Pixabay.com I underwent eye surgery on my left eye that didn’t go as expected. I am asking for prayers that the issue resolves itself. If not, I face another surgery. Therefore, I am reposting a very appropriate post from March 2022. I am concerned about my eyesight: glaucoma in both eyes and a macula tear... Continue Reading →
Walking for Peace and What We Can Do
Photo Credit: WRAL News Have you heard about the Buddhist monks walking for peace across the United States? On October 26, nearly two dozen monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, led by Bhikkhu Pannakara, began their walk for a total of 2,300 miles to promote national healing, unity, and compassion. They expect... Continue Reading →
The Pope is Singing. Are You?
Photo Credit: Getty Images The National Catholic Reporter wrote that on the first Sunday after his election last May, Pope Leo XIV led thousands of people in Vatican Square in singing the traditional noontime prayer, Regina Coeli, rather than reciting it as all his predecessors had done before him. Since then, Leo has taken to singing at Papal... Continue Reading →
Joseph’s Dreams and Herod’s Actions
Photo Credit: Getty Images I have been thinking a lot about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus who are ‘on the run’ since Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem. A few historical facts might make their escape more understandable. Herod the Great (yes, that is his title), wanted to kill the infant Jesus. We know that part of the... Continue Reading →
“We have come to pay him homage” Matt 2:2
Photo Credit: Bible Study Tools We're about to celebrate the Feast of the Three Kings, or Epiphany, as the Church calls the event. Here's what we really know about these men and what they can teach us. First, there may have been—and probably were—more travelers in the group. They traveled from Mesopotamia, the home of astrology... Continue Reading →
Let’s “Take a Cup of Kindness Yet,” This New Year
Raise a toast. Stay up for the fireworks. Kiss someone near. Hug the dog. Guzzle the egg nog. The New Year has arrived. Settle into a favorite chair and praise God that you have made it to this point in human time. Reach into the sparkling night sky and watch a few glittering planets on their... Continue Reading →
Simplicity: The Soul of Christmas
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Simplicity is the soul of Christmas. God revels in simplicity. An adolescent mother, a caring young father. A long arduous journey just to give their names in the town where the man’s family has roots. Humbly asking for a place to stay and offered only a shelter for animals. The first visitors... Continue Reading →
Prophets and the Royal Consciousness
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Our Advent readings teem with references to the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. We are mostly attentive to the writings of Isaiah especially Chapters 40 and 61. Isaiah is considered the “greatest of the prophets” (New American Bible [NAB] p. 824) who received his call in the temple of Jerusalem described in Isaiah,... Continue Reading →
Advent: The Season of Annunciations
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Stephanie Saldaña is a writer who lives with her husband, a Syriac Catholic priest, and their family in Bethlehem. In a recent article published by Commonweal (“We Must Celebrate Well” Nov. 25, 2025) Saldaña captures the present reality of the Holy Land poignantly as she recounts what she is reflecting on as she wanders... Continue Reading →
“A Penny for Your Thoughts” and Here Are Some of Mine
“In its heyday, the penny had immense cultural impact. It was the going rate for thoughts. It was a symbol of frugality, saved and/or earned. It could sometimes be pretty, and other times arrive from heaven. And how many ideas would never have come to light without a penny dropping?” (Victor Mather, The New York Times eulogy on... Continue Reading →