Dear Peregrinus: You asked me why the liturgical season of Lent lasts for “forty days.” You thought this a terribly random length of time. You considered how the “seasons” – Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter – are never forty days long, but rather each one is some three months long. You then noticed how we talk of months – anywhere from twenty-nine to thirty-one days. Even sports seasons are never forty days ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: Good to hear from you. I had not expected that I would because Christmas is now so close, and, to be honest, I myself did not think that I would be able to write back to you because of many commitments before me to meet between now and Christmas. However, I remind myself that for me to pause, to let go of other concerns, and to bring my whole attention ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: In your recent letter, you wrote about feeling turbulent of spirit. And because you chose that word as the one that seemed most accurately to describe what it feels like to be you right now, I have paid close attention to that word. Is such turbulence as you are feeling a good thing or a bad thing? I think that you are saying that you think this turbulence is a bad thing ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: Happy second week of Advent to you! I appreciate that you stay in touch with me, and that you are so open with me about questions you have about our common faith in Christ. As to the questions that you ask me, I say this. You only ask a question to whose answer you are genuinely committed. This shows maturity, and in the case of religious questions, a reverence ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: A friend of mine asked me (she was not the only on who has) about your “unusual” name, what it meant. It had not occurred to me to wonder about your name, and so I thought that I would write to you what I have thought about it. Poetically, and without much investigation of your name, I have associated it with the Peregrine Falcon (Latin, falco peregrinus), about which...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: You gave to all of us in your talk this morning a substantial grace. Thank you. I find myself needing to take the time today, and perhaps for several days, to let have access to me all that you spoke. I have learned that all of us need to learn better that a significant grace may take a long time fully to absorb, and correctly to understand. What is ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: It was wonderful to enjoy the evening with you, though I am guessing that your found your food and wine not up to snuff. I would agree that my food lacked flavor; something a little flat in it. Yet, the space was cool and comfortable; it was not too crowded and noisy; and of course I got to share it with you. Thank you. It was not until this morning that ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: You asked me about this prayer – the Anima Christi – which has its name from the first two words in the (original) Latin form of it. This prayer was thought to have been composed by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491/2 – 1556). It was, as it turns out, not authored by Ignatius, but esteemed by him. Let us read through the whole prayer first. SOUL of Christ, sanctify me ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: We always get surprised by things; that is for sure! You have been lurking among the books in the theological Library to do with Satan and with Witchcraft! And this caused you to ask me about censorship, and whether it would not be quite appropriate for the Library to remove such books from the shelves. Good question. First of all, I was not aware of such a collection of books...  Read More

Dear Peregrina: I had lost track of the fact that today is the first year anniversary of a profound irruption of challenging experiences into your married relationship. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “irruption” in this way: “The action of bursting or breaking in; a violent entry, inroad, incursion, or invasion, esp. of a hostile force or tribe...  Read More

Dear Peregrina: I was thinking about this quote this morning from the writing of Anne Lamott: “I do not understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” Besides it being an insightful quote, I was struck by her use of the pronoun “it” to describe divine grace, and found myself wondering about this. Why? Because...  Read More

Dear Peregrina: I might as well admit that I feel awe whenever I have the chance to go visit Crater Lake, which I did recently, when I was driving on June 17th, making my way with Lexie (the car) towards Los Altos, CA, and to the Jesuit Retreat Center there, for the sake of directing the Long Retreat. One assumes that the awe induced there at Crater Lake in all but those deadest of soul has ...  Read More