Comments for Hieropraxis

Comment on Shadow and Light: A Lenten Reflection by Holly Ordway

Holly Ordway — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:27:36 +0000

Tom, thank you for your very kind words! I am very glad that my piece is going to be of some help to you in your Lenten series. I’m glad you commented – it’s an encouragement to me to know that my work is useful.

Comment on Shadow and Light: A Lenten Reflection by Pastor Tom Rhodes

Pastor Tom Rhodes — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:46:34 +0000

Dear Dr. Ordway -Thank you for this reflection. My sermon series for Lent this year comes from an old book of pericopes – and the series in there called Lenten Shadow and Light is what we are following. By the use of ‘pairs’ (2 Disciples – Judas & Peter; 2 Masters in Israel – Caiaphas & Nicodemus: 2 Romans – Pilate & The Centurion, etc.) we are looking at the contrast of shadow and light that informs our Lenten journey as well as our journey through life in Christ. I have drawn from your blog to help introduce my people to this years theme. I have quoted you and added the following (From the blog – Hieropraxis © 2011 by Dr. Holly Ordway “Shadow and Light: A Lenten Reflection” http://www.hieropraxis.com/2011/04/shadow-and-light-a-lenten-reflection/) As I read and re-read what you had written I was struck by the wonderful balance and clarity of Law and Gospel that you expressed in such a sensitively revealing yet direct fashion. As time permits I plan to return to read more of your blog in the near future. God’s Peace be with you in the Lenten season this year.

Comment on We Have a Plan! by Holly Ordway

Holly Ordway — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:08:52 +0000

Thanks, Mo! That’s very encouraging!

Comment on The Merits of Reading vs Having Read: A Reflection on Enjoying the Classics by Holly Ordway

Holly Ordway — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:07:28 +0000

Ali & Becka – I find it comforting to not have to expect myself to enjoy all the “greats” all the time, but to recognize that I am growing as a reader and will do so all my life! Just this afternoon I was reading Charles Williams, a bit from The Descent of the Dove and then another bit from He Came Down From Heaven, and thinking “This is amazing, brilliant stuff” — and then thinking, “If I’d read this three years ago, it would have gone completely over my head” — partly because of necessary background knowledge, but also partly because I needed to have had more experience in prayer on a practical level before I could really appreciate what CW was talking about. There are some poets whose work I am looking forward to re-reading soon (if possible) because I think I’ll get something that I didn’t on the first pass… I know there’s a lot more to be had from Tennyson and Coleridge than I got on the first go, ten or fifteen years ago.

Comment on We Have a Plan! by Mo

Mo — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:09:53 +0000

I am so glad to have found your site. I just finished your ‘Imagination and Reality’ podcasts and have shared them with others. Part 3 was especially powerful!

I look forward to reading your book when it arrives.

Comment on Miscellany 22: Reading (and Writing) in the 21st Century by Holly Ordway

Holly Ordway — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:34:37 +0000

Thanks for your comments, Steven & Elyse! Steven, good point about the way that parody derives a lot of its punch from mimicking the structure of the original. Elyse, you’re quite right to note that people are more likely to speak up in a “throwing out ideas” context, which can be very beneficial if it encourages the quieter and shyer people in a group to share their ideas. Probably the ideal situation is one in which people are comfortable with a stage of “hey, let’s toss out some ideas” and can then move into the next stage of “let’s play with some of these and see if they’ll work.”

Comment on We Have a Plan! by Holly Ordway

Holly Ordway — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:28:10 +0000

Thanks, Ali! I’m really excited about it myself. I’ve just scheduled Footnote Friday pieces for March (a three-part series on styles of argument, plus a sonnet for the Annunciation), and finally found a place (on this coming Wednesday Words) for a piece on the value of liturgy.

Comment on Miscellany 22: Reading (and Writing) in the 21st Century by Elyse

Elyse — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:22:11 +0000

You’ve made some very solid points. I think that most people get intimidated to speak when there is structure and are more likely to speak when just throwing out ideas. The old saying goes that,” If you throw enough shit against a wall, something is bound to stick” but I have to argue that doing anything that way is not likely to end well. People should find some sort of challenge to what it is they hope to accomplish because, let’s face it, the best things in life don’t come easy.

Comment on We Have a Plan! by Ali

Ali — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:13:49 +0000

So totally excited for this new format, Holly! I am looking forward to all the new content. And I cannot wait for the podcasts. How enlightening. Plus, I am so excited for the information on literature. Blessings to you in this expansion!

Comment on Miscellany 22: Reading (and Writing) in the 21st Century by Steven

Steven — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:04:52 +0000

I totally agree! I personally really enjoy writing parodies of songs (like Weird Al or ApologetiX’s songs), and there are so many rules. Each line must match the meter of the original, and the rhyme scheme must be the same overall, and for humor, the content could be amusingly dissonant or resonant with the music, but it can’t just be anything, and the punchlines must be placed in the right place. Just for fun, for added creativity, I sometimes try to match the original with words that sound similar or rhyme, just with consonants switched, which is what the Christian group ApologetiX does. I thought it was just my style, but you say that it’s true in general, which makes me appreciate the constraints of rhyming and meter even more! In the process of turning over ideas to adhere to rules, the thoughts further develop in other areas as well. It seems that ideas need a direction marked by fences to truly gain momentum.