Cheers for a New Year
Every morning one of the first things I do is post a cartoon on Facebook. Surprisingly, I receive more positive feedback from this “ministry” than from books I’ve written! Where is the source of my cartoons? On the first day when my sister Nancy and I were in Hawaii in 2004, we met a Japanese […]
A Snowy Winter
Snow is winter’s inevitable companion for us who live in Northeastern states. My home is in Geauga County, known as Ohio’s snowbelt. Our province center, its highest point, is wittily called its buckle. As I write this, snow blankets the ground, flurries are almost nonstop. Snowplows again woke me up around 3:30 a.m. Thanks to […]
Why Jesus Is Called Lamb of God
ILast week I wrote about shepherds. Now let’s focus on lambs. A nursery rhyme begins, “Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. . . . It’s fleece was white as snow.” Coincidentally, that describes the Blessed Virgin and Baby Jesus! Most Nativity sets include at least one lamb. We think it is sweet […]
Shepherds at Christmas
We have a Savior. Let’s celebrate his birth!
Christmas Carol Background
Ubiquitous Carols This past Saturday we held our sixth annual Christmas carol sing-along in Notre Dame Village. About sixty residents, both Sisters and lay, had fun. One man, whose son said he never sang, did sing the carols. As usual, the SND baker Richard Harcar played the clarinet, I played the piano, and Sister Lisette […]
Advent 2025: Getting Closer
Advent by Candlelight is a beautiful ritual that I was privileged to be part of Friday night. It took place at Espiritu Santo parish in Safety Harbor, Florida. After each giant candle on an Advent wreath was lighted, a high school student read a guided meditation. Advent hymns were interspersed, sung by a small choir […]
Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd is the theme of this week’s blog. Jesus as shepherd is quite a contrast to King Jesus as presented last week. Granted, most of us are probably only familiar with shepherds because of pictures of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. But it still is a powerful and consoling term for Jesus. King […]
Kingdom of God with Christ the King
The Feast of Christ the King is the conclusion of each Church year. To me it is special because it’s my feast day, a day when we Sister celebrate our patron, usually a saint. When I entered the Sisters of Notre Dame, the Chardon Province was named Christ the King, and this feast was celebrated […]
Color, A Beautiful Gift
When I was a child, I saw the Wizard of Oz movie at our neighborhood theater. What a joy it was to have the black and white screen suddenly turn into technicolor! But color is not confined to fantasy worlds. Our real world is in full color. Thank goodness! Can you picture a sunrise or […]
Eyes, Ours and God’s
Our Two Eyes Eyes are precious gifts that we seldom pay attention to unless something gets into them. Recently I visited an optometrist and now have a new pair of glasses. This has focused (!) my mind on eyes as a topic for this blog. Our eyes are one of God’s intricate and amazing creations. […]