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Catholic

Richard Chess

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Select a Month October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 February 2008

September 2018

September 18, 2018

Ready or Not for the Days of Awe

By now, I could have read Psalm 27 at least twenty-seven times, once a day...

August 2018

August 16, 2018

A Letter To Stephen Dunn

Dear Steve, I’ve had to look away for most of three decades now—away from your...

July 2018

July 23, 2018

Welcome to Tel Aviv

Early on Friday morning, the first full day of my recent trip to Israel with...

June 2018

June 18, 2018

Yehuda Amichai: My One Poet

If I could have only one poet, I’d choose Yehuda Amichai. He’s the poet of...

May 2018

May 29, 2018

Mother’s House

Mother’s house is not a house. Mother’s house is not a cave. Mother’s house is...

December 2017

December 26, 2017

Jews Without Jerusalem

Unimaginable. That’s precisely why I will imagine it. Shake them, shake the books, shake the...

November 2017

November 09, 2017

Everything I Know

Everything I know fits inside my body, but where does my body end? Is it...

October 2017

October 09, 2017

To Be Born Again

The day after Yom Kippur 5778 When I finish being born for the fourth...

September 2017

September 25, 2017

Questions for the One Who Waits

Psalm 27 is read by Jews from the beginning of the Jewish month of Elul...

August 2017

August 23, 2017

The Sweetness These Days

On the phone, he says, Your mother throws me over her shoulder and carries...

July 2017

July 31, 2017

Who Is This Aliveness I Am?

I am alive. I am alive. I am alive. Who is this aliveness I...

July 06, 2017

How To Intuit a Book Title

How do poets and writers choose their book titles? I didn’t have a good answer...

June 2017

June 05, 2017

On the 50th Anniversary of the Six-Day War

What I didn’t know in June of 1967 was that this month and year for...

May 2017

May 01, 2017

Passover and Government Presence

“In what ways do you experience the presence of government—city, county, state, federal—in your life,...

April 2017

April 10, 2017

Dancing with Words During National Poetry Month

Here’s your assignment. Choose a poem you’ve written (it could be any piece of writing,...

March 2017

March 23, 2017

Love Nailed to the Doorpost

The commandment to love is nailed to my doorpost. Ritualistically written on a little piece...

March 02, 2017

I Am an American

I refresh the page, I refresh the page, I turn away for a few minutes,...

January 2017

January 30, 2017

The Next Abraham

A few days ago, I was blessed to be present at my grandson Abraham’s bris,...

January 04, 2017

A Song of Songs for These American Days

With thanks and apologies to the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Emily Dickinson, Neil Young, Wallace Stevens,...

November 2016

November 14, 2016

How Do You Write?

Do you write with a pen? Do you write with the wind? Do you pray...

October 2016

October 17, 2016

Traveling Through These Days of Awe

I’m in a plane ascending to 37,000 feet. How restless have I been this year?...

September 2016

September 27, 2016

Getting Close to You, God: A Meditation During the Month of Elul

“You are my light and my help / Whom should I fear?” Thus begins Norman...

September 06, 2016

Of Cookbooks and Lynchings

“Men and women in automobiles stood up to watch him die.” That’s the sentence one...

August 2016

August 10, 2016

You Must Be Present to Learn

For the past five years, I’ve been experimenting with the use of contemplative practices in...

July 2016

July 21, 2016

My Money, My Life

My money is the Tao te Ching, translated and introduced by David Hinton. My $12.87...

June 2016

June 30, 2016

The Dragon and the Yahrzeit Candle: On Forgetting and Remembering, Part 3

Continued from yesterday and Tuesday. In Hunger Mountain: A Field Guide to Mind and Landscape,...

June 29, 2016

The Dragon and the Yahrzeit Candle: On Forgetting and Remembering, Part 2

Continued from yesterday. I dive into the pool. My body remembers water. My body remembers...

June 28, 2016

The Dragon and the Yahrzeit Candle: On Forgetting and Remembering, Part 1

I remember my social security number. I remember the combination to a lock—13 right, 27...

June 09, 2016

The Best Conditions for Work

For William Carlos Williams I work best alone. In an empty house. When I’m ready...

May 2016

May 11, 2016

My Prayer Is Not Prayer

My prayer is not prayer, not exactly. It includes words. It may even begin with...