When to Bite Your Tongue
The other day someone went ahead of me in a line. I thought of saying to her, “What am I? Invisible?” Fortunately these words went no farther than my brain. Maybe she didn’t realize I was next. Maybe she was in a hurry. Voicing my sarcastic words would have damaged our relationship. This incident prompted […]
Adventing in Advent
It’s the night before a new post goes up, and I just discovered that I forgot to set this one for last week at the top of the list. So for the sake of those who didn’t see it, here it is again this week! As a teacher, I presented Advent as the season to […]
Staying Positive During COVID-19
A Sunday church bulletin offered the following suggestions for staying sane and happy (or at least not depressed) while living through our present ordeal. I thought they were worth sharing with you: Limit your intake. You could watch 24-hour news channels, listen to dire warnings on the radio, or visit countless websites and be bombarded […]
Kindness Is Contagious
Three times this week kindness has been the topic of a homily I heard or a reflection I read. I’m taking this as a sign that I should write about it. Besides, the world sorely needs this virtue today. My community has created the decal pictured here to promote kindness. Aristotle defined kindness: “Helpfulness towards […]
Reaching Across Divides
In November as I sat in a Newark airport at a crowded gate, across from me was a dark-skinned man in a turban, a Sikh. Suddenly he left. When he reappeared, he was pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair, which he parked by me. Her husband sat on the other side of the empty […]
Five Ways to Show Mercy
Pope Francis has just declared an Extraordinary Jubilee Year: a Year of Mercy, which will begin on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this year. We have witnessed and been fascinated by this pope’s numerous acts of mercy as he reaches out to the neediest of God’s people. Of course, the greatest act of mercy […]
The Power of Little Things
Once when I was in charge of the songs for a retreat Mass, things went very wrong. I came too late to begin the opening song, I started one song too high, and so on. After that fiasco, I sat in the chapel feeling ashamed and miserable. As the other sisters filed out, one of […]
