With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Brad Miner's take on Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

Jimmy Akin does some actual research on the Fr. Murphy case...

...unlike, apparently, the New York Times. Story here. (Jimmy's previous article on the case here.)

It's a darn shame the NY Times didn't have anyone on staff who spoke Italian.

"Indeed He Is Risen!"

Carl Olson's scriptural reflection for Easter Sunday:

This is, of course, completely contrary to all of the data at hand, including today’s Gospel reading. The Evangelist John has no qualm about describing the mixture of astonishment, confusion, fear, and belief that poured forth at the site of the recently vacated tomb. We can immediately relate to the stunned, nearly gasping, exclamation of the Magdalene, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” She repeats it twice (Jn. 20:13, 15), convinced that someone has either moved or stolen the body of Jesus. 

Peter entered the tomb and saw the burial clothes, but we are told nothing of his thoughts. John, the other disciple, “saw and believed.” And yet they still did not comprehend. How could they? However, the witness of the Gospels, while transparent in describing bewilderment and confusion, also emphasizes the historical facts and the legitimate witness of those involved.

Priest as Witness

Betty Duffy writes:

I don’t chat with my priest after Mass. I don’t go to him for counseling. If I have business to do at Church, it’s at the service of the DRE. But I love the sense of accounting that comes from being present and letting this man witness my life, even the parts I don’t want to say out loud.

[snip]

We are present. Father is present. I wonder sometimes what it is like to stand at the altar and look around at all our faces, knowing all of our sins. Even to those with whom he is not on a first name basis, he is a witness. And if it is a burden for him to carry all of that, I hope he knows how much better it makes my life.

Read the whole thing.

"Today, On Good Friday, Here's Why I Remain Catholic"

The Anchoress, writing for NPR:

Like a pebble cast into a pond, our every action ripples out toward the edges, reaching farther than we intended, touching what we do not even know, for good and for ill. It all either means nothing, or it means everything.

As a Catholic, I believe it means everything.

[snip] 

I want my church to shine. But I understand that everything, from our institutions to our innermost beings, are seen through a glass, darkly. Arms outstretched, listening for the Word, and its echoing liturgy, I make my way forward, in bright hope.

The whole thing is here.

Pange Lingua

Meditation on the Crucifix

A lovely meditation on the crucifix by the Anchoress.