Advent – Page 3 – Heather Choate Davis

Thank you, John Patrick Shanley

I find inspiration in many unlikely places. This morning on Facebook there was a quote by the playwright John Patrick Shanley. It was posted by an actress who is deeply committed to teaching theater in New York. I met her this year at a reading: she brought a wonderful short, short story and I readContinue reading “Thank you, John Patrick Shanley”

Which one are you?

We are not so distant from the Christmas story, you and I. Today I offer up this work as an icon, a meditation on love, peace, and the power of God newly born in our lives. May it bring you joy this day. “The Adoration of the Shepherds” by Georges de La Tour, c. 1640

Entrance Requirements

This time of year so many long to find a way to enter the Christmas story but cannot. This poem by Mary Oliver, from her book Dream Work, may open a door. I hope so…. Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for aContinue reading “Entrance Requirements”

O Simplicitas

Today, as we near the end of the third week in Advent, we pair the art of Donald Grant, in his 1992 work, “Vessel,” with the poetry of Madeleine L’Engle. May it help us remember that, although the words——Bethlehem, manger, cattle lowing——may seem outdated, the Word of God is timeless. Radical. And personal. O SimplicitasContinue reading “O Simplicitas”

Healed by song

Advent is a time of truth-telling and so I will tell you this: I have a horrible singing voice. But I love to sing—Christmas carols in their season— and throughout the year, the chants of Taize. I know that I feel more human, and more free of the burden of being human, after belting outContinue reading “Healed by song”