Lesser Feasts

  Sir David Young Cameron, Lorne I love D. Y. Cameron. His landscapes show a wide range of color palettes, but the work is always recognizably his, and I'm strangely drawn to the darker, more muted paintings. I know this landscape. I've hiked in this landscape. I've fallen into bogs in this landscape. What a joy to have this week of giving thanks and slowing down. I've been reading an actual novel -- for pleasure! -- Patrick Gale's A Perfectly Good Man . I've recorded eight more episodes of the Noonday Prayer podcast . I have offered the holy sacrifice of the Mass (and/or commemorated the Lord's Supper, according to your preference). And yeah, I've acquired a Scottish landscape painting I quite love. Almighty God, Father of all mercies  . . .

Sir William George Gillies, Galloway Landscape  (1953) I'm not entirely sure how the last three weeks became so busy, chaotic, and stressful. I felt completely overwhelmed. Yet I have a light teaching load and none of the responsibilities that many academics have (caring for children or elderly parents, for example); it should all have been a cakewalk, and I am a bit mystified about what happened. Well, fine, I overcommitted myself, and I took on time-consuming unpaid labor for no good reason other than "It would be nice for this to be done, and if I don't do it, no one else will." (Which in fact is not a good reason.) I did meet some urgent deadlines, though not always in the most graceful or impressive way. But I also neglected some important conversations and dear friends. It was not a great time. But at 9:30 pm on Saturday the last of my tasks was completed, and I didn't entirely embarrass myself, and I felt such immense and immediate peace. Sunday worship was...