Using Works of Art During Prayer: Eugene Burnand
For many years I have been drawn to using works of art during my prayer. When I made my annual retreat in the past, I would be sure to pack a couple of books of paintings and photography to take with me. Now I take my ipad and go online. I figure, during the year, […]
Do We Need a Little Humor?
For me, the answer to that question is, “Yes!” So today’s blog is devoted to humor. I hope some of these make you smile, laugh, or at least groan! Let’s start with the kids: My 5-year-old couldn’t remember the word for tomorrow, so she called it “nexterday.” We gave our 4-year-old grandson a fishing pole […]
Jesus Never Said I Told You So
The Gospels record many words spoken by Jesus, but these four words are never ascribed to him: “I told you so!” I think this fact gives us an insight into the way Jesus interacted with people. When someone says to us, “I told you so!” they are really telling us three things. First, that they […]
The Mystery of Connections
The other day I was going through an old file and came across this story I used in some of my religion classes years ago. It’s a true story by Antoinette Bosco (1928-2020), an award winning journalist and spiritual writer. I will paraphrase her words. When I was 11 years old, I lived in Albany, […]
“The Book of Delights”
I was ordering something online. I needed to spend about $10 more to get “free” shipping. So I checked out the books. That’s when I came across The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. I saw that it was a New York Times best seller, a National Book Award Finalist, and only $20. But that’s […]
The Teacher, Her Students, and the Statue of Our Newest Saint
This is the story of a teacher, her junior high students, and the statue of our newest saint in the Catholic Church who will be canonized by Pope Leo on September 7. The teacher is Sister Frances Marie Penwell, a Sister of Notre Dame in Toledo, Ohio. Sister, a teacher for over 40 years, currently […]
Why Is Church Membership Plummeting in the U.S?
It’s no secret. Church membership has fallen significantly in the U.S. within the past 50 years or so. I am basing the information in today’s blog on three sources: recent Gallup Polls, Pew Research findings, and an article in the Spring 2025 issue of Notre Dame Magazine entitled “Out of Practice.” It is Ken Woodward’s […]
Who Is God? What Is God Like?
Some say the two most important questions we can ask in life are these: “Who is God?” And “What is God like?” These are questions we may ponder our entire life. To see how others have responded to one or both of these questions, I consulted my boxes of quotations under the tab “God.” I […]
Praying for Refugees
Today we are going to reflect on and pray for one of the major crises in our world today: refugees. In fact, some historians predict that this current century will go down in history as “The Century of Refugees.” We will begin with a few facts, then listen to a song with lyrics, then pause […]
A Prayer for Spiritual Healing
When we pray for healing, we often pray for healing from physical illnesses of all kinds. But maybe we also need to ask for healing from attitudes and habits that can prevent our faith from being healthy and whole. Here is one such prayer I wrote recently. Perhaps you might find yourself reflected in one […]