The Holy Ghost appeared over the apostles in semblance of fire, and over Christ, at his baptism, in likeness of a dove. Why over Christ in semblance of a dove? Why over the followers of Christ in likeness of fire? In books it is read concerning that kind of birds that its nature is veryContinue reading “Aelfric on Pentecost”
Author Archives: Stefan Gramenz
Bede on Pentecost
When the children of Israel had been freed from slavery in Egypt by the immolation of the paschal lamb, they went out through the desert so that they might come to the promised land, and they reached Mount Sinai. On the fiftieth day after the Passover, the Lord descended upon the mountain in fire, accompaniedContinue reading “Bede on Pentecost”
For the Shepherd Who Is Also the Path the Sun Makes in Daytime
A good shepherd is a wonder in contrapposto, an artistmapping the Serengeti with kingdom lines. A good shepherd angles a lion’s eye, traps gazellesin dry fields, copies a cheetah’s spots one leg at a time. A good shepherd does not give you stoneswhen you ask for toast, does not ask you to work without a burningContinue reading “For the Shepherd Who Is Also the Path the Sun Makes in Daytime”
I Am the Door of the Sheepfold
I am the door of the sheepfold.Not one that’s gently hinged or deftly hung,Not like the ones you planed at Joseph’s place,Not like the well-oiled openings that swungSo easily for Pilate’s practiced pace,Not like the ones that closed in Mary’s faceFrom house to house in brimming Bethlehem,Not like the one that no man may assail,TheContinue reading “I Am the Door of the Sheepfold”
I know my sheep and am known of mine
During the riots in Palestine in the middle thirties, a village near Haifa was condemned to collective punishment by having its sheep and cattle sequestrated by the Government. The inhabitants, however, were permitted to redeem their possessions at a fixed price. Among them was an orphan shepherd boy, whose six or eight sheep and goatsContinue reading “I know my sheep and am known of mine”
The Living and True Bread
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, God the Lord of knowledge, who gives His wonders and orders all things well, who rides upon the clouds, the Lord is His name: may He, the living and true Bread, who descended from heaven to give food to the hungry, indeed stillContinue reading “The Living and True Bread”
Give us this Bread during these forty days
It is truly meet and just, right and salutary that we give thanks to You, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God, through Christ our Lord, who is Your only-begotten Son and who abides in Your glory, in whom the faith of those who fast is fed, hope is carried forward and love strengthend: forContinue reading “Give us this Bread during these forty days”
The whole life of men is but one day
It may be said that the whole life of men is but one day, according to the parable, and that they who are called by the Master of the vineyard in the morning early, are they who from their childhood were called to do the things of the kingdom of God. They who, after theyContinue reading “The whole life of men is but one day”
The Death of the Moth
Two years ago I was camping alone in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. I had hauled myself and gear up there to read, among other things, James Ramsey Ullman’s The Day on Fire, a novel about Rimbaud that had made me want to be a writer when I was sixteen; I was hoping itContinue reading “The Death of the Moth”
More replendent than day, more radiant than light
Let us joyfully revere this holy day of the blessed birth, on which, through the birth of the Lord, the secrets of the Virgin’s womb are revealed and the burden of that unspoiled body has flowed out for the relief of the world, as we have longed for this day through our prayers. For thisContinue reading “More replendent than day, more radiant than light”
Locus Communis 