On Friday of this past week I had a chance to preside at a Lenten Reconciliation service at my parish. It was a most intriguing experience, actually. People asked afterward– how was it?? How did it go?? I can say this– People approached me afterward and spoke of how moving and meaningful they found it;…

Friend heard NPR piece: six word memoirs.Same friend challenged.Result:Writer, ruminator, passionate knower, encountering God. Now, you?

I was at a meeting this weekend when the term “primordial word” came up while speaking about the heart. “Heart” is one of those images, those words, those concepts, those symbols, that, for lack of a more technical term, twangs us inside. This idea, that there are those innate concepts/images that evoke such a manifested…

A simple list to tell you something about me… What’s in my bag? I dumped it the other day and took inventory. My daily journal notebookA draft and observation notebookA collection of cryptic crossword puzzlesA collection of Pablo Neruda poetryA Bic Accountant fine point pen A letter from a friendCarmexEyedropsA cloth bandanaMy father’s leather card…

The week before last was a challenging one at work. The most challenging, in fact, in several years. It was not pleasant, not fun, and above all, tiring. Sunday came and I argued with myself as I began waking up in the burrito of blankets my bed had become… to go to liturgy or to…

Harmonious Unity Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth*- all that is seen and unseen.Mine the Word that darkness shall never overcome,And the angels, and the Mother of God , Mystical Rose, who prays for us now and at the hour of our death. The elephant, eagle, platypus, and daffodil—mine.Mine the Wisdom who…

I ended my workday today by going to a coffee shop that magically appeared to me sometime before Christmas during a major downpour. For a variety reasons, that afternoon I was walking home instead of taking a bus. While under an awning enjoying a respite from rafting, I noticed a sign advertising “Coconut Coffee and…

It’s Valentines day. Contrary to a day typically associated with love, friendship, and good feelings, I woke up feeling grumpy, stuffed up, and way too sparky for my own good. It seemed a day destined to be one of those rare “Don’t Mess With the Nun” days. I got to school and received my first…

I have been caught thinking about two different contrasts lately. No surprise to those who know me, I place a high value on my facility with language. I love combing my trove of vocabulary to find the word(s) that most accurately surround(s) the feeling or idea I wish to express. Words enflesh, they fill out,…

I enjoy watching things get ready at Mass. In fact, I am usually there a good hour ahead of time so that I can sit in big quiet, pray, and be in the space as it breathes between liturgies. I have a regular spot I prefer in one of the apses that affords a view…