For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13-14)I have always loved this verse from scripture; in fact I have it on my living room wall.  A recent experience with hatching chicks has […]

I had a very special mother-in-law, who worried about everyone and sought a way to help her children with anything they’d need. Sometimes I would pick her up to take her to the supermarket, and while she was adding products to the cart, she’d look at me saying, “Do you […]

Corpus Christi is the feast of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Today the Church remembers the institution of the Holy Eucharist.  The Last Supper was one of the most intense moments in the life of Jesus where he invites us to friendship with his Father. There, in the […]

On a cold winter’s day, Saint Francis walked with Brother Leo from Perugia to the Porziúncola (approximately a half day’s journey). Because of their poverty, they suffered much in the cold. At one point, Brother Leo asked Saint Francis: “Father, please, I beg you to tell me:  what is perfect […]

We live in a society with a lot of noise, and it is not just environmental noise, but a lot of spiritual noise as well. Although the noise of traffic, planes flying overhead, and construction in the street, fills our environment, it is perhaps the spiritual noise that affects us […]

This past Sunday in the United States, we celebrated Mother’s Day. On this day, we honor our mother’s, living and deceased, who made so many loving sacrifices for our benefit. For me, this year turned into, unexpectedly, a particularly treasured observance.On Saturday morning, the day prior to the holiday, I […]

Have you ever met an Angel? I have and I call her Mom. In our lives, we have the opportunity to meet and experience ‘Angels’ that touch, guide or help us in many different ways. I believe that the best Angels we will ever encounter are our Mothers. Mothers will […]

A few years ago, I signed up for a Lenten prayer series on St. Ignatius of Loyola. I knew very little about this popular saint, so I thought it would be good for me to learn about his life and sainthood. To be honest, in reality I learned very little about […]

Imagine having the wisest person in the world as your closest friend – somebody with so much knowledge and experience that it would be foolish not to ask this person for advice. Somebody shaped by experience and light, always above and beyond all anxieties, regrets, guilt and failures. Somebody whose […]

Jesus replied, ‘For whoever is not against us is for us.’ (Mark 9:40)I keep these words in the forefront of mind as I go about the job of pastoral ministry.  It reminds me that I do not have to agree with everything an organization says or does in order to […]