A few weeks ago, the annual World Happiness Report was published. Among the sources of research and statistical studies that come up with the information are Gallup Poll, University of Oxford’s Well-being Research Center, the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR World Happiness Report Editorial Board. That’s a big chunk of credible and reliable sources... Continue Reading →

Have you heard the recent discrediting of ‘empathy’ among political leaders and the far-right Christian churches? It’s been all over the various news outlets, both one side and the other in political persuasion and especially embraced by our Evangelical Christian brothers and sisters. The debate (if you can call it that) has galvanized opposing interpretations... Continue Reading →

The reappearance of Pope Francis in the Vatican last week holds hope for millions of Catholics that he might make more decisions on behalf of the oppressed crying from his to-do-list. Each pope has centralized his pontificate on what he and church officials working with him think the church needs desperately to address from the... Continue Reading →

The week of March 10 was the celebration of Catholic Sisters Week throughout the world. The acknowledgement somehow slipped past me until I started getting lovely notes from former students and other people I had met during my various ministries. I was both humbled and energized. But it got me to reflecting on my life... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: The University of Akron March is National Women’s Month. I know some people wonder why we celebrate women this month and it’s a fair question if your knowledge of history is a bit shaky. In the wonderful musical, My Fair Lady, professor Henry Higgins confesses to loathing the incursion of women into the... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com It occurred to me, in reflection last week, that Jesus never raised a fist exclaiming to his followers: “Fight!” during the crucifixion. He certainly could have done so when arrested in the Garden or hoisted on the cross. In the accurate depictions of the crucifixion, Jesus is nailed at the wrists, his... Continue Reading →

Lent begins this week. Let’s reflect on the theme of forgiveness with two stories that affected me lately. In 1995, a 59-year-old Ursuline Sister of Cleveland, Ohio was raped and murdered in the woods behind her Motherhouse property. Sister Joanne Marie Marsha had been walking in the woods behind her Motherhouse. She was out enjoying... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com I have mentioned Pico Iyer before, the travel writer of exotic and far-flung corners of the world, a man with a penchant for beauty and a soul inclined to mysticism. Somewhere inside his restless search to describe the little-known wonders of Tibet, Ethiopia, Cuba, North Korea, and more, is a desire not... Continue Reading →

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, With all your soul, with all your strength, And with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 28) These are the lawyer’s words in answer to the question he had asked of Jesus: “How can I inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds that... Continue Reading →

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, With all your soul, with all your strength, And with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 28) These are the lawyer’s words in answer to the question he had asked of Jesus: “How can I inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds that... Continue Reading →