Photo Credit: Mary Ann Flannery, SC Holy Week is here for Christians, and Passover begins on Wednesday. Ramadan had begun last March 22. Having been in the Holy Land last September, I can only imagine the teems of people going to the holy sites of their faiths. I took the picture above at the entrance... Continue Reading →

We are traveling two miles east of Jerusalem with Jesus and his disciples.  They are hot and fatigued.  They have just been run out of the Temple surroundings and are breathlessly aware that the collusion between the Jewish priestly hierarchy and the Roman leaders is closing in on Jesus.  They are nervous and worried.  As they wonder where to... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Church of Jesus Christ and Josh Weidmann The Gospel in next Sunday’s Catholic liturgy is the story of the man born blind whom Jesus cures. (John 9:1-41) I hope your celebrant reads the longer version of this story (indicated above), because it contains a few nuances that help us understand this powerful Lenten... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com On Ash Wednesday Christians lined up in prayer spaces and churches throughout the world to receive the administration of ashes.  In the U.S. ashes are customarily the burned left-over palms from last year’s Palm Sunday.  They are placed in a little container from which a minister dips his or her thumb and then places... Continue Reading →

Write in your journal what you hear Jesus asking you to do for others so that the Christian cross becomes your reality and your source of peace.I join you in prayer these holy days hoping that you will move to an Easter of great fulfillment having taken on the Christian cross. I’ve been wrestling with the... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Yes, I know.  Professional sports have lost its attraction for many of us.  Salaries are too high.  Personal scandals of players and owners are seemingly rampant.  But we should remember that a majority of professionals have maintained the moral compass that guides their lives and performances in their sport.  Some might even exhibit a type of ordinary... Continue Reading →

Last week’s blog on miracles just felt so incomplete to me because it lacked sufficient explanation.  Now that’s an oxymoron, isn’t it?  Miracles defy explanation!  But I want to touch on a little of the discussion of miracles from a perspective of Church teaching.  So, brace yourselves, you may not agree with this but that is totally ok. Many... Continue Reading →

I hesitated to take on this topic; it is so debatable among philosophers and religious thinkers.  But I sense a growing agreement among theologians on the question of miracles, so I started investigating the issue.  Three experiences have led me to this point: first, the intervention of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for a young man whom I... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Many years ago, a Sister-friend and I were walking out-of-doors and talking away on some issue important to us when suddenly she stopped, picked up a tiny wild flower, barely visible from its tiny home in a crack in the sidewalk. She held the flower tenderly and said, as if transported to... Continue Reading →

Photo credit: Pixabay.com Many years ago, I directed the musical, Peter Pan, for the high school where I taught.  I was always inclined toward that musical mostly because, well, I was a bit like Peter Pan, a child who simply would not ‘grow up!’  I loved climbing trees, swimming in creeks, sledding on hills, hiking in woods, and some... Continue Reading →