“They Have No Wine”
At the wedding feast in Cana, Mary notices that the wine has run out. The fact that she notices this, is in itself somewhat amazing. Amid the hustle and bustle of all those guests, the hum of steady conversation, the loud laughter, and the music and dancing, Mary notices this hidden detail: the wine supply […]
Very Valuable Vinegar!
Do you have any vinegar in your house? If so, what kind is it? And what do you use it for? Over the years I have grown to appreciate vinegar and all the amazing things it can do for us—not only in our food preparation but also as a less expensive and more eco-friendly household […]
What Do Priests Do?
What do priests do? You might answer: “They preside at Mass, consecrating the bread and wine… They preach, breaking open the scriptures for us… They administer the sacraments… They oversee our parishes.” Such answers are true—if you are speaking of ordained priests. But the Catholic Church also proclaims the belief in the “Universal Priesthood of […]
Every House Is a Nest
A book I keep returning to again and again is Earth Works by Scott Russell Sanders, a professor emeritus of English at Indiana University (my alma mater!). The book is a collection of essays on a wide variety of topics. In one chapter, entitled “House and Home,” Sanders states that every house is really a […]
Forest Bathing
(Note: Pope Francis has declared September 1 as World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. He asks us to join with our Orthodox sisters and brothers on this day to thank God for the goodness of our world, to ask God’s forgiveness for our sins against the environment, and to reaffirm our vocation […]
Reclaiming Our Sense of Interconnectedness
The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh has said, “We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.” He even invented a new word to describe our interconnectedness with the rest of humanity and, indeed, our interconnectedness with all of creation. He called this reality interbeing. This means what happens to a man in […]
Rachel Held Evans
I have found a new favorite writer: Rachel Held Evans. Sadly, she died at age 37 in May 2019. But she left us with several excellent books. It’s hard for me to describe her, so I’ll let Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, do it for me. In his June 10, 2019 column he wrote: “… she […]
Three Pictures and a Video
Today’s blog consists of three pictures and a video. I thought all of them might delight and inspire you. I’ll tell the story behind each picture. Here’s picture #1: Here is a picture of a sunflower plant growing in the vegetable garden in our main courtyard. (Special thanks to Sister Anne Marie for taking the […]
Quotes about Life
If you are a regular reader of my blog then you know about my quote collection. I have thousands of quotations saved on 3 X 5 note cards. I started keeping quotations when I was a college student. They came in handy when I was teaching and now I use them when I’m leading retreats, […]
Wayside Shrines: Every Step Matters
I was thinking about wayside shrines the other day. You know, those small shrines or religious markers that dot the roadsides—especially throughout Europe. I saw some while I was visiting the Czech Republic with my parents and sister in 1995. Some of the shrines consisted of a simple crucifix within a box-like structure to help […]