Christmas is around the corner (only 121 shopping days left), and like some of you, I always try to get an early start on my Christmas shopping. So I make a list of family and friends I buy for, and try to come up with that one perfect gift for everyone. But often, like most…
All posts in October 2014
An Inner Christmas
There is no doubt that the world conspires against anyone trying to have a contemplative Christmas. At this most inward time of year, we are frazzled by last minute obligations and the desire to have home and hearth just right for the holidays. To experience the Virgin Birth, however, we must seek the fire within…
Making Bishops
A recent article on ordination penned by the Very Rev. Lady Shelia Sherwood, OPoc did an excellent job of describing the sacrament and explaining why it couldn’t be accomplished from a distance. I could have written the answer to the rhetorical question posed by the headline more substantially, however. The terse response would be, “No.”…
Ignatians from Colombia
Greetings to all our readers, it is a pleasure and honor for me to share with you the experience of the gospel and more on our evangelizing work in Colombia. First I should introduce myself: my name is Jeisson David Castro. I am an Old Catholic priest in the Priestly Society of St. Ignatius Loyola,…
Self Care
The day began as all other weekdays had this summer. I awoke at 5 a.m., a time so ingrained in me that I do not require an alarm clock. With a cup of coffee in hand, I sit in my favorite chair in the corner of the den. This is my favorite time of the…
The “Boxes” of Life
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. – 1 Corinthians 12:12 In our society today, as indeed all throughout history, we as humans seem to have this compulsion to put ourselves and others “in boxes”. These “boxes” Include but are…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, It was the fall of 2013 that I learned of the publication of Convergent Streams . I recall the excitement I had on learning that a publication specific to the Independent Sacramental Movement (ISM) existed. I immediately ordered all of the back issues as well as the current issue for that time. In…
Altar Linens
Fair Linens (Altar Cloths) Fair linens cover the main altar and were traditionally embroidered with five crosses, one in each corner of the mensa (the altar slab or stone) and a centered embroidery. The five crosses on the fair linen are meant to depict the five wounds of Christ. A fair linen usually includes a…
Green Shoes
You’re here now…… I know and I think you know, This place is your final earthly stop on the journey. We share this bond of knowing, you and I, Yet not sharing our “ secret” with others, Spare others the pain of knowing, we think… I visit you , your frail body now wracked with…
My Spirit Rejoices in God, My Savior
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” ~ (Luke 1:46-55 – The Magnificat) We who are called, whether religious or secular, know only too well the draw deep within the core of our beings to serve our…