Cleveland Guardians Logo As baseball season is ending, I'm happily aware that the Cleveland Guardians are in the Central Division Playoffs of the American League. Some pundits say they have a great chance to go all the way to the World Series. I'm very hopeful for that. If they do get that far, chances are they will face the... Continue Reading →
“Shared Host, Shared Life,” A Look at the Catholic Eucharist
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com I came across an essay in Gerhard Lohfink’s most recent, and sadly his last book, All My Springs Are in You, which I would like to use as a basis for this blog. If you are a consistent reader of the blog, you know that I often use Lohfink’s expressed spirituality and theological thinking... Continue Reading →
Grace, Years, Love and Challenges
Photo Credit: Sisters of Charity, Cincinnati I'm sitting in a chapel pew with my fellow-jubilarians a few weeks ago on a summer Sunday morning as rays of sunlight gently stream through the windows and fall on the gathering crowd below. We older jubilarians are sitting in the front pews because we have walkers and wheelchairs... Continue Reading →
Coming Home: The First Step is Opening the Door and Going Inside
Photo Credit: Wikipedia One of my favorite characters in the Christian Scriptures is Nicodemus, the Pharisee, rabbi, member of the Sanhedrin who stealthily observes Jesus before going to see him in the darkness of night. His story is told only in the Gospel of John. Scripture scholar Fr. Bruce Vawter explains that in this gospel, what seems... Continue Reading →
Joy, Even as Summer Slips Away
Lately the news reports of American life have been getting a bit neurotic as outlets cover the election campaign, now in full throttle. But it strikes me as comforting that one candidate is earning attention as the “joy-filled candidate.” Imagine! A real person being described as a witness to one of the fruits of the Holy... Continue Reading →
Let’s Hear It for Teachers and School Leaders
This time of year, is always nostalgic for us retired teachers and anyone who worked in a school environment. A woman who ran our high school cafeteria for many years still attends the class reunions embracing the women who attend just as she did when acting as a surrogate mom while dishing out the spaghetti... Continue Reading →
Are We Thoughtful About Our Language?
Have you ever thought of listing the over-used words and phrases you encounter daily? Some language experts refer to many over-used words as ‘brain fog,’ or ‘stream of consciousness word pauses,’ or ‘brainless or emotionless’ vocabulary. Not long ago, teenagers fell into the word swamp with ‘like.’ Consider this brief conversation: “He said, you have to come... Continue Reading →
Lessons From a Storm
Photo Credit: Mary Ann Flannery, SC You may have heard about the tornadoes that touched down in Northeast, Ohio last week. The National Weather Report indicated that four E1 Tornadoes swirled through towns, uprooting trees, shaving off roofs and disabling power to over 300,000 residences in their path. We were one of those households. Sister Helen... Continue Reading →
I Live with a Gold Medal Winner
Hold on. More about the gold medal winner later in this post. But let's read a bit of history first. All Americans are breathlessly, joyfully watching the Olympics these past days. I am riveted as much as possible, and my sisters are as well. I think there are a couple reasons why we should honor and support the... Continue Reading →
Caring and Love: What They Mean in the Last Stages of Life
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Every once-in-a-while you and I experience a word or comment or example from someone that stops us short in our tracks, makes us feel like we are frozen in a glacier of unreality. We cannot move. Or we do not move out of respect for the heaviness of the thought or word... Continue Reading →