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“Knowledge is like climbing a mountain. The higher you reach the more you can see and appreciate” (author unknown). Our Catholic schools merit all the attention they receive during this Catholic Schools Week. The facts students learn may serve them well on a Jeopardy game, but those facts surrounded by skills of critical thinking, speaking,…

As I write this blog, I don’t know what the weather will be like on January 22. Typically it’s one of the coldest days of the year, often with several feet of snow in some states. I admire the thousands of persons who travel to D.C. despite bitter cold to march for life, who witness…

Oprah Winfrey once said, “Create the highest, grandest vision for your life because you become what you believe.” Her own life attests to her grand vision, and today we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. whose grand vision was embodied in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Much of his dream has been realized over the…

A few years ago another sister and I planted two tiny trees at Lial Renewal Center. They’re still there and taller. When we planted them I didn’t place bets on their survival, but there seems to be a chance for full growth someday. Nelson Henderson wrote, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees…

Paul Boese said, “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”  Who is not in need of forgiveness, and who does not need to forgive someone else? Once the hurt has occurred, nothing can change. No matter how much we’d love to change the hurt we gave to others or we…

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…

Balaam’s oracle prophesies the Messiah: “I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel” (Numbers 24). In Advent we often say that we need to bring Christ to birth. What does this mean? Evolution is birthing the Christ through a progression of unifying relationships and…

    Mary’s yes to the Angel Gabriel exploded into God’s entering our world. God had been longing to be one of us for billions of years. God loved us that much that he created a universe. At the Big Bang 14.8 billion years ago God was on his way to walk among us with…

     Water was everything to the people of Israel, so the coming of the Messiah was marked by rivers and fountains and lush greenery. Water in abundance was a definite sign of God’s presence. God created humans with a destiny toward divine plenitude. We’re evolving toward a new heaven and a new earth that…

  Ebeneezer Scrooge was converted when he realized after the visitation of the three ghosts that the past, present, and future are all rolled into one. In liturgy we call that “anamnesis.” We remember the past, pray about the present, and know the potential for the future. As we look toward Christmas we remember a…