Human beings are remarkable in many ways. We have an unparalleled ability to learn. As individuals and societies, our creativity and capacity for love reflect that of our Creator. God also gave human beings an astounding aptitude for adaptation. We are among the most...

There are indigenous religious traditions in which people recognize a special connection to a particular “spirit animal” or a totem—a non-human being, either real or mythical, usually an animal, but sometimes a plant, element or celestial body. They can be many things...

This is a strange time we’re living through, isn’t it? For many of us, our day-to-day world is involuntarily constricted in ways and at a scale we’ve never experienced. We can’t go to work or the gym, visit our friends, pray together in church or sit in a restaurant...

There are countless good reasons and seemingly endless ways to pray. The saints, scripture, our families (hopefully), our own hearts, the glory of the created world and our Lord all speak to us, if we are open to hearing it, about the value and importance of prayer in...

During the Lenten Season, one of the Scripture Readings is from the Gospel of Luke. It begins with the sentence “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36 NIV) In reflecting on that passage, I was first drawn to reflect upon my experience...

On January 1st, I followed a tradition I learned from my spiritual director that has helped to set the tone for my year so far. Unlike resolutions that, statistics show, are mostly broken in a few weeks and largely forgotten by year’s end, this...

The Catholic Church in the United States has celebrated National Migration Week in January for almost 50 years. According to the website Justice for Immigrants, it is “an opportunity for the Church to reflect on the circumstances confronting . . . immigrants,...

The Holiday frenzy has begun.  There are presents to buy, plans to be made, gifts to wrap, trips to plan, cleaning to be done, decorating to do and the list goes on.  But amid all this, there is a deeper thing going on.  Christmas, oh yes, Christ.  How does this...

“Blessed are we whose hearts are filled with love, who sing praises to You with grateful hearts!”  Ps. 84 There is a boutique in town called ‘Never Enough’.  Really?  Never enough!  How can that be?  We are showered dally with blessings from our God.  But we just...

Home. Maya Angelou wrote that the ache for home lives in all of us.  Do you have an ache for a place where you can be your best, truest, most honest self, where you can feel peace, where you can just be, where there is more light than darkness?  We long for peace, for...

It is not unusual to wake in the morning to the news of violence, natural disasters and uncommon events that shake our world and us.  As a people of faith, how do we view this news?  Do we allow it to bring us down, to dim the beauty of a new day or to sigh in...

Lazy, hazy days of summer. We’ve all heard that expression and probably wonder, in the midst of very busy lives, how in the world summer can be considered lazy. There are so many summer activities to share, so many gatherings we don’t want to miss, so much outdoor...

“If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” - John 3:12       In John’s gospel, Nicodemus attempts to read the “signs” he sees Jesus performing, and has questions about spiritual things...