I cannot get enough of the sunshine these days. I am beyond happy for the coming summer. Which takes me to baseball, my favorite sport. I didn’t have a chance to write about Women’s History Month in March, so I thought I’d give it a go for the opening of the baseball season. Yes, there were women in... Continue Reading →
“Defiant Joy: Shaped by Grief, Buoyed by Faith”
(Article title in Christianity Today, December 2022.) Next Sunday is Easter. I cannot describe Easter as an event. To me Easter is God’s love manifested in the triumph of Jesus, God’s Son. Since it is Love, Easter is a spirit. After the stone is rolled away, it’s a merging of the universe with the welcoming warmth, exceptional beauty, infectious harmony of... Continue Reading →
The Week of Entrances
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 →
What Does the Story of Lazarus Really Mean?
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 →
“I Was Blind, and Now I See…”
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 →
Vital Dust and Lenten Ashes
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 →
The Cultic Cross and the Christian Cross. Which One Will Give You Peace?
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 →
The G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) and Ordinary Spirituality
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 →
More About Miracles
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 →
What About Miracles: Real or Not for Believers and Non-Believers
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 →