There is a famous tale of a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening neighbors gathered at his place to commiserate. “That was bad luck,” they said. He replied, “Maybe it is—maybe it isn’t.” The next day, the horse returned, bringing with it seven wild horses into the corral. The neighbors reassembled there and […]
As the United States enters our two hundred fiftieth year as a nation, we can look back with much gratitude for the freedom, liberty, and opportunities given to us, while we also call to mind the sorrows of many who sacrificed and suffered in the past as well as those who struggle today. We contemplate […]
Unlike most liturgical Sundays that are identified by numbers (Second Sunday of Advent, Fifth Sunday of Easter, Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time…), the five Sundays this June are identified by names: Ascension, Pentecost, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, and Peter & Paul. These feasts help us focus on a concept or event that strengthens our relationship […]
Motivational speaker and acclaimed writer, David Brooks, in his book The Second Mountain, articulated four “commitments” that make a person’s life meaningful and fulfilling. The four foundations have to do with home life, work life, social life, and philosophy of life. In discussing them with various people and groups I know they ring true; though it […]
Ninety-eight years ago, Max Ehrmann wrote the prose poem Desiderata. It begins with the memorable and soothing line, “Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.” This pensive starter gives contrast to the noisy chaos of our hasty world in which it is so easy for us […]
A prayer that priests and other religious pray in the cycle of our daily Liturgy of the Hours (or Office/Breviary) reads: “Lord, you renew the face of the earth announcing unforetold wonders. Through a virgin, you brought forth new birth to our world; through your miracles, new power; through your suffering, new patience; in your […]
Twentieth century clergyman and author Norman Vincent Peale made famous his Parable of the Prenatal Baby which he first told to a wealthy and powerful aging man who asked him about the mysterious afterlife. He told it not to explain an unknowable reality but to offer us enlightenment through faith, intelligence, and common sense; he […]
As we approach Good Shepherd Sunday, the Catholic Church welcomes our new spiritual father, successor to Peter, and universal shepherd, Pope Leo XIV. Though his predecessor, Francis, was the first American pope and one who reached out to and established the church’s significance in the eastern hemisphere like none before him, Leo is the first […]
The French term for hospital, Hotel-Dieu, translates into English as “House of God.” Usually sponsored by religious groups and often operated by nuns or representatives of the church, hospitals served originally as places of care for the suffering, triage centers for those wounded in battle, and hospice facilities that offer solace and peace to the […]
The world became a better place because it got to know Francis. When Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was introduced as the new pope in March of 2013, he reminded us of God’s merciful love and benevolent compassion for every person. As he promised his friends in Latin America, he would not forget the […]
UPON THIS ROCK 