Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the … Continue reading What is Lent?
Driven into Wilderness (Year One, 1 Epiphany, Monday)
Photo by Kiwihug on Unsplash After much reflection and research, I purchased a lovely two-volume set of "Revised Office Readings" in preparation for 2019. There are various lectionaries (or collections/lists of scripture readings appointed for any given day of the year) and I have found them useful both in deciding what to read, and in … Continue reading Driven into Wilderness (Year One, 1 Epiphany, Monday)
Best of 2018
Television (watched though not necessarily released in 2018)*blurbs from IMDB The Handmaid's Tale (Seasons 1 & 2; Hulu): "Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship."Killing Eve (Season 1; BBC America): "A security operative hunts for an assassin. Based on the Villanelle novellas by Luke … Continue reading Best of 2018
A Eulogy for John Rempel
The following was given in honour of John Rempel at his funeral on a sunny afternoon on March 1, 2018. Good afternoon. My name is Suhail and I am married to John Rempel’s eldest granddaughter, Jennifer. I might as well have been his grandson because John was entirely welcoming from the moment I met him … Continue reading A Eulogy for John Rempel
Best of 2017
Film (watched though not necessarily released in 2017) 01. Lion 02. Silence 03. La La Land 04. Dunkirk 05. Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King 06. Wind River 07. The 13th 08. The Salesman 09. The Light Between Oceans 10. The Big Sick 11. Logan 12. Chasing Coral 13. Jerry Before Seinfeld 14. Gaga: Five Foot Two … Continue reading Best of 2017
Being a Father: 14 Vignettes
It's 10:43am on the 18th of September and you are being born. Dark hair is covering your head and clay-coloured vernix is coating your body. You're screaming. You're being warmed and weighed. I'm apprehending your pain. I am unsure when I get to hold you; asking the nurses if I should take my shirt off. … Continue reading Being a Father: 14 Vignettes
Becoming a Father
I've always wanted to have children. When Jennifer and I got married, I was slightly reticent if only because I wanted to prolong marital bliss and because I assumed that the second we started trying, we'd get pregnant. We fawned over baby clothes, imagining how cute our beige child would look. We even bought some tiny, … Continue reading Becoming a Father
Prayer as Movement
When I lived in Israel, my favourite "holy site" - by far - was the Garden of Gethsemane. Christian tradition holds Gethsemane as the place where Jesus heaved in gruelling prayer (even sweating drops of blood, according to the gospel of Luke) prior to being betrayed and arrested. Suitably, the episode is often described as "the Agony." … Continue reading Prayer as Movement
Finger of Death
Often before we eat at drop-in (our church gathering with people from the street), I'll ask if anyone would like to pray for our meal. On this particular morning, I looked around and someone who I had never seen before raised his hand. Grateful, I walked towards him and gave him the microphone. A beautiful, articulate prayer poured through the speakers. Afterwards, … Continue reading Finger of Death
Silence: Love Suffers Long in Scorcese’s Latest
Warning: Contains Spoilers. Moments before Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) apostatizes (that is, abandons the faith), he sees five bodies mummified in burlap, hanging upside down in pits. Their necks have been nicked, slightly, to prevent blood from amassing in their heads in favour of it dripping into the pits. They are alive, groaning into the night … Continue reading Silence: Love Suffers Long in Scorcese’s Latest
Writing Is Prayer 