A Challenge of Grief – “The Devil in Everything” Grief wrestled for center stage during the last half year of my father’s life. We often heard the query, “Is the devil in everything?” Beset by physical pain run rampant in a hard-used body, emotional pain of missing Mom, and winter weather compounding the misery of both, …
Motivation? Organization? Who Cares? Just “To-Do” It! Just a little poll to start – how many of you make to-do lists? Do you follow them? Did you make one for today? I admit to having a love-hate relationship with to-do lists for almost as long as I can remember. If kept simple, short and specific …
How often do you pause to connect-the-dots of your life? The cordless receiver clicked into its cradle. One more time ‘Ma Bell magic’ allowed a dot to plot its mark, grid-like for connecting, on my memory. A dear friend called from California. He received our belated Christmas greetings with a poem I wrote about missing Mom. …
This morning at Mass, Fr. Sam spoke of the millennia passed since Christ first came incarnate. The thought immediately popped into my head, “This is Mom’s first Christmas in heaven.” Some of you may have read here or here, of earlier reflections I’ve posted since her passing. So here we are at another anniversary of …
Thankful, you think, held back from the brink of chaos as king, though life flapped its wing from happier days to difficult stays. Still breathing, you find, each step from behind leads stone upon stone to ultimate throne of Him you adore – will serve evermore – while faithful, you stay, through plunder or play. …
One post away went my thinking. One post away. But from what? Continuity? Fame? Competency? Joy? It’s been a month of reflection friends, on deep and meaningful levels. My Mom passed away last month. Since August the death of my Mom brings the total to six, of friends who lost a parent. Add that to …
Today the Catholic liturgical calendar marks the Feast of the Archangels. Archangel – (Theology) a chief or principal angel; in medieval angelology one of the nine orders of celestial attendants on God. In honor of the day, here is a little quiz to test your knowledge of Archangels. If you scored well – share this …
Kindness – the Dwindling Commodity This past few weeks, acts of kindness took center stage. During terrible natural disasters around the world, we heard and saw story after story of neighbor helping neighbor and strangers helping anyone in need. They did it not for reward or recognition, but rather because it was the right thing …
Change Sixteen years of admonition, highs and lows in disposition…. evidence of change? Sights of sorrow; mem’ry calling fresh felt heartache, teardrop falling. Did I rearrange time to practice love of brother, caring less for self than other, keeping promise strong? Holding hope to change for better, recognizing self as debtor, righting what is wrong? …
Are you a thinker – or a doer? Or both? Somewhere amid the days of growing older we come to realizations about ourselves. One of these might be that we think about things – a lot. The doers of the world frown upon excessive thinking, and vice versa, but the world needs all kinds of …