Category: Christian

Catholic

Sheer Grace

Sheer Grace AUDIO

It was early December.  Christmas was still over three weeks away.  “I need stamps with a Nativity scene, please,” I said to the postal worker I faced through the plexiglass COVID barrier.  “We’re sold out of those.  I’m sorry,” was her unconvincing apology.  I offered that any religious Christmas scene would be fine. It received the same response.  I left the building with a sheet of sea otters frolicking in the snow and icy water which was described to me as a Christmas seasonal stamp. I would like to think this shortage was the result of an overwhelming demand for religious stamps that exceeded the abundant supply.  Forgive my doubt.

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Catholic

A Vanishing Kingdom – part three

A Vanishing Kingdom – part three AUDIO

When you fall in love with someone, you can’t stop thinking about him; you look for every opportunity to be with her; you look for ways to show your love for him; you want to tell everyone else all about her. So I had to ask myself:

How often does Jesus occupy my thoughts; how frequently do I seek ways to spend time with him; do I look for ways to show him my love; do I find myself telling others about him and how much he means to me?

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Catholic

A Vanishing Kingdom – part two

A Vanishing Kingdom – part two AUDIO

Where are the subjects of the Kingdom?  If the Kingdom of God is fading from memory and visibility in our contemporary world, the question must be “What has become of its citizens?”  In 1978 Frank Sheed wrote that we were in a spiritual coma!  Apparently forty-three years have passed with little change in our condition.  Our malaise might best be captured in the word repeated ad nauseam in daily parlance: “Whatever”.  Intended to convey a benevolent tolerance, it instead communicates an indifference to anything or anyone outside of one’s own experience.

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Catholic

A Vanishing Kingdom

In the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King.  It’s a celebration of his kingship over the entire universe.  An affirmation of a central truth of Christianity.  But what do Americans know of kingdoms?  Have you ever met or even seen a king (the flat faced one with a silly grin that promotes burgers doesn’t count)?  Yet throughout the Gospels kings and kingdoms are a persistent theme.

A Vanishing Kingdom AUDIO

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Catholic

Use Your Judgment

Are you ready to be judged?
Use Your Judgment AUDIO

If you follow professional football, you know that Jon Gruden was abruptly forced to resign his position this week as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.  During an investigation of another NFL team, a series of his 2011emails was discovered and leaked to The New York Times, describing them as racist, anti-gay, and misogynist.

I was on vacation with my wife and youngest son during the Supreme Court hearings for now Justice Brett Cavanaugh during which his college drinking days became the stuff of prime time television.

Years ago I remember my wife and I decluttering our attic storage when we came across some letters we had exchanged during our college dating years.  My eyes bulged as profanity on the pages startled me out of my nostalgic reminiscence.  That correspondence quickly accompanied me to the home office shredder for a hasty farewell. .

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Catholic

Heroes or Villains?

Heroes or Villains AUDIO

Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, Han Solo.  Batman, Superman, Cat Woman, The Joker.  Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head.  Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy. 

To our children, they are superheroes to emulate or gift givers extraordinaire.   Their posters adorn bedroom walls.  Their images on pajamas, slippers, pillowcases and bed comforters assure protection from nocturnal invaders.  Lunch boxes (does anyone use lunch boxes anymore?), backpacks, and underwear with their themes warn school bullies to back off.  They leave gifts unseen around trees, in baskets, and under pillows.

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Catholic

The Foolishness of God

The Foolishness of God AUDIO

I’ve been reflecting recently on the foolishness of God.  I know.  I’m treading on thin ice. So far I haven’t fallen through and succumbed to hypothermia – but I know I’m at risk.  It goes something like this.

Before the dawn of time, with no need for anyone or anything, you created a vast and beautiful cosmos; a universe filled with life; living beings both angelic and human.  Was it not foolishness to begin a creation that could add nothing to your perfect happiness?  Men and women with the free will to choose for you or against you?  God, what foolishness to make yourself vulnerable to the puniest of mere creatures!

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Happy Anniversary

The campus of The College of Steubenville was the setting for our wedding.

Today Madeline and I celebrate our wedding anniversary.  In her honor I share with you two songs.  The first one is a rewrite of a song I composed for her earlier in our marriage and needs no explanation.  The second one is a cover of a song by James Taylor that captures well the heart of my relationship with her since my semi-retirement and the increased time together during the pandemic.  Especially on the refrain I think you’ll see why.

My good friend, Ray Niccolai, supplied the guitar on both songs, and the bass on What More.  He’s a master musician who also plays mandolin, electric guitar, and probably any instrument that has strings. I’m deeply grateful for his contribution.

And so to my college sweetheart – Happy Anniversary with all of my love.

Happy Anniversary AUDIO
What More?
Something in the Way She Moves

Catholic

Do You Know Your ABCs?

Alphabet Soup
Do You Know Your ABCs – Audio

A is for Anxiety.  B is for Biles.  C is for Control.  The 2021 Olympic torch has been extinguished, but the mental health debate is heating up – again.  When Simone Biles withdrew from various gymnastics events, she cited “the twisties”.  Previously known by the average American as the wiry item that is used to tie up a bread wrapper, we learned that it also describes a mind-body disconnect for a gymnast in mid-air.  

In a July 28th article by Emily Giambalvo, we are told that “after experiencing the twisties, it’s very difficult to forget.  Instinct gets replaced by thought.  Thought quickly leads to worry.  Worry is very difficult to escape.”  Many of my clients would recognize that rather rudimentary description immediately – the ones who suffer from anxiety disorders.  As a mental health therapist, I help them to identify, understand, manage, and cope with the various forms of disabling anxiety.  But during this protracted pandemic, more and more of us are suffering from debilitating anxiety – a non-athletic version of the twisties.

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Catholic

WWJD

WWJD AUDIO

My new take on WWJD:  What Would Joseph Do?  I haven’t created a new wristband or anything.  It’s just that I’m identifying with him in ways previously unexplored.  It started with Pope Francis announcing a Year for St. Joseph on Dec. 8, 2020, and creating an accompanying prayer.  If the Vatican website isn’t in your list of Favorites, here’s a shortcut to it:

Hail Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

To you God entrusted his only Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life. 

Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage, and defend us from every evil.  Amen.

Three words spoke to me.  First was trust.  God entrusted His only Son to Joseph’s care.  When God the Father trusts someone with His most precious beloved Son, from his most vulnerable moments as an infant to his growth and development as a young boy to his maturity into manhood – that gets my attention.

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