Let’s take a pause. We need some levity. We need some warm, fuzzy comfort in the midst of a debate leaving many Americans feeling angry and divided more than ever. Bring on The Westminster Dog Show!!! This coming February 10 and 11, the oldest sporting event in the United States will be televised. I try never... Continue Reading →
Kindness and the “war of words.”
When I was in junior high, my family got our first television set, a floor model, black and white small screen, Philco (I think). We were enthralled. It was truly a family co-ordinate; kids sprawled on the living room floor watching Red Skelton, our favorite comedian, and the numerous quiz shows and crime stories with Mom bringing... Continue Reading →
Human Trafficking and the Need for Kindness
Photo Credit:Pixaby.com This coming week on February 3, America will slip into the cozy confines of the average family room and dig into the dip and the cheese crackers while guzzling a beverage and turning to the television where two top football teams will play their hearts out to win the Super Bowl. The host... Continue Reading →
Division and Kindness in The Two Popes
St. Peter’s Basilica: Photo Credit, Pixaby.com Similar to It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, another current movie, The Two Popes, gives us something to meditate on concerning kindness and how we live it in the face of increasing division, this time within religion. There are many reasons for recommending this movie, one being, the acting is... Continue Reading →
Elizabeth Ann Seton: The Soul of Kindness and Generosity
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 →
Three Kings and Kindness
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 →
Resolutions of Charity Lead to Peace
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 →
On the Threshold of Christmas
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 →
A Radical Soul Turns to Radical Kindness
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 →
Radical Kindness and the Mother of God
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 →