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Today’s newspaper ran an article about a new study that says Earth has pushed past seven of eight safety limits and is “really quite sick right now.” All this has happened in my lifetime of seven decades. But Earth and the rest of the universe took 13.8 billion years to create. I hope God doesn’t…

I just finished reading Camron Wright’s novel based on a true story, The Orphan Keeper. A child stolen from India and living over 20 years in the United States senses his need to return to a place that’s a half-globe away. Wright’s page-turner tells of loneliness, abandonment, and loss of identity. The reader senses that…

Recently a minister ended his talk at a funeral with this message delivered vehemently: “Don’t stop using the name of the deceased. The family needs to hear it.” While we may think not mentioning the deceased will prevent grief, it has the opposite effect. The loved ones think the deceased is forgotten. Speak the name.…

I love picnics. I love to plan them. I love packing the basket. I love finding a table in the perfect spot. I love the breeze on my face. I love looking around at sky, trees, and other picnickers. The best part of a picnic occurs after the food is eaten and the lighter basket…

This morning I went to the funeral Mass of a religious sister. In the afternoon I traveled an hour for the visitation of a brother to one of our SND sisters. There did not seem to be many expressions of grief at either place. Those emotions have probably already occurred and will occur again in…

Joan Rivers once said, “No matter how trapped in the Krazy Glue of life you may be feeling, you can get unstuck. My favorite way is to make a list of all that I have to be thankful for.” May is the busiest of times. May is the loneliest of times. (Do these questions sound…

Historically Easter and its subsequent 50-day season have been a favored time for First Communion and other sacraments of initiation. Parishes and schools place First Communion in April and May—and pray for beautiful spring weather to enhance the joy of the momentous day. Do you recall your First Communion Day? Children like me who attended…

I was remembering a miracle that happened a quarter-century ago in Delphos, Ohio. The parish was having a week of religious education in the evening for children. On the last day we had prepared homemade games based on Gospel stories. Children were asked to bring a few coins for people in mission countries to enter…

The multiplication of the loaves and fish amply fed the large crowd who had come impressed by Jesus’s miraculous cures. Dolores Dufner composed “We Come with Joy,” which tells the story of Jesus blessing the fish and barley loaves “till food was multiplied [and] bounty overflowed their want, and all were satisfied.” Philip was the…

Today is my youngest sister’s birthday. I peeked ahead at the gospel for the day and read how Jesus fed five thousand and then followed him wanting more. Jesus warned them, “Do not work for food that perishes.” My sister has enjoyed cooking and preparing lovely meals since she was in seventh grade. She was…