The Wisdom of John Muir
John Muir has many descriptive titles. He’s been called a naturalist, author, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, environmental philosopher, inventor, mountaineer, co-founder of the Sierra Club, and Father of our National Parks. His biographer Steven Holmes, added another title: the patron saint of 20th Century American environmental activity. So, who was this extraordinary man? John Muir (1838-1914) […]
“What Are You Doing Here?”
Recently I was reflecting on the story of the prophet Elijah hiding in the cave. You are probably familiar with the story. Elijah is running for his life. He has angered the “wicked” queen Jezabel, and she has sent her henchmen to find him and kill him (1 Kings: 19:1-18). Shortly after crawling exhaustedly into […]
Do You Have Any Pet Scapegoats?
(Introduction: September 28 is World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The Church has celebrated this day since 1914. That’s 111 years! I wrote this reflection not with that day in mind. But after I wrote it, I realized the words below are indirectly related to this day, a day on which the Church calls us […]
Little Kernels of Spiritual Nourishment
As you know, I read alot. Besides reading scripture everyday, I also pray with small periodicals that nourish my prayer–such as Living Faith, Living with Christ, and Give Us This Day. In addition, I always have several books by my reading/prayer chair. Often I come across little kernels of nourishment, a sentence or two, that […]
Using Works of Art During Prayer: Eugene Burnand
For many years I have been drawn to using works of art during my prayer. When I made my annual retreat in the past, I would be sure to pack a couple of books of paintings and photography to take with me. Now I take my ipad and go online. I figure, during the year, […]
Do We Need a Little Humor?
For me, the answer to that question is, “Yes!” So today’s blog is devoted to humor. I hope some of these make you smile, laugh, or at least groan! Let’s start with the kids: My 5-year-old couldn’t remember the word for tomorrow, so she called it “nexterday.” We gave our 4-year-old grandson a fishing pole […]
Jesus Never Said I Told You So
The Gospels record many words spoken by Jesus, but these four words are never ascribed to him: “I told you so!” I think this fact gives us an insight into the way Jesus interacted with people. When someone says to us, “I told you so!” they are really telling us three things. First, that they […]
The Mystery of Connections
The other day I was going through an old file and came across this story I used in some of my religion classes years ago. It’s a true story by Antoinette Bosco (1928-2020), an award winning journalist and spiritual writer. I will paraphrase her words. When I was 11 years old, I lived in Albany, […]
“The Book of Delights”
I was ordering something online. I needed to spend about $10 more to get “free” shipping. So I checked out the books. That’s when I came across The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. I saw that it was a New York Times best seller, a National Book Award Finalist, and only $20. But that’s […]
The Teacher, Her Students, and the Statue of Our Newest Saint
This is the story of a teacher, her junior high students, and the statue of our newest saint in the Catholic Church who will be canonized by Pope Leo on September 7. The teacher is Sister Frances Marie Penwell, a Sister of Notre Dame in Toledo, Ohio. Sister, a teacher for over 40 years, currently […]