Christian F. Casper
@cfcasper.bsky.social
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Personal account
St. Benedict and St. Francis, pray for us
Personal account
St. Benedict and St. Francis, pray for us
Pinned
Christian F. Casper
@cfcasper.bsky.social
· Dec 12
Dec 12 - Our Lady of Guadalupe
Beneath her mantle and her banner
All those vast lands are warmed,
But what we seek in them must be
First by her love transformed.
And so, Diego's cloak poured forth
Not conquest but sweet flowers
And Mary chose a tattered cloth
To first unveil her powers.
Beneath her mantle and her banner
All those vast lands are warmed,
But what we seek in them must be
First by her love transformed.
And so, Diego's cloak poured forth
Not conquest but sweet flowers
And Mary chose a tattered cloth
To first unveil her powers.
Reposted by Christian F. Casper
Jan 23 Scripture
The account of David sparing Saul's life is a magnificent example of how conversation, compassion, and goodwill can transform personal relationships and social realities (1 Sam 24:3-21). Peacemaking is not accomplished by threats and violence. It takes humility and honesty.
The account of David sparing Saul's life is a magnificent example of how conversation, compassion, and goodwill can transform personal relationships and social realities (1 Sam 24:3-21). Peacemaking is not accomplished by threats and violence. It takes humility and honesty.
January 23, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Jan 23 Scripture
The account of David sparing Saul's life is a magnificent example of how conversation, compassion, and goodwill can transform personal relationships and social realities (1 Sam 24:3-21). Peacemaking is not accomplished by threats and violence. It takes humility and honesty.
The account of David sparing Saul's life is a magnificent example of how conversation, compassion, and goodwill can transform personal relationships and social realities (1 Sam 24:3-21). Peacemaking is not accomplished by threats and violence. It takes humility and honesty.
Samuel Barber, d. January 23, 1981
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace
Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings, Opus 1) - Samuel Barber | National Lutheran Choir
YouTube video by National Lutheran Choir
youtu.be
January 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Samuel Barber, d. January 23, 1981
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace
My new St. Nicholas icon in its permanent place on our mantel last evening
The iconographer is a thirty-year-old Ukrainian, Kateryna Shadrina. I saw her work in an exhibition three summers ago in Dayton, fell in love with it, and was pleased to find some of it within my available price range.
The iconographer is a thirty-year-old Ukrainian, Kateryna Shadrina. I saw her work in an exhibition three summers ago in Dayton, fell in love with it, and was pleased to find some of it within my available price range.
January 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM
My new St. Nicholas icon in its permanent place on our mantel last evening
The iconographer is a thirty-year-old Ukrainian, Kateryna Shadrina. I saw her work in an exhibition three summers ago in Dayton, fell in love with it, and was pleased to find some of it within my available price range.
The iconographer is a thirty-year-old Ukrainian, Kateryna Shadrina. I saw her work in an exhibition three summers ago in Dayton, fell in love with it, and was pleased to find some of it within my available price range.
Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
"The women played and sang: 'Saul has slain his thousands, / and David his ten thousands'"
bible.usccb.org/bible/readin...
"The women played and sang: 'Saul has slain his thousands, / and David his ten thousands'"
bible.usccb.org/bible/readin...
January 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
"The women played and sang: 'Saul has slain his thousands, / and David his ten thousands'"
bible.usccb.org/bible/readin...
"The women played and sang: 'Saul has slain his thousands, / and David his ten thousands'"
bible.usccb.org/bible/readin...
As I've mentioned before, I have a niche interest in border-crossing in the Middle Ages. This is one of my favorite little details about my patron saint, Bede.
Jan 22: Feast of Anastasius (†628), Persian monk who was tortured and put to death at Caesarea. Bede rewrote his Life, and it is probable that his feast was celebrated at Uuiremutha (Monkwearmouth), pictured, and Gyruum (Jarrow). 📸John Armagh #medievalsky
January 22, 2026 at 11:30 AM
As I've mentioned before, I have a niche interest in border-crossing in the Middle Ages. This is one of my favorite little details about my patron saint, Bede.
National Art Museum of Ukraine
artsandculture.google.com/asset/fwG9-w...
I collect Annunciations at home. My other original Ukrainian icon (see previous post) is an Annunciation by Kateryna Shadrina.
artsandculture.google.com/asset/fwG9-w...
I collect Annunciations at home. My other original Ukrainian icon (see previous post) is an Annunciation by Kateryna Shadrina.
January 21, 2026 at 11:00 PM
National Art Museum of Ukraine
artsandculture.google.com/asset/fwG9-w...
I collect Annunciations at home. My other original Ukrainian icon (see previous post) is an Annunciation by Kateryna Shadrina.
artsandculture.google.com/asset/fwG9-w...
I collect Annunciations at home. My other original Ukrainian icon (see previous post) is an Annunciation by Kateryna Shadrina.
Icon of St. Nicholas of Myra — an original — written by Ukrainian iconographer Kateryna Shadrina (b. 1995). It was waiting on our porch this morning and I brought it to work so I could enjoy it.
iconart-gallery.com/uk/catalogue...
iconart-gallery.com/uk/catalogue...
