Christmas

  • Advent Tanka: Thursday, December 1 #Advent #Tanka #Poem #Poetry #Christmas

    Walking home from work earlier in the week, I had an idea. Inspired by Malcom Guite’s collection of poems that we’ve used as part of our Advent meditations, I gave myself the goal to write a series of Japanese Tankas as short reflections in preparation for Christmas Day. I know it’s late in the day…

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  • Though it may seem odd to some to return to the stable on Epiphany, it’s the culmination of the celebration of Christmas, and, personally this year, a reminder of my late mother who passed away five years ago on New Year’s Day. According to NationalToday.com: “Epiphany is a Christian feast day celebrating the revelation of…

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  • What if John, Paul, George, and Ringo provided the soundtrack for a musical revival of Charles Dickens’s immortal A Christmas Carol? Thanks to The Muppets, we already have at least one spectacular musical version of Dickens’s classic, and I’ve even seen one staged in Pittsburgh. But as I wrapped up our study of the novella…

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  • Coming Home

    Christmas reminds me just how much I’m not at home. Strangers now own the house where I grew up outside of Philadelphia. Five years ago, my parents sold it and moved to central Pennsylvania to live closer to my sister. Shortly thereafter my mother passed away. As much as I enjoy visiting my family there…

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  • Living Wisdom

    My first encounter with Malcolm Guite came when he visited Grove City College years ago. A poet-priest-musician, my heart echoed with his song. Though I did not get up to the chapel to see him face-to-face, multiple friends of the family brought me excerpts of his work. Years later, we now own multiple collections authored…

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