Don

Today’s Gospel is the Jesus standard for forgiveness. Seventy-seven times is a metaphor for infinity when it comes to forgiveness. Civil societies in the west today know of no such compassion when it comes to forgiveness. This is nothing like “three strikes and you’re out.” The same standard is found in The Lord’s Prayer, “forgive … Read more

I came across a really interesting blog today by way of an email note I received. I am supporter of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Actually, I’m a poor supporter of FCNL. I don’t send them as much money as I should, but I surely appreciate the causes that they represent and witness for. … Read more

Today is St. Patrick’s Day and as an American descended from Irish roots it has been a day for the wearing of the green. I began my day with Mass at our local church. I reflected that this will be Fr. Mike O’Hara’s last St. Patrick’s day at the head of the St. Philomena Parish. … Read more

Today’s readings for Mass are powerful. In the first reading from Jeremiah, “cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who trusts in flesh..Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.” The psalm adds to that with. “Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked Nor walks in the way … Read more

I’ve been thinking about my previous post. Thomas Merton is one of my spiritual ancestors. I often refer to his Seven Storey Mountain and compare his journey with mine. Merton was a mystic and maybe only mystics really understand him. I came across one of his quotes from “Seeds of Destruction.” This speaks volumes about … Read more

One of the stories in today’s news is about the FBI surveillance of the Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It turns out that members of the Merton Center were distributing pamphlets that flatly declared that there were no WMD in Iraq. Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) the ACLU discovered that these Catholic … Read more

I’m writing about a documentary I have not seen yet. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to comment on the apparent success of a movie about contemplatives. Into Great Silence has drawn large crowds in Germany. There is no talking, no commentary only the sights and sounds of a great monastery. In a day when most of … Read more

When I was growing up in the late 1950’s and 1960’s the Catholic Church was booming in western New York. I attended a Catholic primary school where we had eight Franciscan nuns for teachers. There was one lay person who taught kindergarten but all the rest of the instructional staff were nuns. Every week one … Read more

“I will lead you into the desert and there I will speak to your heart.”-Hosea 2:14 What a wonderful passage and yet how often have I moaned and groaned about being in the desert? How often do I long to be constantly living in the land of milk and honey. Life is full of bumps … Read more