dear Saint Patrick, we invoke your aid on our church, country, and world in this time of global crisis. As you drove out the snakes of paganism from Ireland, please drive out the illness and fear that is raging across the continents.
Fill us with the peace of Christ and the good news that you spread throughout Ireland about God’s mercy and love. May the rapid spread of this disease decrease to the extent that we will be able to have Mass on Easter Sunday. Help us to put our trust in God, and turn to him and him alone in our fear and anxiety. We ask all this through Jesus’s name, Amen.
Saint Patrick, pray for us
March 13, 2020
Trust in the Lord in the midst of global crisis
Coronavirus update from The Catholic Corner Store
We’ve all seen them. The emails pouring into our inboxes from local and even global organizations assuring us that their top priority is everyone’s safety. It’s a great priority to have. But as Catholics, our top priority is not safety, but HEAVEN.
It’s serving God every moment that we are here, not being afraid of death, and supporting each other in moments of crisis. Pope JPII said, “Be not afraid!”
At the Catholic Corner, we are being careful. But we are also being prayerful. If you want comfort in this time, please stop by to talk with us. We are here to be a light in the darkness. We are here to remember that the world has been through many crises, and will be through many more, and that God always helps us through them. Let us embrace his healing power! And pray for peace, health, and above all, in this troubled, fearful time, increased trust in the Lord!
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