January 21, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Icon of St. Nicholas of Myra — an original — written by Ukrainian iconographer Kateryna Shadrina (b. 1995). It was waiting on our porch this morning and I brought it to work so I could enjoy it.
iconart-gallery.com/uk/catalogue...
iconart-gallery.com/uk/catalogue...
Caterina Cherubini Preciado, SAINT AGNES, Museo del Prado, Madrid
www.museodelprado.es/en/the-colle...
www.museodelprado.es/en/the-colle...
Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, pray for us!
January 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Caterina Cherubini Preciado, SAINT AGNES, Museo del Prado, Madrid
www.museodelprado.es/en/the-colle...
www.museodelprado.es/en/the-colle...
January 21, St. Agnes
The Catholic ordo notes that Agnes is patron of Christian virtue confronted by political and social violence.
Alfred Drury, SAINT AGNES, Detroit Institute of Arts
dia.org/collection/s...
The Catholic ordo notes that Agnes is patron of Christian virtue confronted by political and social violence.
Alfred Drury, SAINT AGNES, Detroit Institute of Arts
dia.org/collection/s...
January 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM
January 21, St. Agnes
The Catholic ordo notes that Agnes is patron of Christian virtue confronted by political and social violence.
Alfred Drury, SAINT AGNES, Detroit Institute of Arts
dia.org/collection/s...
The Catholic ordo notes that Agnes is patron of Christian virtue confronted by political and social violence.
Alfred Drury, SAINT AGNES, Detroit Institute of Arts
dia.org/collection/s...
Wooden sculpture, early 16th c., from St Bartholomew's Church, Salo, Finland, now in the National Museum of Finland, Helsinki
finna.fi/Record/museo...
finna.fi/Record/museo...
January 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Wooden sculpture, early 16th c., from St Bartholomew's Church, Salo, Finland, now in the National Museum of Finland, Helsinki
finna.fi/Record/museo...
finna.fi/Record/museo...
The wool from two lambs blessed today will be used to make the pallia presented to new metropolitan archbishops on June 29.
Our local province here, the Province of Detroit, received a new archbishop last year. He's risen to the demands of the time.
Our local province here, the Province of Detroit, received a new archbishop last year. He's risen to the demands of the time.
Today's the feast of St Agnes, 3rd Century Roman virgin martyr. Here she is in 15th Century Norwich School glass at Plumstead, Norfolk, with her conventional symbols of a lamb at her feet and a sword or dagger through her chest. She's the patron saint of girls.
January 21, 2026 at 11:30 AM
The wool from two lambs blessed today will be used to make the pallia presented to new metropolitan archbishops on June 29.
Our local province here, the Province of Detroit, received a new archbishop last year. He's risen to the demands of the time.
Our local province here, the Province of Detroit, received a new archbishop last year. He's risen to the demands of the time.
Giovanni di Paolo, SAINTS FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN, National Gallery, London
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gi...
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gi...
January 20, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Giovanni di Paolo, SAINTS FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN, National Gallery, London
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gi...
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gi...
One year in.
"We Catholics in America at this moment face an unprecedented test of the faith we proclaim."
"We Catholics in America at this moment face an unprecedented test of the faith we proclaim."
Editorial: The church speaks out. A new era has dawned. www.ncronline.org/opinion/edit... @ncronline.bsky.social
Editorial: The church speaks out. A new era has dawned.
It is a new level of opposition for American cardinals to formally question the fundamental morality of an administration's engagement with the world.
www.ncronline.org
January 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM
One year in.
"We Catholics in America at this moment face an unprecedented test of the faith we proclaim."
"We Catholics in America at this moment face an unprecedented test of the faith we proclaim."
Her English translations of St. John of the Cross and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz are superb. Here's John of the Cross:
Del Verbo divino
la Virgen preñada
viene de camino:
¡si le dais posada!
With God's Word — the burgeon
that swells in her womb —
now she comes, the Virgin:
if you give her room!
Del Verbo divino
la Virgen preñada
viene de camino:
¡si le dais posada!
With God's Word — the burgeon
that swells in her womb —
now she comes, the Virgin:
if you give her room!
Happy 94th Birthday to Rhina P. Espaillat!
Our poetry competition named in her honor is open for submissions:
Our poetry competition named in her honor is open for submissions:
Poetry Award
Plough Quarterly will select its Rhina Espaillat Poetry Award winning poems in the summer of 2026.
www.plough.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Her English translations of St. John of the Cross and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz are superb. Here's John of the Cross:
Del Verbo divino
la Virgen preñada
viene de camino:
¡si le dais posada!
With God's Word — the burgeon
that swells in her womb —
now she comes, the Virgin:
if you give her room!
Del Verbo divino
la Virgen preñada
viene de camino:
¡si le dais posada!
With God's Word — the burgeon
that swells in her womb —
now she comes, the Virgin:
if you give her room!
Reposted by Christian F. Casper
The Trinity, a woodcut by Władysław Skoczylas, 1922.
