Home Again, Home Again…

I’m back from K’zoo. The presentation went quite well, I thought. As I was only on site 1 day, I didn’t get to see nearly the folks I had hoped including Michelle, theSwain and the reclusive H.E. On the other hand, I presented in the same session as B. Hawk and ran into Dr. Nokes in the book room.
The book room was quite nice—not as grand as the one at the combined AAR/SBL (shall we see its like again?)—but nice. I picked up volumes 1 and 2 of de Lubac’s classic Medieval Exegesis and started reading it one the drive home. I’ve dipped into it from time to time but have never actually sat down and read it cover to cover as it deserves. Such an amazing work.
I’ve become enamoured of XML. All of the major text encoding projects in the Humanities use it. I guess it’s finally time to look a little deeper. I am fascinated by its ability to manipulate a text while still keeping it in a textual format (unlike other databasing options).
While I was gone the Cafe ran a piece of mine on salvation. I’m becoming increasingly frustrated in the ways that we both do and don’t teach the faith. As I note in this one, we tend to cede important framings of the debate to others and therefore either lose or make ourselves irrelevant apparently by choice.
We need to rethink catechetics. More on this later.
bls has located another great text, this one a discussion of the Sarum Gradual’s procession from the Roman Gradual by Blessed Frere.
The bishop-elect of N. Michigan has put out an explanation which I’ve not read but has been measured and found wanting by several colleagues. I feel no need to comment further…
Fr. Reid of St Clement’s has a great post on lessons learned in his London parish which should be read by all who belong to or have an interested in city churches. Smokey Mary already does something like this but this model has great potential for churches in non-residential areas whose numbers and vitality have ebbed in recent years. (And of course gutting the place is never a help…)
I finally got off my butt and called a wonderful priest in the area (Fr. Former Priest for those who know) whom I’m hoping will become my spiritual director. I was pleasantly surprised that he remembered me and we’re looking forward to getting together and talking.