Good morning, Digital Neighbors! Happy Tuesday! After yesterday’s long post, I think something shorter, simpler, and more fun is in order. Another visit from The Little Book of Lost Words: Collywobbles, Snollygosters, and 86 Other Surprisingly Useful Terms Worth Resurrecting.
Quaintrelle Noun | kweyn-trell | Nineteenth century. English.
SOMEONE WHO LIVES A LIFE FULL OF PASSION, LEISURE, AND ENJOYMENT.
Well, I try to maintain two out of three of those qualities. Leisure is a bit elusive, but the other two are easy enough to embrace. I try to bring as much passion and enjoyment to my ministry as I can. I have often reflected on C. S. Lewis’s musing that the redeemed don’t act like they are redeemed. It doesn’t mean we are clowns or off-the-wall saps for God, but rather a natural joy that flows from gratitude because of what we believe about God’s goodness, truth, and beauty. I try to season my goings-about with a sense of appreciation, humor, and verbal playfulness most of the time.
One of my habits as a priest is to arrive about an hour before Mass to greet people. On good days I am usually outside—I have on my vestments and a woolen cloak if it’s cold. Other than rain, I’m usually greeting people outside. On Sundays I like to play music before Mass, and it is often a springboard for connection and comments when people hear me listening to songs or artists they enjoy. I cover a wide range of genres: rock, pop, country, jazz, big band, lounge, classical, and ethnic music.
It was a cold winter morning—the temperature was at zero or below—and I opted to stay indoors that Sunday. Walt was a Korean War veteran in his 80s and came to the early morning Mass every Sunday. We knew each other well enough to joke back and forth. Walt said, “Too cold for you, candy-ass?” I said, “Walt, that is Father Candy-ass to you.” He laughed so loud when I didn’t miss a beat. I thank my mother for that quick wit—Mom was one of the funniest women I have ever known. Walt never stopped smiling the whole Mass anytime we made eye contact. Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. After faith and prayer, joy and laughter are the greatest blessings in my life. Have a great day, my friends!
Kylmäluoma, Finlandia - Pietro Dona-Unsplash
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
The Beautiful
Said the Disciple to the Lover, “Sir, before I left the world I heard certain men who were held in high esteem and thought to know the will of the Beloved say that those who loved the Beautiful did not love the Beloved but loved idols, yet in the Garden of the Beloved we are ever striving to create beauty for the pleasure of the Beloved. Were they then speaking the truth?”
The Lover answered, “Those who said this had never glimpsed the form of the Beloved nor ever truly sought Him, for all beauty is but the reflection of the beauty of the Beloved, although seen very dimly as in a dark and faulty mirror, even as all goodness is a dim reflection of the goodness of the Beloved. So it is that those who love beauty and goodness recognize dimly in them the form of the Beloved and though often in ignorance those who are seeking the Beautiful and the Good are seeking after the Beloved.”
