Rick Warren and Thomas Merton

Both Rick Warren and Thomas Merton are spiritual writers whose books have reached far beyond their denominations. I had purchased Warren's The Purpose Driven Life because some of the people in my parish were reading it in their small groups. However, I never got around to reading it. When I opened it the other day and began to read it, I was struck both by how similar and how very different its first chapter was to the introductory chapter of Merton's Seeds of Contemplation. 

Below I have summarized each chapter sticking very closely to their words.

Contemplative Prayer Retreat

 

This is where I was this weekend, at the St. Benedict Center, Christ the King Priory, in Schuyler, NE.  The large mural on the right is the Misereor Lenten Veil, 1996, by artist Sieger Köder. It is a triptych. I will have a closer image of it, and some information about it, after the break.

The retreat was the first silent one I have ever attended. It was also the simplest one I have ever experienced.  In some ways the silence was something I had to adjust to, but that part was surprisingly easy.

Incoming mail at the parish

A new book arrives, unsolicited.

Southern Baptists Expel Saddleback over Women Pastors

 The Cleveland Plain Dealer coverage as picked up by MSN:

Nation’s largest Protestant denomination expels giant megachurch for allowing a woman role as pastor

The move to expel Saddleback Church with California’s largest congregation is part of a dispute that has festered since 2021 when the church’s founder, best-selling author and pastor Rick Warren, ordained three women as pastors.

With its vote, the Southern Baptist Convention has cut ties between the nation’s largest Protestant denomination — which officially opposes women as pastors — and one of the biggest church-growth successes of modern times.

At issue is the role of Stacie Wood, the wife of the church’s head pastor, Andy Wood. Stacie Wood has led services as pastor at least three times since her husband was commissioned at Saddleback late in 2022

The Executive Committee also expelled four smaller churches for having women in pastor roles.

Two of those churches have female senior pastors (New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Georgia, and St. Timothy’s Christian Baptist in Baltimore, Maryland) and two others have female lead pastors (Calvary Baptist in

The New York Times Coverage

Southern Baptists Expel Saddleback Church Over Female Pastor

Our joyful, praise-filled covenant with God

Morning Prayer on Ash Wednesday steers us away from wallowing too much in our own sinfulness.  We are in a relationship with God.  Let's lean into it!

Lenten Reflections

 Michael Sean Winters has a good piece on the NCR site today, titled "Why Catholics Need Ash Wednesday".  Why Catholics need Ash Wednesday | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)

The whole article is worth reading, but I will post some excerpts here, along with some personal reflections following:

"Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, but it always draws larger crowds than any celebrations, save Christmas and Easter. All Saints' Day and the feast of the Immaculate Conception are holy days of obligation, and most parishes see more communicants than a typical weekday, but nothing like the standing-room-only crowds of Ash Wednesday."

Cheater lasagna

In a recent conversation, Stanley invoked lasagna and drew some enthusiastic responses.  I make lasagna, and it's pretty good.  But if you're a lasagna purist, it's emphatically not real lasagna.  Even if you're into stuffed shells or cannelloni, it's not really those, either.  But it's relatively quick and easy, and it's good.  It's meatless, so it works for Fridays during Lent, too.   Here is the recipe: