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December 2025

December 19, 2025

An Empty Chapel, A Human Church, A Patient God

I went back to the chapel at the old hospital, to ask for mercy. Sometimes...

December 14, 2025

Gaude, Gaude, Emmanuel

It snowed again. It snowed until the roads were indistinguishable from the curbs and...

December 03, 2025

The Light in Darkness, Outside the Gate

I went to Mass on the first Sunday of Advent. That is something I can...

December 23, 2024

O Oriens, O Dawn

The winter solstice dawned bright and cold. I woke up on the darkest day of...

December 18, 2024

A Good Advent

I think it's been a good Advent. There's little to write about my life just...

December 16, 2024

For He Shall Baptize With Fire

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: The crowds asked John the Baptist,...

December 14, 2024

All is Bright

Winter is a bleak time, but did you know it's also lavish? We are...

December 12, 2024

O Precious the Snow

Winter is not astronomical, as many have observed before me. It's not to do with...

December 11, 2024

To Prepare the Way of the Lord

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: In the fifteenth year of the...

December 07, 2024

Theophany at Jefferson Lake

I went down to Jefferson Lake, to see the ice. We've had two very...

March 2024

March 26, 2024

A Woman, An Angel, A Sign

The most important person in the world is a woman. Barely even a woman,...

December 2023

December 16, 2023

Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel

It was all going beautifully, until it wasn't. When has that ever not been the...

December 14, 2023

A Season of Comfort and Joy

The car will only drive one mile. Jimmy said the fastest thing will be...

December 11, 2023

To Light Another Candle

I had a hard time on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. We...

November 2023

November 28, 2023

A Festival, A Troll, and a Sign of Contradiction

On Friday night, we saw the fireworks. The City of Steubenville put off the...

November 18, 2023

A Penitential Season

The season of Advent is coming. There was a package of purple and pink Advent...

December 2022

December 24, 2022

A Candle in a Cold House

This morning I woke up in my living room, with my face stinging from...

December 01, 2022

The Mystery of the Red Advent Box

I took Adrienne to Sunday Mass, just like always. I don't like to go to...

November 2021

November 24, 2021

A Tree to Save the World

Truth be told, the anxiety is still bad. I've struggled with anxiety my entire life....

December 2020

December 22, 2020

The Christmas Cookie and the Christmas Star

Things are certainly different this year, aren't they? Every Christmas I've had a tradition of...

December 04, 2020

For God So Loved the Formless Waste

Rosie and I went downtown, to bring a space heater to the Friendship Room, and...

November 2020

November 29, 2020

An Advent Invitation

Hello Friends, Just a couple of notes from Steel Magnificat as we begin Advent...

November 28, 2020

Freedom, Virtue and Responsibility: Notes for a Challenging Holiday

This week we celebrated Thanksgiving, the unofficial start to the secular holiday season. I already...

November 17, 2020

If You’re Going to Give to the Needy…

It's mid-November. Advent is beginning in Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic churches; the rest...

August 2020

August 15, 2020

Pavone’s Tweet Is Sacrilege and Bishops Must Act

I was going to write about the Virgin Mary today. It's the Solemnity of the...

December 2019

December 24, 2019

O Foggy Night

It was one of those days when everything goes wrong. Of course, it was also...

December 17, 2019

What Did You Come Out To See?

The lady who gives us rides to church used to live in France. She came...

December 11, 2019

Where do You Turn When You Turn to God?

I have felt without a home lately. I still long to go to an Eastern...

December 07, 2019

Eighteen Suggestions for the Rest of Advent

On Friday, I suggested that we all need to be converted, and start living in...

December 24, 2018

Nativity According to the Flesh

The Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ, from the Roman Martyrology: The Twenty-fifth Day of...