After a hearty meal, a male dinner guest and my husband reclined on the sofa where they set about solving all of the world’s problems. After a few laughs, the conversation turned serious as they speculated about the probability of coming persecutions like those already faced daily by Christians in the Middle East. They proclaimed […]
Not long ago, I did an exercise in which four words were listed horizontally and I had to rank them as they applied to me by giving a “4” to the one most descriptive of myself down to “1” for the least descriptive of me. For example, the first list of words was: independent, compassionate, […]
All of us need reminders of how much God loves us and how much He desires that we give Him our hearts. Our weak and distracted human nature all too often is pulled in many different directions at once and we forget that the invisible, immortal God took on flesh, suffered in all the ways […]
Eight months ago after welcoming my youngest into the wide world, I rediscovered the wee hours of the morning. After my longest gap between newborns (almost five years) in which I’d grown used to sleeping and waking according to my own wants and needs, I had to relearn that sacrificial habit of fumbling in the […]
A well-timed one-liner allows for a lighthearted look at ourselves and the world. It affords an opportunity to appreciate amazing ironies in our life. It encourages us to start talking with others. When delivered well, an amusing line elevates language to the level of art and leaves us laughing, wanting more. In Prayer Works! Getting […]
This past year, I was privileged to celebrate a Passover seder with some close friends during Holy Week. It was both a reminder of the persistence of the faith of Judaism in its own right and of the roots for the new Passover that Jesus established, through his institution of the Eucharist, and through his […]
I sat on my back, looking up the speckled with color wall at the rock climbing gym. “One more time,” I thought to myself. This past semester, some of my friends had gotten into the habit of taking time off from the stress commonly found around schoolwork at our Catholic, liberal arts school to drive […]
Whenever someone insults us, we usually come tearing back, ready to defend our reputation, our honor, or whatever it was that we perceive was insulted. We might even grant that on some level we deserved the insult, but not from them. “Only God can judge me,”we say. But for as much as this is true, […]
As every mother knows, a newborn takes at least eight hours a day to nurse, burp, rock and comfort, bathe and change. Then a mother must wash loads of clothes which tend to get covered in vomit, and other nasty surprises. The lack of sleep leads to a rather narrow existence where the best days […]
Man lives in constant delusion. There is a world of difference between one sitting on a hill and looking at a beautiful sunrise and a man so enthralled with that very same sunrise that he forgets himself and becomes absorbed in the scene. In the first instance the man is egocentric; he is in delusion […]
In the Old Testament, the Azazel goat, translated as scapegoat, was one of two goats chosen for a ceremony on The Day of Atonement. The first goat was sacrifice but a priest would lay hands on the second goat and symbolically transfer all the sin and guilt of the community on to this animal. The […]
Not too long ago, I came across two seemingly different perspectives on the relationship between God’s action in our lives and our faithfulness. This question had been on my mind lately. After four years of infertility and now some roadblocks in the process of adoption, I’m starting to wonder “What gives?” I’m sure it’s a reflection […]
According to Statistics Canada, the years between 2010 and 2031 will see an accelerated rate in the aging population since this is the period when all baby boomers will have turned sixty-five. By the year 2036, between twenty-three per cent and twenty-five percent of the population will comprise of seniors aged sixty-five and over. The […]
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothersor your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, […]
This week Joel Osteen’s message, “Trust God’s Timing,” was focused on the attitude that we display while we are waiting for God to answer a prayer. Joel used the examples of someone praying for healing, praying to find a spouse, praying for the return of a wayward child, or praying for promotion at work. Joel said […]
Gustavus Adolphus is known as one of the greatest kings Sweden has ever had. He was very proud of Swedish power, and during his reign he triumphed over armies of what today are known as the nations of Germany, Poland, Denmark, Finland, modern Sweden and other areas. He ruled very powerful armies, but was a […]
You may think you have a religious vocation, but do you? A recent post on a Catholic social media website warned of three faulty motivations of those who were attracted to religious life. The post said that the candidate might see religious life as 1) a refuge from a hostile world, 2) an attraction to […]
There are days and then there are days. Have you ever felt like there was so much to say and do, and not enough time, concentration, or energy to accomplish half of your expectations? Lately, during my daily chores, blog ideas, article notes, and lessons pop into my head and I rarely write them down. […]
A few years back, a Princeville, Illinois family I know hosted an Italian teen for the summer. This young man enjoyed many parts of his summer, but was mystified by the weather. In the rural Midwest, during the summer, a storm can pass every few days or so, so that at least three or four […]
Jesus declared to the pharisees, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This enigmatic saying challenges what Father Stephen Freemancalls “two-storey Christianity,” which views the Creator as radically separated from His creation. Two-storey Christianity is responsible for the fixation on “getting to heaven,” so commonplace among modern western believers. In contradistinction, the Gospel […]
How many times have you heard someone ask the question: “What am I supposed to be doing with my life?” “Why am I here?” Too many to count, right? It seems too, that it is not a simple answer they want, but a large, extravagantly specific answer. They want answers directly from the source; definitive […]
