To your descendants..
‘To your descendants I give this land,from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River,the river Euphrates.’ This line is taken from Genesis and is part of today’s first reading at Mass. I was struck by the poignancy of the…
Swords into plowshares
I love visiting bookstores. I spent my childhood living next to a public library and reading is still a pastime that is both educational and enjoyable for me. Last week while visiting the Tempe, Arizona area I was able to…
Peace Prints
At our Secular Franciscan Fraternity meeting on Sunday one of our members distributed “Peace Print” refrigerator magnets and car magnets. Sr. Karen Klimczak, was brutally murdered in Buffalo, New York on Good Friday last year. I never met her, but…
The Least
Monday’s gospel is my favorite. It is the passage that motivates my life and much of what I believe in as a Franciscan. ““Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since…
Fasting from Violence
It’s Lent again and many people will be fasting. Some will give up chocolate. Some will give up snacks. Many will give up something they enjoy eating or drinking. The idea of fasting and suffering during Lent is an ecumenical…
The blessing of family
We returned home late this morning to sunny skies in Buffalo and Western New York. We began our travel just past midnight from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Parting with family is always tough for me. It hasn’t gotten…
Turn Away from Sin and be Faithful to the Gospel
I just got back to my sister’s home from Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tempe, AZ. I really got a huge helping of ashes. These Arizonan’s aren’t stingy with ashes. Today we visited the Arizona Desert Botanical Gardens…
Batty
Yesterday we visited Kartchner Caverns near Benson, AZ. I recommend you visit there if the opportunity presents itself. While we were there my wife and I spotted some headgear that we got a chuckle out of. Little did I realize…
Traveling in Southern Arizona
We’ve just returned from a couple of days on the road in southern Arizona. Yesterday we left my sister’s home in Tempe and drove south on I-10 headed eventually for Tubac Golf Resort. On the Interstate 19 just south of…
A Spiritual Person
A spiritual person tries less to be godly than to be deeply human. Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. I love this quote. It came from Gratefulness.org. It really resonates and I’m grateful to the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province…