Good Friday

Picked up Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror, her narrative history of 14th century France (and England), framed around the life and times of Enguerrand de Coucy. You’d think a departure from plague-related material would be more in order, but no. It was hoped by some that the Black Death would occasion greater piety and a return to moral decency by some of the time. Alas, it was not necessarily to be. In between waves of the plague, the survivors basically went right back to what they were doing beforehand. The normal, writes Tuchman, has a powerful draw.

In any case, I’m also (re)reading Death on a Friday Afternoon, a series of meditations on the Seven Last Words of Jesus by Richard John Neuhaus. I’d nearly forgotten what a wonderful writer he was. I miss his columns and observations.

The Good Friday liturgy was streamed from our local parish, but there were audio issues. The cantor was loud and clear but we could barely hear the priests. Followed along the readings and caught the gist of Father’s homily. I hope they get it all sorted by tomorrow night.

The weather is still lovely, though a little on the cold side today. There’ll be frost tonight and bad weather in store for the next couple of days. Hopefully we’ve come to an end of the chilliness for good. It was positively summer-like a few days ago and we jumped the gun and did some planting, rather than waiting until Tax Day, which marks the traditional last-frost day for our area. I’ve covered a few things up and will hope for the best.

We were delighted to spot a screech owl hanging around the nesting box that we hung up a few years ago. Very much hoping it decides to hang around. Most of the other birdhouses have residents now, too: bluebirds for the most part, and one that always seems to attract sparrows. I’m sure there’s plenty going on in the trees and shrubs, too.

Next we were supposed to be hosting the vocations director here at our home so that he’d have a chance to meet everyone face to face. It’ll be a videoconference instead. All we can do is all we can do, right?

Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus