There’s a joke about a husband whose downfall was that he misread his wife’s hints for romantic gifts.  As their anniversary approached, she said, “Honey, I had the most interesting dream about our anniversary.  We were having an intimate dinner and I was wearing a gorgeous diamond bracelet.  What do you think it means?”  He […]

Because Jesus was Jewish, poor, and existed in a subjugate and oppressed society, He understood the world differently than most of us do through the lens of our high-achieving first-world nation of religious freedom, wealth, opportunity, and dominance in multiple realms.  His most famous speech, The Sermon on the Mount, began with acknowledging those who […]

After hosting a fourth consecutive NFL-AFC championship game, Arrowhead Stadium turns off the lights of another exciting and entertaining season; what transpired there lingers as if a mystical ether captures its memories.  Like the warning in Allen Field House at KU in Lawrence, “Pay heed all who enter…Beware of the Phog…”, there is a spirt […]

In the first chapter of Genesis, we read that, on the sixth day, God made man, made us in His own image, made us male and female, and, after making us, blessed us. Ever since, the sixth day has been a special spiritual day in the life of humanity.  In Christian circles on the sixth […]

A story is told about a man who attempted to climb Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, but he never made it to the top.  Members of the expedition team that accompanied him recall his last words.  When they called out to him, he called back: “I’m still climbing!” I began this blog soon after coming to Saint […]

When God delivered The Ten Commandments to our Jewish ancestors, it was during the time that He also delivered them from slavery in Egypt and accompanied them to a promised land.  He initiated and fulfilled their liberation so that they could live their true identity.  Their identity was not as slaves, not primarily as laborers […]

There’s a story I love about a little wave that bobbed along in the ocean enjoying the fresh air, breeze, sunshine, and rhythm of its existence.  Then one day, it noticed that other waves in front of it were crashing onto the shore.  “My God,” said the wave, “this is terrible.  Look what’s going to […]

Henry David Thoreau famously wrote: “The mass of men lead quiet lives of desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”  His comment suggests that most of us are asleep (if not dead) inside as we go through our daily motions of unfulfilled encounters at work and home, in relationship with […]

The Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality seems to be vast and varied.  I believe that, above all else, it is a spiritual exercise in listening.  The theologian, Paul Tillich, once stated, “The first act of love is to listen.”  Like a mother who listens to her baby’s breathing, we act in accord with love when […]

The prayer of Saint Augustine, “I believe, Lord.  Help my unbelief,” is echoed in every generation, especially at this time of year when we surrender to the immensity of the divine mystery, contemplate the magic of the Christmas season, and resolve to do better in the new year that awaits us.  Young Natalie Wood in […]