Can Prayer Be Our Ruby Slippers?
Toward the end of the movie, The Wizard of Oz, after her incredible adventures in the land of Oz, Dorothy wants nothing more than to return to Kansas. She tells Glinda, the good witch, that she wants to go home. Glinda says that Dorothy already has the power to go home. That power resides in […]
Groupishness and Jesus
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, a much admired British leader, wrote a book entitled Not in My Name: Confronting Religious Violence (2015). Although I have not read the book (yet), I have come across it in other books I’ve read. Sacks maintains that at the heart of religious extremism is groupishness. (Some would call it tribalism.) […]
Coincidence or Providence?
I served as novice director for my community from 1982-1988. One of my “jobs” was to get a retreat director for the novitiate retreat in August. Back then, the director had to be a priest. I dutifully booked a wonderful Franciscan a year in advance. But two days before the retreat was to start, he […]
Staying Put
Psychologists tell us when we encounter danger or trouble, we act out of one of two human impulses: fight or flight. This means we either engage in combat with the danger or we head for the hills. But in his book, Earth Works, Scott Russell Sanders says there is a third impulse out of which […]
Time (Again!) for Some Humor
Beginning a new year is a good time to take stock of our sense of humor. As I have often said, a good sense of humor is a sign of a healthy spirituality! So, here are some humorous things (hopefully!) to make you smile, laugh, or groan! Let’s start with children. Sometimes children’s vocabulary is […]
Humility: A Virtue for the New Year
For some of us, the beginning of a New Year is a time to make our annual resolutions. If you are looking for some ideas, might I suggest you take a look at the virtue of humility? I know, I know, some of you might be thinking, “How negative!” Or, “How depressing!” But please hear […]
A Christmas Prayer for 2023
Christmas is a celebration of the coming of Jesus into our world. What world? The world of Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, yes. But also into the world of today, 2023. And into the world of our own personal life–wherever we may be. Here is a little prayer-poem I wrote about 10 years ago. I […]
The Pope’s Astronomer
Scripture tells us that some people followed a star to find Jesus, the Son of God. People today are still following the stars to discover God. Here’s the story of one of them. Did you know the Pope has his own astronomer? In a way. His name is Brother Guy Consolmagno, a native of Detroit, […]
A Stroll through the Zacchaeus Story
Today we’re going to take a stroll through the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus, the tax collector. It is found in Luke 19:1-10. The story begins with this curious statement: Jesus intended to pass through the town (Jericho). So, even Jesus changed his plans sometimes. What made him change his plans here? We soon […]
Advent 2023: A Celebration of Dreams and Miracles
Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent. Advent is the season of the church year that celebrates dreams and miracles. The dry parched desert can burst into a field of poppies and forget-me-nots… Helpless little lambs can snuggle next to mighty ferocious lions… A wild scrawny man dressed in animal hides and munching on […]
