Damascus Road: Pre-War

In Damascus, people whisper when out in public. When a waiter arrives at a table, people stop talking… Then he said what I kept hearing over and over on this trip: “Syrians cannot do this to other Syrians.” (Janine di Giovanni, “Seven Days in Syria”) In the days before spring burst in war, some stillContinue reading “Damascus Road: Pre-War”

Damascus Road: Paris Interlude

Now it happens in places with names we know: near streets we have walked, in stadiums and concert halls, in coffee shops, where violence never breathed before, where we were safe. Now we look for signs of links to Syria, to al-Assad, ISIL, and cells which fire. Nothing has prepared us, yet to others thisContinue reading “Damascus Road: Paris Interlude”

Damascus Road Prayers: Prologue

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one true God. Glory be to Him; and may His grace and mercy be upon us for ever. Amen. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, by whose glory, the heaven and the earth are filled; Hosanna in the highest.  BlessedContinue reading “Damascus Road Prayers: Prologue”

Catechism 44

What is baptism? Baptism is the washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it signifies and seals our adoption into Christ, our cleansing from sin, and our commitment to belong to the Lord and to his church. (New City Catechism) Why water? First He hovered, spirit, aboveContinue reading “Catechism 44”