The Need for Spiritual Maintenance
Here’s an interesting fact: it takes hundreds of pumps in the New York City subway system to keep water out of the tunnels. If those pumps did not receive regular maintenance and if they suddenly stopped working, the subway tunnels would be flooded within thirty-six hours. Thirty-six hours! That’s a lesson on how important maintenance […]
Leafing through the Yellow Pages
The “yellow pages” arrived the other day. You know—the telephone book with the listings and ads for the businesses in the area. It’s a relatively small book: 8 ½” by 7” but thick: 560 pages long. It covers only two counties: Lake and Geauga here in northeast Ohio. Before I put the book on the […]
The Spirituality of Walking
I love to walk. Ordinarily I walk one or two miles a day. Often I go to a nearby park. Other times I roam the neighborhood. I’ve even learned to walk in the rain—if there’s no thunder and lighting. But if the weather is really bad, I grudgingly use the treadmill in the basement. I […]
What Is God’s Favorite Word?
What is God’s favorite word? Some might argue that God’s favorite word is LOVE. After all, it certainly was one of Jesus’ favorite words. “Love one another, love one another,” he said over and over again. Others might say God’s favorite word is COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS, GOODNESS, BEAUTY, or TRUTH. Still others might argue that God’s […]
What Is God's Favorite Word?
What is God’s favorite word? Some might argue that God’s favorite word is LOVE. After all, it certainly was one of Jesus’ favorite words. “Love one another, love one another,” he said over and over again. Others might say God’s favorite word is COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS, GOODNESS, BEAUTY, or TRUTH. Still others might argue that God’s […]
The Old House Next Door
This past week they tore down the old house next door. It was a dilapidated white house that hadn’t been lived in for at least thirty years, maybe more. Although some people came faithfully every week to mow the lawn, the house itself was not taken care of. A few years ago, the roof began […]
Life Is a Lot like Being in a Marching Band
I live across the street from Chardon High School. During football season, Friday nights around here are pretty exciting—and pretty loud. When Chardon has a home game, hundreds of cars pack into our church parking lot. Hordes of people stream toward the brightly lit stadium. And before, during, and after the game, the marching bands […]
My Retreat at Gloucester
I just got back from making a retreat at Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The retreat house, owned and operated by the Jesuits, is located on a piece of rocky land that juts out into the Atlantic. It is a historic spot. The first European to see Gloucester Bay was the French explorer […]
Spirituality and Mountains
This week I’ll be leading a retreat in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Nestled in the heart of the Smoky Mountains, the retreat center (called Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center) is a lovely place for a retreat. (Check out their website: catholicretreat.org.) The place was the dream of Fr. William Murphy, a Detroit business man who […]
What I Like about the Olympics
There are many things I like about the Olympics. First of all, I admire the athletes. These individuals have worked extremely hard and trained for years to earn the right to compete in these games. This means they swam laps, ran on a track, lifted weights, rowed a boat, jumped hurdles, swung a tennis racket, […]