Amma Syncletica was part of a monastic tradition that was established primarily in the desert areas around Jerusalem and Alexandria. Desert Mothers were women, known as ammas or “spiritual mothers,” who lived as Christian ascetics in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. Ammas were women who had achieved a spiritual maturity and wisdom, actively developed during their withdrawal from mainstream society. These women gathered together in monastic communities, but there were also some who lived as hermits. For these early Christian women, one appeal of living in the desert was the freedom they could experience that was not available to […]
In 2020, I wrote a blog post, Assumption of Hairy Mary, because I was interested in images of Mary Magdalene that I had come across, where she was shown clothed in nothing other than her long red hair. In some images, she is even depicted with a fur-like suit or hair that is growing directly out of her skin. I never suspected that I would revisit that blog post, but I became aware of this recently revealed woodcut image that appears to be a Hairy Mary Magdalene, shown at left, and I became intrigued. So, I am writing this blog […]
The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “arrival” and is also related to the words ad venire, that translate as “to come.” Since Advent has a number of moving parts, it is good for us, as pilgrims, to ask each year, “How do we Advent?” One answer of “how” relates to our journey in this season of waiting, where paradoxically we move and grow, but at the same time are called to sit waiting in stillness. Every year, we re-read the ancient prophesies, celebrate the joy of now, and look forward in hope for the light, […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of the meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. So yesterday was the end of the traditional seven days for praying the O Antiphons. And yet, here is the bonus eighth O Antiphon that we can approach to complete […]
Last updated: October 13, 2023 Having this website allows me to respond to events and to share information I get when I research things that really interest and excite me. I was so excited to find out that the Sisters of Earth conference just coincidentally happened on the exact same week back in July 2022, when NASA released the first stunning images from the James Webb Space Telescope – really a kind of synchronicity to be honest. The Universe is astoundingly beautiful! It’s been over a year since the conference, so I thought I would just finish up this blog […]
Last updated: July 30, 2023 Happy Easter!! On Easter we celebrate the triumph of Christ over death! Ok, yes I know – Easter was a few weeks ago already, and yes, I am often late for these kinds of things. However, we are still technically in the Easter season until Pentecost (right around the corner now), so I figured I should hurry up and just finish this blog post off. This year, I would like to share some really great artistic depictions of the resurrection. The Bible does not contain a description of the exact moment when Jesus actually rose […]
The Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way of the Cross or the Via Dolorosa, originated from the design of pilgrimages that were wildly popular in the Middle Ages. Many pilgrims to Jerusalem wanted to literally follow the footsteps of Jesus as he walked to his crucifixion. During the 13th century, the Franciscan order became caretakers of the Christian holy sites, and the earliest use of the word “stations” to describe this Way of the Cross occured in the narrative of an English pilgrim, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land in the mid-15th century. Later in the […]
Since March is Women’s History Month, I thought I would write this blog post about some courageous women pilots who have been largely forgotten by time and are not widely recognized today. I am referring to the history of the First Lady Astronaut Trainees, more commonly known as the Mercury 13. This group of women were secretly evaluated to see if they might be suitable astronaut candidates for America’s first human spaceflight program in the early 1960s. The thirteen women pilots, eager to participate in the space race against the Soviet Union, were subjected to the same rigorous tests that […]
One symbol/model that has been important to me in my personal spiritual development is the Figure 8. When you open your eyes, you can start to see Figure 8 symbols in a few different, critical places. For example, if you have ever been on a sailboat or tried mountain climbing, you will likely be familiar with the Figure 8 knot. This knot, shown at right, is commonly used as a stopper knot on ships, as a temporary knot to tie off the boat. In addition, the Figure 8 knot is frequently used to attach a rope to a harness in […]
The story of Hannah in the Old Testament can be found in the the first book of Samuel. It is about the vow that she made to Yahweh and her subsequent song/prayer of thanksgiving. It is also about a larger narrative, where she becomes part of God’s greater plan of salvation. In this account of Hannah, we also see the classic biblical movement from barrenness to abundant life, from death to resurrection. At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Hannah and her husband Elkanah. Similar to other Old Testament women like Sarah, Rachel, and Rebecca, Hannah was […]
Last updated: February 5, 2024 Josephine Bakhita (circa 1868-1947,) shown at left, was born into a relatively wealthy family in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region, Sudan in central Africa. At around 7-9 years of age, she was kidnapped by Arab slave traders and was given the Arabic name bakhīta (بخيتة), which means “lucky” or “fortunate.” This was a fairly common name for slaves, and so Josephine Bakhita should not be confused with Sister Fortunata Quasce, the first Sudanese nun, also known as Bakhita Kwashe (1841-1899.) Apparently the image below and to the right is of Sister […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of the meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. Today is the final seventh O Antiphon out of the last seven days before Christmas, in this very late day of Advent intensification. Hopefully by now you are somewhat more […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of the meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. Today we pray the sixth O Antiphon out of the last seven days before Christmas, in these late days of Advent intensification. We are now just two days away from […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of the meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. Today is the fifth O Antiphon out of the seven days before Christmas, in these late days of Advent intensification. With only three days before Christmas Eve, we continue to […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of the meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. So today is the fourth O Antiphon out of the seven days before Christmas, in these late days of Advent intensification – just over half way through the week. Are […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of these meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. Today is the third O Antiphon out of the seven days before Christmas, in these late days of Advent intensification. As Christmas comes yet closer, it’s a good idea to […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of the meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. So today is the second O Antiphon out of the seven days before Christmas, in these late days of Advent intensification. Are you finding ways to get into the rhythm […]
