Christmas Cards: A Ministry
On November 27 my first Christmas card arrived. Time to unearth my Christmas card paraphernalia. Now the cards, stickers, and address labels are strewn across my dining room table. Before tackling the job of preparing my cards, I reread the cards that people sent me last Christmas. I save this lovely collection for a year […]
Remembering to Give Thanks
Pessimists see their lives as a glass as half empty, while optimists see their lives as half full. Thoughtful people see their lives as a cup overflowing. Thanksgiving is a celebration of all the good things God has showered us with, a time to thank our divine Gift-Giver. For a graduate school course, I wrote […]
Being in the Present Moment
You might have heard the saying, “The past is history, the future is a mystery, the present is a gift; that’s why it’s called present.” Often we are not aware of the present because we are thinking about what happened yesterday or ten years ago or what we will have for our next meal or […]
A Video for Vocation Awareness Week
The above illustration depicts Jesus calling Peter and Andrew to follow him as his disciples. God calls everyone to follow him, but some are called to special roles in the Church. November 5 to 11 is National Vocation Awareness Week. It’s pretty obvious that more priests are needed to minister to us. Some priests now […]
Dying Words of Saints
Halloween is the Eve before we celebrate the Hallowed (Saints). In honor of this feast, which occurs the day this post appears, I offer you two excerpts from my book I Am Going … : Reflections on the Last Words of the Saints. Originally published by ACTA, the book is now available for $14.95 from […]
God’s Wondrous Gift of Color
Here in Ohio the trees are bursting with gold, red, and orange—one of the best features of autumn, especially when they are showing their glory against a brilliant blue sky. Sister Barbara Soplata captured the scene above by the Chagrin River. One of life’s pleasures is driving along a road surrounded by hills and mountains […]
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament
We are in the midst of a three-year National Eucharist Revival. A parish has asked me to speak about the relationship of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Eucharist. Today I share some thoughts with you. At the Eucharist the priest declares over the bread and wine, “This is my Body” and “This is my […]
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 […]
Writing Motivators
Every so often someone asks me how I started writing. I didn’t plan to be a writer. My dream was to be a ninth-grade English teacher at Notre Dame Academy my whole life. That school has become Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, and I haven’t spent one day teaching there. In fact, most of my life has […]
Season of Creation Part Two
The celebration of the Season of Creation doesn’t end until October 4. How appropriate that it lands during autumn when trees burst into color. It was just announced that Pope Francis’s second letter on the environment is Laudate Deum (Praise God). Here is another post related to creation. First, here is a prayer from the […]
