Everyday Mysticism and a Green Pepper
Sometimes when we think of mystics, we think of individuals who had extraordinary religious experiences. They heard God’s voice. They saw angels. They levitated three feet above the ground. They lived for 30 years solely on Cheetos. (Okay, I made up that last one.) But some did live solely on bread and water. Notice, when […]
An Easter Reflection: What Gives You Hope?
Easter is a good time to pause, look around, and ask yourself, “What gives me hope?” After all, Easter is the great feast of hope. Jesus rose from the dead! Alleluia! He conquered sin and death! Alleluia! We’re on the winning team! Alleluia! At its best, Easter gives us a new way of seeing reality—to […]
Holy Week and Prescovia
I had already written my post for Holy Week. But last evening (March 30), I watched NBC evening news and met an elderly Ukrainian woman named Prescovia. That encounter made me write these words in my journal the next morning. I think they are fitting for Holy Week 2022. March 31, 2022: Last night I […]
Celebrating April, National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month in both the United States and Canada. Here are a few suggestions on how you might celebrate this month: * Carry a poem in your pocket. Read it to your family, friends, acquaintances. Change the poem every few days throughout the month. * Write a letter to your favorite living […]
Consider Jesus’ Characteristic Way of Behaving
I’m reading Elizabeth Johnson’s book, Consider Jesus, for Lent. In chapter 4 Johnson says that Jesus didn’t merely speak about the coming of the Reign of God (or the coming of God’s Kingdom). “In his own practical ways he enacted it.” She then raises the question, “What kind of behavior was characteristic of Jesus?” She […]
A Cheer for Grandma Orcas!
Today I’d like to talk about Grandmother Orcas, those sleek black and white whales that are so beautiful. But before I get to the Grandma part, let me say a few words about the orca part. First, these incredible whales have been given some pretty derogatory names by homo sapiens. They are called orcinus orca […]
Is Being Pleasant a Virtue?
Is being pleasant a virtue? That’s the question I asked myself recently after interacting with mostly pleasant people all day. Those people include my fellow Sisters of Notre Dame. My experience has been that we are, as a group, basically pleasant women. It also includes the employees of this apartment complex I now live in. […]
What Do You Do Besides What You Do?
Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest, tells this story in her beautiful book, An Altar in the World. At one time she used to meet regularly with other Church ministers of various religious denominations. She describes a Baptist minister who was exceptionally busy. Besides preaching three sermons a week, he had to keep his medium-sized […]
Lent Is a Time to Meet Jesus—Again.
When I was going on my annual retreat this past December, an SND friend gave me a book saying, “You might enjoy this.” The book was The Diary of Jesus Christ by Bill Cain, SJ. I confess, I was not drawn to the title. I tend to avoid books that put a lot of words […]
So What?
Sometimes when I read a passage from Scripture, I pause for a few moments and ask myself, “So what?” In other words, what does this passage or this verse have to do with me at this particular time in my life, in this specific place, and in my current circumstances? I remember my scripture professor […]