Letters On The Page

Cal Newport. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout . Portfolio/Penguin, 2024.  Newport continues a trajectory of thought about doing good, focused, and meaningful work that is present in his previous books: Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, and A World Without Email. His intended audience are knowledge workers who have some autonomy and need creativity in order to flourish. Newport consistently argues that it is indeed possible to organize one's work life in such a way as to not be carried away by pseudo-busyness and distractions. His books put the brakes on the notion that one must always be "available" and that the fast turn around is the best response to requests. Newport helps the reader identify unproductive "distractions" and habits that inhibit good, creative work.  I hope that knowledge work managers read this book and begin to implement different management techniques for their employees. Workers who are constantly harassed with...

Mother of Perpetual Help               Vespers at St. Luke, Rensselaer 2024 Third Midweek in Advent        Luke 1:46-55   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Mary was correct when she predicted, “ For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed .” Many Christians regularly remember and recite her cousin Elizabeth’s Holy Spirit led declaration. “ Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb .” Even if we do not regular recite that Bible verse, Christians certainly agree with her statement. What a privilege to be the mother of God! As it has come to pass, we do remember Mary with high regard. We cannot speak of Jesus without also remembering Mary. For example, in the second articles of both the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, we confess explicitly that Jesus is born of the virgin Mary. The Ath...

The O-antiphons are used in the Vesper liturgy from December 17-23. These antiphons are familiar to us through the Advent hymn: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel . Each O-antiphon focuses on a Scriptural title for Christ Jesus found in Isaiah.  Wisdom - Isaiah 11:2-3  O Lord of Might - Isaiah 11:4-5 O Root/Branch/Rod of Jesse - Isaiah 11:1 & 10 O Key of David - Isaiah 22:22 O Dayspring - Isaiah 9:2 O Desire of the Nations/King of Gentiles - Isaiah 2:4; 9:6; 11:10-12 O Emmanuel - Isaiah 7:14 "The basic progression of themes can be understood this way: The framer of the Universe (Wisdom) Who gave the Law (Adonai) promised through David’s throne (Radix Jesse) to set free the captives of sin (Clavis David) and bring the Light of salvation to dawn (Oriens) not only on His chosen people but all nations (Rex Gentium) and dwell with us as one of us eternally (Emmanuel)."   https://steadfastlutherans.org/blog/2013/12/the-o-antiphons/ Here is a helpful Lutheran explanation Click here fo...

Image address        Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer   Third Sunday in Advent         Zephaniah 3:14-20  Philippians 4:4-7    Luke 7:18-35 Are you the one? Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  From his imprisonment, John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask a single question:  Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?  For those of us who are familiar with the background story of John the Baptist and Jesus, we may find the question rather odd. They are related. Their respective mothers are cousins. After Mary became pregnant she went to stay with Elizabeth for a time. We are told in Luke’s Gospel that John leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary arrived.  As adults John and Jesus knew each other. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, John the Baptist poi...

Image Link   2024 Advent 2 Midweek        Psalm 66:1-12              Luke 1:39-45 Babies move around in their mother’s wombs for all kinds of reasons. Each child is different. Some are more active than others. Some start testing the boundaries sooner than others. Other times it is because they need a different position. For example, when Momma is laying down on her back and her spine is uncomfortable. I have also heard that babies in the womb can move around more due to Momma’s mood or because of what she just ate or drank.  Years ago, Marie and I were at a dinner party. Two of the women were pregnant for the first time. One mother drank some coffee. A minute or two later we all observed movement, whether in displeasure, pleasure, or because of the rush of energy from the caffeine, I cannot say for certain. But it was a source of amusement for us to behold the direct connection between mother’s int...

Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer          Image in Public Domain Second Sunday in  Advent   Malachi 3:1-7b                   Philippians 1:2-11                   Luke 3:1-20 One of the numerous pleasures of serving here is the time I spend on two lane roads. I enjoy the pace, except, of course when I am behind someone traveling 40-45 mph in a 55mph zone. Generally, all goes well until something really big comes from the opposite direction. Thankfully, they always have a vehicle in front with yellow lights, flags, and a wide-load sign prominently displayed warning those of us with eyes to see that we should move to the right a bit and give room.  Not long ago, I was driving through Francisville, when one of those advance vehicles was straddling the center yellow line. Han...