Why Do I Love Fall?
I admit, I feel sad that summer is ending where I live (in northeast Ohio, USA). These past few weeks, I’ve watched the sun creeping down on the horizon. I’ve noticed that the house finches, swallows, and bluebirds have disappeared. And I miss them. When I’m out driving, I’ve spotted a few leaves turning brown, […]
“You’ll Be My Arms, I’ll Be Your Eyes”
Today I’d like you to tell you the remarkable story of two men: Jia Haixia and Jia Wenqi. They live in a small village in rural China and have been friends since they were boys. Haixia was blind in one eye at birth from a cataract. Then he lost his sight in the other eye […]
20 Quotes for Hard Times
This week I want to share some quotes from an article I wrote many years. If you’re experiencing some hard times, I hope these quotes might speak to your heart. 1. Good is never done except at the expense of those who do it. (John Newman) 2. Do not let what you cannot do interfere […]
Asking for What We Need
Here’s a quote I’ve been carrying around with me for almost 27 years. It’s from the book How to Argue and Win Every Time (1995) by Gerry Spence. He writes: Wisdom does not usually fall from high places. The mighty and splendid have taught me little in life. I have learned more from my dog […]
Letting Go of Numbing in Our Lives
As we journey through life, we experience both positive and negative emotions. Positive emotions for most of us would include these: joy, gratitude, awe, love, serenity, hope, interest, a sense of purpose, satisfaction. Negative emotions might include these: fear, sadness, loneliness, inadequacy, shame, frustration, helplessness, failure. In short, we tend to welcome the positive emotions […]
Reflection on “The Helping Hand” by Renouf
(Please note: I know many of you are no longer receiving my blog in your email. I’m so sorry! Right now, our IT people can’t seem to find the problem. Until it is fixed, though, you can find my blog by using Google or Safari or whatever search engine you employ. Just type in: Sunflower […]
Humor Time Again
If you’ve been reading this blog for a little while, you already know that one of my big pieces of advice is this: Hang on to your sense of humor! So today, here are a few items that I hope with bring a smile to your face. A few of these may make you groan—but […]
Sr. Helen Prejean: “River of Fire”
(Please note: This week’s blog did not go out to my subscribers. I will not post a new reflection for the week of August 8. By then, I hope all of you who are subscribers, will receive this post. My next new post will be the week of August 15—I hope! I apologize for the […]
Lowly Prepositions Aren’t So Lowly
I remember sitting in Sister Mary Luke Arntz’s “History of the English Language” class many, many, many years ago at Notre Dame College. Sister posed this question to us: “What part of speech do you think is the most important part of speech in the English language?” We thought for a few moments and then […]
The Grace to Paint: Interview with Sr. Maresa, SND
Sister Maresa Lilley is one of our Notre Dame artists. Her oil paintings can be found on the walls of our ND Center, on the internet (more about that later), and even in Guido’s Italian Restaurant in nearby Chesterland, OH. Four of her paintings also hang (drum roll, please!) in the 2021 movie Spider-Man: No […]