January 20, 2026 at 11:38 AM
The Trinity, a woodcut by Władysław Skoczylas, 1922.
January 20, 2026 at 12:00 PM
In recent years I've found myself endlessly fascinated by church dedications.
Today's the feasts of St Fabian and St Sebastian, 3rd Century Roman martyrs. The only church in England dedicated to them both is in the polite Norfolk village of Woodbastwick, better known to many as home to the Woodforde brewery.
Woodbastwick: www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/woodbastwick...
Woodbastwick: www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/woodbastwick...
January 20, 2026 at 11:30 AM
In recent years I've found myself endlessly fascinated by church dedications.
Since being enrolled in the brown scapular last spring I've been considering who my favorite Carmelite saint is and I think it's Titus Brandsma.
🕊️ Saint Titus Brandsma was arrested by the Nazi security police on January 19, 1942. This account traces the moment faith, conscience, and state power collided—and the courage that followed.
🔗 https://twp.ai/ImuuXi
#SaintTitusBrandsma #ReligiousFreedom #WorldWarII
🔗 https://twp.ai/ImuuXi
#SaintTitusBrandsma #ReligiousFreedom #WorldWarII
January 20, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Since being enrolled in the brown scapular last spring I've been considering who my favorite Carmelite saint is and I think it's Titus Brandsma.
"The Archbishop of the Military Services said the Trump administration's threat to attack the territory ‘tarnishes the image of the United States in our world'."
Broglio: US personnel could disobey ‘immoral’ orders against Greenland - The Tablet
Catholic personnel in the US military could in good conscience consider disobeying orders to attack Greenland, according to the bishop responsible for their
www.thetablet.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 11:00 PM
"The Archbishop of the Military Services said the Trump administration's threat to attack the territory ‘tarnishes the image of the United States in our world'."
Reposted by Christian F. Casper
Underscoring Pope Leo’s call for just and peaceful relations among nations, three cardinals have issued a statement on U.S. foreign policy: https://ow.ly/zgor50XZP3c
Three US Cardinals: Foreign policy must respect human dignity, religious liberty - Vatican News
A week after Pope Leo XIV’s ‘State of the World’ address, American Cardinals Cupich, McElroy, and Tobin release a joint statement renouncing war and ...
ow.ly
January 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Underscoring Pope Leo’s call for just and peaceful relations among nations, three cardinals have issued a statement on U.S. foreign policy: https://ow.ly/zgor50XZP3c
"King’s nonviolence [. . .] sought not the humiliation of opponents, but their conversion. It understood suffering not as passivity, but as disciplined endurance that participates, without romanticizing pain, in a tradition of redemptive suffering ordered toward reconciliation."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolence was born from years of formation as a mentee of Howard Thurman and reader of Gandhi, two figures with wide-reaching legacies.
Dr. Malcolm K. Oliver writes that we too must learn from King's philosophical formation. www.blackcatholicmes...
Dr. Malcolm K. Oliver writes that we too must learn from King's philosophical formation. www.blackcatholicmes...
January 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM
"King’s nonviolence [. . .] sought not the humiliation of opponents, but their conversion. It understood suffering not as passivity, but as disciplined endurance that participates, without romanticizing pain, in a tradition of redemptive suffering ordered toward reconciliation."
Reposted by Christian F. Casper
Reposted by Christian F. Casper
“What Does It Mean To Be a Drum Major for Justice,” Asks Archbishop Coakley
In a reflection commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Archbishop Coakley focused on a portion of Dr. King’s sermon, "Drum Major Instinct."
Read the full reflection at: https://ow.ly/9qEl50XZpqX
In a reflection commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Archbishop Coakley focused on a portion of Dr. King’s sermon, "Drum Major Instinct."
Read the full reflection at: https://ow.ly/9qEl50XZpqX
January 19, 2026 at 2:03 PM
“What Does It Mean To Be a Drum Major for Justice,” Asks Archbishop Coakley
In a reflection commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Archbishop Coakley focused on a portion of Dr. King’s sermon, "Drum Major Instinct."
Read the full reflection at: https://ow.ly/9qEl50XZpqX
In a reflection commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Archbishop Coakley focused on a portion of Dr. King’s sermon, "Drum Major Instinct."
Read the full reflection at: https://ow.ly/9qEl50XZpqX
January 19, translation feast of St. Canute the Holy, patron of Denmark
Pray for Denmark and for Greenland against American aggression. I can't believe I'm writing this.
Pray for Denmark and for Greenland against American aggression. I can't believe I'm writing this.
January 19, 2026 at 2:00 PM
January 19, translation feast of St. Canute the Holy, patron of Denmark
Pray for Denmark and for Greenland against American aggression. I can't believe I'm writing this.
Pray for Denmark and for Greenland against American aggression. I can't believe I'm writing this.
Office of Readings for Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
It is better to be a Christian without saying it than to proclaim it without being one.* ~ St. Ignatius of Antioch (Letter to the Ephesians, Office of Readings for today) (1/2)
January 19, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Office of Readings for Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time