Celtic Odyssey

Loving God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

All loving and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, our Father-Mother; who with the Child and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Common English Bible has been released digitally today. It's already available for Nook and Kindle , as well as iPad, iPhone, and a host of other ways. It is also available online at BibleGateway.com as well as it's own website . According to one article : Combining scholarly accuracy with vivid language, the Common English Bible is the work of 120 biblical scholars from 24 denominations in American, African, Asian, European, and Latino communities, representing such academic institutions as Asbury Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University, Bethel Seminary, Denver Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Seattle Pacific University, Wheaton College, Yale University, and many others. This is a fascinating translation that I have really enjoyed. A couple of things I like about it is first the collaborative effort used by the translators. From the same article: “The Common English Bible is the result of collaboration between opposites: men working with women;...

I received this beautiful rosary from a friend of mine. He made it himself (well, not the cross). It's really nice and I am humbled and honored to have it. Thank you, Brad.

This year’s retreat was loaded with many unexpected things - a car wreck; a companion, a new friend, new faces, ordination, and a host of other things made it a trip worth remembering. So let’s jump right to it! We were on our way to the airport at roughly 03:00 in the morning, when a person driving a big car (like a four-door Lincoln Continental) just started coming into our lane. We swerved to miss this person, lost control of the car, spun around in circles and bounced off the concrete dividing wall a couple of times. (The other driver didn’t stop.) There were four of us in the car and we all got out with only some bruises and achy muscles. (I’m so thankful for the kind woman who stopped and checked on us. She just happened to be the TSA person who was at our security check point at the airport!) We made our flight and had to deal with the car when we got back. Our flight was fine and uneventful (thankfully) and we arrived on time in Elmira, New York. My friend John Finn picked ...

O God, the Savior of glory, you have exalted your only Child Jesus Christ with great triumph to your realm of heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.