At dusk, he walked the same paved path he walked just about every day through and around his suburban neighborhood. It was good for his health but boring. On most days he saw only the cookie cutter condos, the powerlines, and the comings and goings of the other neighbor-pilgrims who trod the same concrete. It was a long way from the land his ancestors had walked, he thought. He was Osage, somewhere deep in his bones and blood, but that …
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Dear friends, readers and occasional visitors to my blog: As we look toward the beginning of Advent in just a few weeks, I wanted to make you aware of two advent retreat opportunities in which I am involved as a presenter and member of the retreat team. First, whether you are near me in the Greater St. Louis area or not, I invite you to participate in a virtual retreat that in the past has drawn retreatants from all over …
Tomorrow I leave to give a weeklong retreat to retired Marianist brothers and priests in a care facility in Dayton, Ohio, my first retreat since the pandemic began. This community of men, who will be joined at the retreat by some younger Marianists who live in the area, have been hit hard in the past 18 months, losing more than 20 members due to COVID-19 and other health issues. I have a deep feeling that I will learn more from …
Written below (and in the video at bottom…keep scrolling) are three short monologues written from the perspectives of three men whose encounters with Jesus surely changed their lives, or at least I imagine they did, for sometimes scripture tells us a part of the story and leaves the rest to our imaginations. In Matthew 7:31-37, we find a deaf and mute man whose intimate encounter with Jesus heals him and opens up a new world of sound and communication. In …
This morning, up early and sitting on my porch, I am watching my little piece of the world recover and dry out from a beating of rain and wind and lightning last night. We needed the rain, to be sure, but the wind, thunder and lightning were there for what effect? To remind us of our smallness in the face of it all? Maybe so. A parable embedded in a storm. It’s peaceful now, the birds and squirrels noisy in …
“The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” Luke 2:40 The older I get, it seems, the more I want to look backwards, to see through the clouds of time and remember — even if imperfectly — the people and events that shaped me. It’s an exercise in time travel, of sorts, a chance to go back and pay more attention. For example, I would like to go back and listen …
NOTE: This post includes a video, which is not visible if you are reading this from an email notification. Click on the underlined title or the “Comment” button below to go to my website and see the entire post, including the video. Welcome to the next episode of “Two Minutes.” This week’s reflection features a short visit to a “branch” creek in the midst of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina just outside of Asheville, a short spoken-word prayer …
Welcome to the first in a new occasional series of short video meditations called “Two Minutes.” As you might have already guessed, each of these will be just about two minutes in length and will invite you through image, words and music into a short period of prayer and reflection. I invite you to get comfortable, put on a pair of headphones for best effect, and enjoy two minutes reflecting on the grace, love and peace of God. In an …
After everything that happened and everything I witnessed, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I couldn’t. The day kept flashing through my mind… I heard his last words from the cross: “It is finished.” I saw the spear pierce his side and what looked like water and blood pour from him. I stayed close by not because I was brave but because I couldn’t take my eyes from him. But if you asked me why I wouldn’t have …
The teacher had been arrested in Gethsemane and brought here to the high priest. A few of his disciples followed but others snuck off into the night. I guess I could hardly blame them. So much happened so quickly and there was a growing mob calling for violence against him. I didn’t get it. Had they never met him? He had done nothing to deserve this. I was young and small so people paid little attention to me. Now the …