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          In 1776 we took a big chance and won our independence. Not long after we took another big risk. We wrote a Constitution assuring every citizen freedom and rights the world had never seen. In the 1880s and early 1900s our nation abolished slavery and gave everyone the right to…

            Are our national policies based on the WIIFM principle—What’s in it for me? Maturity is determined by how much we grow out of self-centeredness and how far we can attend to the other. Though the most powerful nation on earth, we are childish in practice. Does it always have to be “my way”? To…

I recently watched the video made by Bo Landin titled “Toxic Puzzle.” Toxins are everywhere: in the air, in water, in the ground. The movie showed that toxins are causing ALS, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and other neurological disorders. The culprit is BMAA, which is present in every algae bloom. Only very specialized equipment can detect…

Baptism is replete with symbols: candle, water, oil of catechumens, chrism, new name. But the one that speaks most to me is the white garment. Although white may symbolize purity of soul, the adjective “white” is less significant that the noun “garment.” For we are clothed with Christ. We put on, coat-like, a new person,…

For months our country has known only division seemingly for no other reason than red vs. blue. Gregory Boyle is in his book Barking to the Choir writes:  “How do we tame this status quo that lulls us into blindly accepting the things that divide us and keep us from our own holy longing for…

I have just finished reading Walter Brueggemann’s book Interrupting Silence: God’s Command to Speak Out. In the first three chapters of this small volume Brueggemann guides the reader through the Hebrew Scriptures demonstrating how YHWH hears the groans of the people and commands prophets and psalmists to speak. The remainder of the book focuses on…

Sr. Mary Dean Pfahler SND Parish Ministry Director / Spiritual Director St. Bartholomew Catholic Church Long Beach CA The low-tire-pressure icon appeared on the dashboard – again.  The first time that happened to me in Long Beach, I was informed that – by California law – air is free at gas stations.  However, it turns…

Traipsing through Oak Openings Metropark On this first day of autumn, a day suddenly 20 degrees cooler than yesterday’s last day of summer, I took the red trail in the metropark. Every step put a few more grains of sand into my tennis shoes, as I ascended to a sand dune. I thought of the…

27/3=9   or    27/3 could = 8 remainder 3 I hated third-grade math, especially division. My teacher insisted that 3 into 27 is 9—always, immutable, indisputable. But what if I have two friends with whom I want to share 27 pieces of candy? We wouldn’t eat them all at once.  We could each eat 8…

The Church honors Mary, the Mother of God, four times within four weeks from mid-August to mid-September: the Assumption (August 15), the Queenship (August 22), the Birth of Mary (September 8), and the Sorrowful Mother (September 15).  My two favorite feasts are the first and last. Belief in the Assumption goes back to the ancient Church…