Paraclete Press Blog

By Faithful Finch I have been taken with this fresco of St. Francis for the last two months. Monsignor Timothy Verdon spoke about how St. Francis spontaneously threw off his cloak to offer it to a nobleman he met who … Continue reading →

By Sr. Spero Recently a sister wrote about learning to leave well enough alone—learning not to straighten the crooked picture. That’s not my bent. My struggle is careless inattention to detail. I’m more apt to say: “crooked picture? what picture?” We are … Continue reading →

By Sr. Fidelis In 2007, I had the privilege of being part of a group of four cantors who spent the entire summer studying chant with Mary Berry in Cambridge, England. Dr. Berry taught us much about chant, and welcomed … Continue reading →

By Sr. Spero I was checking the title of a book about John Henry Newman, with the same title as his poem which became a popular hymn. The three words are Lead, Kindly, and Light, but there was also a comma, … Continue reading →

By Faithful Friar A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of hosting the Ringers from Trinity Church in New York City for an afternoon of ringing. Their tower is currently under construction for maintenance work, and they are using … Continue reading →

When life hands you lemons, tread water. Presumptive lemonade could be a mistake. When I read the Psalms, I’m intrigued by the amount of waiting the writer describes. Usually, he’s made a mess of his life, lost his way, or … Continue reading →

For many of us, the story of Guido d’ Arezzo was made legend while in music school. Fr. Klarmann, in his book Gregorian Chant, tells a very interesting tale  that reminds us again that monastic life can be quite exciting, … Continue reading →

BEDE  —  672–735 I like St. Bede.  He went to live in a monastery at age 7 and never left the monastic life. He traveled to many places and met many Christian writers, but only through books, as his monastery … Continue reading →

During a very busy weekend , the  phrase “the net did not break” jumped out at me from Sunday’s Gospel reading. .   [John 21:11] It’s a familiar story, although I had never noticed this phrase before.  Jesus appeared to Peter … Continue reading →