Posted by Holly Ordway in Christian Life | 2 Comments
Are You a St Paul or a St Peter?
Saints Peter and Paul – the steady fisherman and the fiery Pharisee, the devoted disciple and the persecutor-turned-apostle. Every congregation is filled with Peters and Pauls – which one are you? In Peter we see the Christian who has been raised in the church. Peter has no dramatic conversion experience, no abrupt shift from darkness to light; rather, he has spent a long time...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in New poetry | 3 Comments
Walking Shotover Hill: A CS Lewis-Inspired Sonnet
“The very air here calls my heart to dance…” I wrote this sonnet while staying as a Scholar in Residence at the Kilns, C.S. Lewis’ home. During my stay, I realized that Oxford, and the Kilns and surrounding woods and fields in particular, is a ‘thin place’ for me: a place where what one might call the further dimensions of reality, the spiritual...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in Literature & Literary Apologetics | 4 Comments
Miscellany 20: Rejoicing in Books
This Miscellany is all about rejoicing in books. Here is a splendid reminder of the importance of books in the home: a study indicating that “Regular access to books has a direct impact on pupils’ results, irrespective of parents’ own education, occupation and social class.” One of the things I’m most grateful for, in my childhood, is that my parents always...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in Literature & Literary Apologetics, New poetry | 2 Comments
If Life Is a Story
Shakespeare has his character Jaques in As You Like It declare that “All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players”. Those lines are sometimes quoted out of context with a kind of blind enthusiasm for drama as a source of meaning in life, but in the play, Jaques mercilessly goes through the seven ages of man, concluding with “Last scene...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in Book Reviews | 0 Comments
The Top Seven Posts from 2011
Here is a selection of seven of the most-read posts of 2011. In the (hopeful) presumption people liked them on the first go-round, I’ve listed them here, so that if there’s something interesting that you missed, you can read it now. (I am pleased to note that several of the most-read post are also particular favorites of mine!) The Spiritual Journey in Dante’s Divine Comedy....
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in New poetry | 0 Comments
A Sonnet for The Kilns
As I write this, I am staying at The Kilns as a Scholar in Residence through the CS Lewis Foundation. It’s my first visit to The Kilns, and it’s marvelous. The house has been lovingly restored by volunteer labor to be much as possible how it was when CS Lewis and his brother Warnie lived here. None of the original furniture is here (it was sold off at auction at...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in Guest Post, Uncategorized | 3 Comments
Most-Read Guest Posts of 2011
One of the things I’m quite pleased about for Hieropraxis is that in 2011 I managed to cadge a substantial number of really excellent pieces from various friends. Here are some of the most-viewed posts from the work of my Hieropraxis friends: a kind of ‘best-of’ in case you missed any of these when they first appeared: Surprised by Tolkien by Mary Mueller. In Enlivened by...
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