While there’s very little value in the daytime soaps, the more sophisticated versions that we find on PBS are most entertaining, the latest being Downton Abbey —and I readily admit to being a fan. We can pretend that we’re interested in the history, the décor or the period costumes, but really, it’s the turbulent plot […]
Today on the news I heard a Catholic claim that the American bishops are out of tune with the times because of their opposition to the Health Care Mandate. I wanted to scream. The Church isn’t supposed to be in tune with the times. We’re supposed to be in tune with Jesus. The Church was […]
You are a dummy if you do not friend the Blessed Mother, the best thing this side of God. Mary is the very bestest friend we could ever have. Yet, there are some out there who don’t even bother accepting her friendship. In general, Protestants don’t include her in their social circles but there are […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24-25; Psalm 41:2-5, 13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22; Mark 2:1-12) Journeying together as Brothers and Sisters in Christ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5) Did you catch that? Jesus forgave this man and healed […]
It seems there’s something to be learned from every dopey mistake I ever make. In fact, some of my dopey mistakes turn out to be not so dopey after all. The other day, I made one of the not-so-dopiest of all. I picked up my voicemail messages. Actually, that’s not the dopey mistake; it’s the […]
My husband and I recently attended the funeral of a relative who died suddenly at age twenty-one. During the lovely Baptist service, family and friends told stories and gave testimonies of a girl who loved generously, especially children, and was about to obtain a teaching degree. She not only had a special gift of capturing […]
Anada Mary Kuboushek went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, January 26, 2012. She was bornDecember 31, 1919. That makes her 92 years old. You don’t know her. I barely knew her. But I loved her. Anada lived across from my parish church, St. Michael’s Catholic Church inPrior Lake, innesota. I have been […]
Recently, my wife, LaRee, and I addressed about 75 Christian medical students who came from across Canada’s three western provinces to hear us. We spoke about our sorrows and grief that have accompanied our twenty-eight years living with chronic, degenerative multiple sclerosis. We shared insights we have gained from our Christian perspectives. I spoke about […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Job 7:1-4,6-7; Psalm 147:1-6; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23; Mark 1:29-39) Seeking the Father’s Will Each Day in Prayer “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35) Jesus certainly had a full day. With his first four chosen […]
Today was the funeral of a dear family friend and my mentor of many years. I couldn’t attend Fr. Jonathan’s funeral, because it was held in Germany where he’s been stationed since 2009. He’s buried there, too, in his community’s cemetery near their Schoenstatt Fathers house and world headquarters. During the hours of the funeral […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 95:1-2,6-9; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28) Being Alert to the Attacks of the Evil One “Quiet!” (Mark 1:25) Today’s Gospel warns us to be on guard because evil spirits are constantly at work tempting us and harassing us. This warning is even more urgent […]
Before seminary I worked as a reporter. In the news business we used a saying to determine whether a story merited front-page coverage or should be placed on the back page. “If it bleeds, it leads.” In newspaper jargon, it means, “If you want blood, we’ve got it,” and never let the facts get in […]
Generosity is dramatically exemplified by the coming of the Magi to Bethlehem. I’m guessing their arrival on the scene was a surprise to Mary and Joseph, an unscheduled blessing. Nothing announced the Magi’s coming. They read the signs of their times—and the stars in the sky—and took it upon themselves to visit and offer gifts […]
An old adage tells us that theology is the queen of the sciences, philosophy her handmaid. This means not simply that heavenly wisdom is nobler or more edifying than earthly knowledge. It speaks also of the epistemological importance of the theistic conviction: objective reality depends upon the existence of the Supreme Subject. Philosophy, in the […]
As the political season heats up it occurs to me that, as important as elections are, unless the hearts of men are changed, the heart of a nation cannot awaken. Our nation is experiencing heart failure. It needs an awakening – a spiritual awakening. Desperately. Every year secular-“progressives” and obnoxious atheist pressure groups exponentially ramp […]
My own life did not take on a deep spiritual dimension until I was pregnant with my fourth child. But, once I turned seriously to prayer and saw the results, I became hooked. It began when my husband Mark lost his job. For the first time we consciously put our lives in God’s hands. Whenever […]
Things designed for good can be used for bad purposes. Art in its proper context captures images of beauty in the world or perverted to promote evil such as pornography. Books can teach and enlighten while others promote falsehoods or hatred. (Be careful what you read or watch.) Sometimes that which is life affirming in […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (1 Samuel 3:3-10,19; Psalm 40:2,4,7-10; 1 Corinthians 6:13-15,17-20; John 1:35-42) Saying Yes to Jesus’ Invitation to Make Him Our Lord and Savior “Behold, the Lamb of God.” (John 1:36) Most of us became Catholics as infants, when our parents presented us to the church for baptism. That […]
“May you have a happy and prosperous new year!” This warm and well- intentioned greeting in the week before and after New Year’s Day, is one we offer each other each year. It is a good thing to wish someone prosperity. God wishes His people prosperity. In the Book of Deuteronomy, we find the Jewish people […]
Like a log rolling down an easy hill, I drifted out of bed late one morning in a tired funk. Dragging along at a snail’s pace, my mental fog would sharply clear up when I opened my refrigerator door. Resembling a hungry beast with a wide open mouth, the deep expanse of whiteness and sparsely […]
Have you heard any good news lately? Bad news abounds. It’s been another tough year. Economic woes continue. Greece and Italy are on the verge of bankruptcy. Unemployment is still high in the United States (around 8.6 percent), and the stock market has taken a beating. With approximately $108 billion in insured catastrophic losses, 2011 […]
Once I ran for public office. Actually, it was more like a popularity contest. I was elected the most pessimistic member of the Torrington High School Class of 1989. I won by a large margin. My lone opponent, J.W., was confident he could win, and he campaigned aggressively throughout the halls of THS on a […]
My grandfather was a hardworking man. Growing up in frontier country, he started his career as a carpenter building barns; then travelled the West as an itinerant farm laborer. In World War I, he enlisted in the Marines and fought in Europe, including the Battle of Belleau Wood and the Battle of Chateau Thierry. He […]
The Roman god Janus had two faces, facing in different directions, so he could see what was coming and what was going. The Romans named the first month of the year, January, in his honor. Perhaps it might have been more appropriate to have named just this week January, for the end of the year, […]
