Photo Credit: Pixabay.com Read this story carefully: “To stop this from further spreading among the people we must give them a stern warning never to mention that man’s name to anyone again. So, they called them back and made it clear that under no circumstances were they to speak the name of Jesus or teach... Continue Reading →
Pets and Tariffs and Toys and Prayers!
I decided to sort my mail into topics that needed answering. Top of the list was tariffs and toys. Second is: does God hear the prayers of animals? So, I will treat these topics in this post. Each of the two letters represent others I received on the same topic. Lily Dear Lily: My favorite toys are... Continue Reading →
More on Understanding Prayer and Tragedy
Photo Credit: L’Arche Cleveland In light of the Minnesota school shooting, several of you commented personally on the last post which centered on where is God in tragedy and are prayers heard during such tragedies? A few struggled with something I would like to handle this week and that is what about children born with... Continue Reading →
In Tragedy We Turn to God
Photo Credit: Annunciation Catholic Church (I originally planned a different topic to write about this week but before I settled with my laptop I caught the news about another school shooting. I had to change the topic. I simply had to.) I was assigned to teach in an elementary school for only three of my forty... Continue Reading →
Labor Day: A Time for Gratitude for Work and Workers
Photo Credit: Getty Images “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” Luke 10:7 I have become aware of the achievement of hard labor more the last few years than ever before. This is probably due to maturity and the sensitivity it brings to mind. I've been thinking of my uncles who labored in Pittsburgh steel mills and became... Continue Reading →
Peering Into Heaven All Day Long
Photo Credit: NASA (Kuiper Belt) Ok, I admit. I’m a card-carrying, bona fide believer in extraterritorial intelligent life. I have visited Roswell, New Mexico on the anniversary of its museum and spoken to people who knew directly of the events surrounding the interplanetary evidence that landed there in 1947. We studied government documents and correspondence... Continue Reading →
“I have come for division” (Luke13:51) What Does This Mean?
This coming Sunday, Christians will hear a part of Luke’s gospel which will disturb us, make us squirm a bit in the pew, distract us to think about the upcoming picnic or our favorite team’s exhibition game slated for the afternoon. Jesus’s words are instructional: “I have come to light a fire on the earth…Do... Continue Reading →
History and The Hidden Stories of Valiant Women in the Catholic Church
The Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism sponsors a Triennial Conference on the History of Women Religious at its home, Notre Dame University. The conference highlights women religious and their contributions to the American Catholic church history. The theme for this 13th Triennial Conference was Lives and Archives. Some friends of mine who have attended the... Continue Reading →
Lamentation On a Holy Place
“They ask their mothers, ‘Where is the cereal?’ In vain, As they faint away like the wounded In the streets of the city, And breathe their last In their mothers’ arms.” (Lamentations 2:12) The other morning, I woke to the news reported from a decimated hospital in Gaza. The doctor being interviewed in Gaza, Dr. Nicholas... Continue Reading →
When the Cracks on the Wall Become Beautiful…
Photo Credit: Montreal Museum of Fine Art (Before I begin this post, I have to celebrate this blog which posted its 300th publication last week. I forgot to mention it at that time. It's been three hundred weeks, never missing a Monday morning, since ‘in-things-charity’ has appeared. I pray it continues, and I welcome your ideas for... Continue Reading →