Last week, on January 4, we celebrated the Church’s feast day of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. My, what a great day that is for us who live her charism and her direct lineage touching schools, hospitals, child centers (originally orphanages), and just about anything her long line of daughters would found and administer world wide.... Continue Reading →
Photo credit: pixabay.com The story of the Magi at the birth of Jesus simply enchants the imagination. Over the years I occasionally dig into researching it for fun. It seems it has taken on more characteristics century-by-century as it is told this time of year. The essentials of the story are really quite sparce in Matthew’s telling and he... Continue Reading →
Nearly a month ago, David Greene, a reporter for NPR, listed all the countries involved in bona fide wars, not skirmishes or protests. African nations run with blood; Asian, Indian, and Latin countries are plotting to overthrow leaders and annihilate the active opposing forces. Greene concluded his report saying, “We are in a season of... Continue Reading →
Photo Credit: dailyps.com Advent is nearly finished with its serene and silently beautiful movement toward our celebration of His birth. A friend gave me an essay written in The Washington Post by Michael Gerson who captured the real meaning of advent’s bountiful spiritual gifts. He wrote that, “…advent leaves every human being with a choice between... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPHh3nMMu-I&feature=youtu.be I discussed The Reed of God by the British writer and mystic, Caryll Houselander in my last post. It is a classic on the spirituality of advent with Mary as the focus. A word about Houselander might provide some encouragement about her mystical approach to spirituality and in advent in particular, an approach you and I can internalize. Houselander was only seven... Continue Reading →
Photo Credit: Jump For Joy by Corby Eisbacher Many years ago, and I mean many, I was a student at Siena Heights College (now University) enduring a bitterly cold Michigan winter and wondering what I could do for advent. The cold and wispy gray of the season inspired me to search for some appropriate advent reading when one of my Dominican... Continue Reading →
Photo Credit: Diocese of Camden I got to see the movie, It’s a Good Day in the Neighborhood, the wonderfully thoughtful narrative of how ‘radical kindness’ brought peace to a journalist who struggled to reconcile with his estranged father under the guidance of Fred Rogers, the American super star in children’s television. I mentioned in my last post that I had... Continue Reading →
Courtesy of Ironwood Custom Builders Michael Flippo - stock.adobe.com Let us take time to think of things we take for granted and to realize how precious they are for us. Let us ask for the gift of gratitude because then our hearts will be enlarged. I offer the following video to assist with this reflection.... Continue Reading →
Credit: AZ Quotes I can’t wait to see the new movie, It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, in which Tom Hanks stars as Fred Rogers, the iconic creator and performer of television’s long running childrens’ show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Reviews of the movie have been generally quite favorable recognizing Hanks’s interpretation of Fred Rogers for hisdrilling deeply into the psyche of a man who gently... Continue Reading →
Photo Credit: Pexels I’ve been noticing that there appears a groundswell in discussions on the subject of charity and love with examples in nearly all platforms of the media. I think you may have noticed the same. Or, is it that since I’ve made this my blog theme, I am simply more attuned? What do... Continue Reading →
In All Things Charity 