It’s almost that time of year again when we work on our halo, Lent. How cool is it that the Church gives us so many opportunities in our everyday life that stretches and disciplines us on our way to sainthood. No, I didn't always think this way, but I'm getting older,...
I advanced another year today. Thank you, Lord, for all the years gone by and for never giving up on me. More frequently, I hear myself saying without thinking, “I used to be able to…” (fill in the blank). A couple of years back, one of our granddaughters was...
A couple of friends and I were commenting on how the warm weather still hanging around was getting tiresome. It then occurred to us that in Phoenix, we do not have to worry about tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, or snow. No unexpected earthquakes send us scampering to...
Do we ever think about asking God to increase our faith? Increase my paycheck, or my bank account, but not my faith. I want to propose that asking for an increase in faith benefits us personally, collectively, and eternally. Jesus responds to the Disciples' request to...
You never know what cartoon characters you’ll encounter at the airports these days. Today, my flight had Plum Pudding, of Strawberry Shortcake fame, and Mercury Moon, from the Manga series. Really? No, they’re fictional characters. However, these mature women...
Was all of Phoenix at the airport today?
When I think of clusters, peanuts immediately come to mind. Those delicious crunchy chocolatey nuggets of yumminess. But I am not writing about those. Apparently, stars are born in clusters, and migraines can cluster. But I am...
My first memory of volunteering took place in South Korea as a new bride during our initial assignment. I said yes and helped at the wives’ club events and at Church, teaching religion classes. I found it to be a great way to meet others, and it felt good to help make a difference.
What I never expected was to discover more about myself in the process. I noticed that I was pretty skilled at specific tasks that were useful to the organizations I served. The more I shared these strengths, the more they grew.
Grant me an artistic license as I step far off my normal path and recount a recent event in imaginative terms rather than its gritty reality. I daresay you will eventually get the point if you remain focused as it meanders through familiar paths, recalling perhaps...
"The graces of My Mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust." (Diary 1578) Our Pastor, referring to this quote by St. Faustina, put it into terms we could understand by saying that mercy is a bottomless well. The bucket we use to draw upon God's...
We have entered the Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. These three days culminate Christ's redemptive work on our behalf and mark a new beginning for us. Sin is no longer a noose around our neck. Unless we refuse to repent and continue in our sin....
I meet so many young adults who are "spiritual but not religious." What does that mean? It is like saying I love coffee but smelling it suffices I love to experience nature but I don't leave my house. I love God....but I can't imagine actually going to church and...
What's the big deal anyway with Lent? Why does it matter, isn't that old school, a practice best left in the Dark Ages? What ever difference does it make to give up chocolate, or candy or beer or coffee? How will that make the world a better place? How will that feed...
This Advent hasn't waited for me to get it together yet. It hasn't paused while I spread myself so thin attempting to buy, sell, close, prepare, shop, wrap, pen cards, post or consider gift giving. It simply has marched onward, ready or not. I keep trying to refocus...
Why have a national holiday that's very purpose is gratitude oriented? For all intense and purposes it offers folks a few precious hours to stop, reflect, and remember that everything is gift. It is right and good to stop and celebrate each other, the bounty and the...
"[Jesus] consented to empty Himself and become the hardest thing in the universe...a mortal human being...to enter our daily lives. God walks among us, is so simple we refuse to believe it; it fulfills our deepest yearning and binds us to what has actually been...