Twelve years ago, when the new pope, unknown to the world was elected, the first question he was asked by the gathered press was, “Who are you?” He responded by saying, “I am a sinner.” Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) began as a movement in the 1930s in Ohio. At the center was Bill W who, though […]
This Lent, I will offer some mini retreats for people to reflect upon the most significant issues of life and address topics of death. Utilizing guidance from spiritual directors, life coaches, death doulas, and Catholic traditions, we will spend time discussing how to make the most of what remains of our earthly life, how to […]
Herman Melville once wrote, “We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads and, along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes, and they return to us as results.” “Catholic” means universal. The Catholic Church has been a good reminder through time that all humanity is part of […]
I was born in the summer of 1959, the same week that The Chiefs professional football team was born. It was conceived in Dallas by Lamar Hunt; the name on their birth certificate was Dallas Texans. The next year, when I was starting to crawl and walk and fall, they were playing their first season […]
When America’s housewife, the famous columnist Erma Bombeck, contemplated life beyond death, she said that she wanted to appear before God’s throne displaying all her wounds and scars, hobble up to the Lord and turn her empty pockets inside-out to show that she didn’t hold anything back, that she used everything that was entrusted to […]
I think that the way we drive says a lot about the way we live. Many motorists on our roadways are aggressive drivers; some go to extremes and become angry drivers or even suffer road rage. Others claim to be competitive but not aggressive drivers who fiercely reach their destination by outsmarting others in their […]
I remember being at a Martin Luther King Day celebration decades ago when many well-meaning people, mostly whites who wanted to make a statement against racism, wore T-shirts bearing the words: “I am color blind.” The keynote speaker, Alvin Brooks, challenged the audience to not be color-blind but, rather, to be color-sensitive, to not only […]
Among the numerous contributions that the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) has given to our nation and world is the simple yet profound message that we, by our mere existence, have an obligation—and simultaneous privilege—to make our community a better place to live, learn, work, and worship. As children of the earth and children […]
“There’s a legend that’s known both here and afar, ‘bout a belief that we have in a magical star; Wise Men were overwhelmed but what would they bring, as the star came to rest over the newborn king!” Local citizens are sometimes surprised to learn that there are places within Kansas City that are not […]
Seinfeld fans can readily recall the Festivus episode in which, among other things, George decided that instead of giving coworkers a costly wrapped Christmas present for the mandatory office holiday exchange, he would gift them with a contribution card to a charitable cause. It was to a charity that he invented and called The Human […]
UPON THIS ROCK 