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A few days ago when I was driving in early morning hours, I noticed something unusual about the moon. The traffic, however, kept my attention on the road, headlights preventing me from seeing much beyond. Later in the day I heard about the lunar eclipse. Had I realized it was an eclipse, I would have…

During the ceremony when St. Brigid (500 A.D.) was to become an abbess, the bishop accidentally used the prayers for an ordination of a bishop. Back in June a presider at Mass intended to give a Father’s Day blessing, but accidentally turned to a page with a blessing for catechists. Oops!  Psychologists tell us that…

            Most people probably don’t put together these two words: nuns and passion.  Is being a passionate nun an oxymoron? I don’t think so. Actually I get frustrated with people who aren’t passionate.  So did Jesus. Remember his line about the lukewarm? Perhaps you’ve read Good to Great by Jim…

The word alone looks like the words all one, and perhaps that’s significant. When I lose who I think I am (my ego, my way of doing things, my way of thinking), then I can more easily become one with all, that is, the universe and all it contains. Ironically this can occur most easily…

We arrived at church for Mass too early. Rather than finding another church, we decided to sit at one of the church’s picnic tables and talk about our spiritual lives. As we talked about finding God in little events, a hawk came to rest on a nearby fence, his presence proving the point. Perhaps as…

Today is the first day of autumn, and I notice quite a mix of color: green and yellow soybean fields, red and green tree leaves, tan fields of dry corn next to green lawns. The change of seasons doesn’t come with one big “Aha!” moment, although sometimes our breath is taken away in a moment…

Junk mail claims “You’re a winner!” until you read the catch that costs. The gospels also have a catch: “Find life! (But first deny yourself, take up your cross, and let go of life).” In Jesus we see in human terms what it means to be God. The gospels are the story of One who…

The wind of God, the Holy Spirit, continues to sweep over the face of the earth. After billions of years God’s creativity is as vibrant as ever. God just can’t stop! Day by day our world is becoming more and more “charged with the grandeur of God” (Gerard Manley Hopkins). The grandeur of a mountain…

As a human being, Jesus Christ was as subject to daily tasks as any of us. In the carpenter shop in Nazareth did Jesus wonder about the punishment of Adam and Eve to work, especially the work that is tedious, thankless, mindless and so repetitive that we wonder why we even bother?  (“I’ll need to…

Today is the anniversary of my promise of fidelity or temporary vows. Great years of community living, productive mission, awesome prayerful moments! Oh yeah–and some terribly catastrophic times. That first promise is truer today than it was years ago. My religious life began in the high drama of youthful romance with my God, and it…