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December 2016

December 13, 2016

The Annual Christmas Berserker Raid

Growing up, we didn't trim the Christmas tree until we lit the pink candle. We...

December 09, 2016

All Who Love Nicholas the Saintly

I asked Saint Nicholas to be my father. It wasn't really necessary. All saints are...

December 07, 2016

You Do Not Have To Be Merry

I had a friend-- a wonderful, compassionate, funny and creative friend, a great gal in...

December 04, 2016

Here Come Santa Wars: On the True Race Of Santa Claus

It's Christmas! Okay, okay, it's still Advent for three more weeks. But it's December, and...

November 2016

November 18, 2016

Once Upon a Mattress

We really needed a new bed. We had twin mattresses and twin box springs that...

November 07, 2016

It’s Just Clear Blood, I Promise

There was no need for Father Vasyl to apologize, let alone apologize twice. The whole...

November 01, 2016

Saints Look Up: A Meditation for All Saints’ Day

When I was a girl, I had several appropriately dull little books telling short hagiographies...

October 2016

October 31, 2016

Yet Another Important Election Update From Steel Magnificat

(image via pixabay) I would like to remind my readers that we're down to the...

October 24, 2016

The Only Thing Scarier Than A Spook

(image via Pixabay) Halloween is almost here. Hooray!!! I've already gushed about my great love...

October 19, 2016

A Triumph and a Requiem

(image via Pixabay) I'd finally kept my promise to my daughter. We were going to...

October 17, 2016

Stop And Reverence These Icons With Me

(image via Wikimedia Commons) Stop what you're doing for a moment, and gaze on some...

September 2016

September 11, 2016

The Only Way to Make Good Happen

(Image: firefighters outside the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, via Wikimedia Commons) My almost-five-year-old daughter...

September 05, 2016

The Body Torn and Broken

We ended up at Divine Liturgy at an OCA Orthodox church last week. Never mind how...

August 2016

August 25, 2016

In Praise of Cinematic Cheese

(image via Pixabay) We've already established by now that I am the only critic on...

August 10, 2016

All Creatures of our God and King

(image via Pixabay) I called my friend a cow just a moment ago, and she...

August 10, 2016

In the Shadow of Thy Wings

(image via Pixabay) If I were a fairy tale character, the magical skill I'd want...

August 08, 2016

Struggle to Perfect Your Loves, Do Not Struggle Against Them

(Image via Pixabay.) Once, I got a ride home from Mass on a cold...

July 2016

July 25, 2016

How To Make Political Conventions Worth Watching, Or Do Something Else…

(image via Pixabay) I take politics very seriously. I study the candidates' positions, I pray...

July 19, 2016

The Devil Is The Father of Lies: A Word On Cyber Demons

Let's talk about Pokemon. I did not play with Pokemon cards back when they were...

July 16, 2016

Would Angels Envy Us?

I have, in my bedroom, a beat up old icon of Saint Michael the Archangel....

July 15, 2016

Blessed are We Who Mourn

I wake up, the morning after yet another terrorist attack in France, wondering what on...

July 13, 2016

An Angel Called “God is Able”

Today, according to my Byzantine calendar, is the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel. His principle...

July 11, 2016

Not Unto The Ages of Ages, I Hope

Michael touched his voltage tester to the light socket in the kitchen. There was a...

June 2016

June 27, 2016

The Appalachian Samaritan

I complain a lot about my little region on the cusp of northern Appalachia, but...

June 24, 2016

The Strange Case of John the Baptist

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to his people and...

June 20, 2016

A Bad Penny

It was a miserably hot day. The heat was augmented by oceans of humidity until it...

June 18, 2016

Tacos, Trolleys and a Summer Misadventure

Good Thing: There was going to be a little street fair downtown. Nothing ever happens...

June 17, 2016

The Value of Straw

Saint Thomas Aquinas, God love his soul, would never have disparaged a heap of straw if...

June 16, 2016

The Sweetest Song I Know

Several years ago now, I got to be a fly on the wall for a nice...

June 11, 2016

A Gardener’s Prayer

(In loving memory of Charles Spencer) Blessed are you, Lord our God, who brings forth...