I wrote a blog post about the O Antiphons in 2019, and I loved picking out the image to illustrate each one. So I have decided to post on the O Antiphons again, in order to highlight additional images and to explore the scriptural roots of the meaningful word images. If you aren’t familiar with the O Antiphons or need a refresher, please check out my 2019 blog post here. So now, beginning today with O Sapientia, I will be posting on each O Antiphon for the next seven days before Christmas, in these late days of Advent intensification. Even […]
I am always so fascinated with learning about the origins of the customs we observe and holidays we celebrate and how they evolved and became secularized, especially as they were romanticized on a large scale in the US, during the 19th-century. You can find my blog post about Saint Valentine’s Day here. And a blog post with a bit of food history related to Halloween here. And another on the origins of the New Year’s Eve tune Auld Lang Syne. But today is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, and I am digging into the origin of our present day, […]
I was alerted to the recent buzz about Mary Magdalene by my friend Laurie, who sent me this link to a sermon preached by Dr. Diana Butler Bass on the closing day of the Wild Goose Festival, July 17, 2022. In this sermon, Diana mentions research started in 2017 by Elizabeth (Libbie) Schrader, a PhD student at Duke University. Libbie, based on her examination of various early manuscripts, hypothesizes that the name Martha was added to the original story of the raising of Lazarus in John chapters 11 and 12. If this is correct, she is positing that Mary Magdalene […]
Last updated: August 11, 2023 I posted about this threshold/transition of mine back in December, when everything was still pending and I was impatient to get moving. You can read about it here. One thing I wrote is, “This letting go of the life I have built in Houston for the past 32 years will surely be challenging, but I trust that it will make room for new friends and experiences.” And indeed, this is coming to pass, perhaps a little more slowly than I would like, but still. There are so many things to be grateful for here, and […]
I intended to post this way back in March, in observance of Women’s History Month this year, but obviously that did not happen – in the midst of moving and other entanglements, I definitely did not reach that goal. However, here is what I wanted to share with you. In this blog post, I highlight the dedication of women who supported the World War II (WW2) war efforts of the Allied Forces. Manufacturing jobs in many countries became available to women, as industries transitioned to war production. In September 2021, Andy and I were finally able to use the credit […]
When I was in my late twenties or early thirties (hard to keep track now….) in Houston, I was thinking a lot about how to achieve balance in my life. I have always been a well rounded person, interested in multiple areas of study and life experiences. So I was trying to figure out how to align all of my activities and interests into some kind of schedule or routine that would balance and satisfy all of the physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and creative components of my life. One day, I rode my red Diamond Back mountain bike over to […]
I recently learned that there once was an urban complex of Native Americans in the United States that dates back to the 9th century. I had heard of the Mayans, was somewhat familiar with the Aztec civilization that built pyramids in Mexico, and had even visited Teotihuacan when I was in high school. Over the years, I have visited Anasazi ruins and other Native American sites in the southwest U.S. And of course I learned about the decimation of the native tribes across the continent, due to diseases like smallpox, brought by the explorers and settlers. I am aware of […]
Sometimes change is our choice and sometimes it isn’t, but either way, change always comes. You can call it change or transition or a crossing or adjustment or a turning point or relocating or course correction or passage or a shift or movement, and if it’s really big, you can call it conversion or progress or metamorphosis or transformation. However, I am calling what I’m experiencing now a “liminal threshold process.” I suppose “liminal” and “threshold” are somewhat redundant, and “process” might be obvious, but nevertheless, that’s what I am calling it. An interesting and thorough explanation of the etymology […]
Sylvia Earle is an oceanographer and marine botanist who writes and lectures about our oceans and is sometimes called “Her Deepness.” She has led more than 100 diving expeditions and clocked more than 7,000 hours underwater. She was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and has been a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence since 1998. She belongs to Ocean Elders, a group of scientists that is dedicated to protecting the ocean and and the marine life that live in the oceans. She is also President and Co-Chair of Mission Blue, which is a nonprofit […]
Hey. I’ve been thinking alot about climate change recently, the strange weather patterns we have been seeing, and I really think there is no way to overestimate the magnitude of the problems we face. I am especially concerned about how wildlife have become entangled with these unprecedented, human-initiated changes. Hurricanes now come more frequently, and you may have heard about the big winter freeze in Texas in February. Most of the news coverage of the freeze related to homes losing power and heat, and in some cases water. I have relatives in Austin and San Antonio, and I live in […]
Hi friends! Today I would like to share with you a model that outlines seven steps for taking a glimmer of an idea and developing it in a way that can be seen and make a difference at national and even international levels. I learned about this process at a workshop called The Thread Project: One World, One Cloth, that I attended during the WomenSpeak conference that was held in San Antonio in 2007. This conference to “gather the women” was coordinated and led by Paula D’arcy. Paula, the founder and director of the Red Bird Foundation, is a holy woman and […]
Last updated: February 7, 2024 I’m always fascinated about how certain holidays come into being and what their roots are, before they end up being commercialized and trivialized into oblivion, a shadow of what was intended originally. So what’s up with Valentine’s Day? You might have an idea that it is associated with a Saint Valentine, and you would be right. The feast days of saints are often holy-days that are celebrated annually on the anniversaries of their deaths. So here’s how Saint Valentine’s life and martyrdom led us to associate it with romantic love and how it morphed so […]
:: Guest blog post by Andy Hong :: Central Park may be the most beautiful city park in the world and is most certainly worth anyone’s time to visit. We would recommend getting a walking guide and spend a couple of hours walking through it. The park was revolutionary for its time (a park set aside for the enjoyment of the average citizen) along with Frederick Law Olmstead’s additional efforts repeated in Prospect Park in Brooklyn and the city parks in Buffalo. With its wonderful history, there are many things to see in Central Park – from the USS Maine […]
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