It is a variation of an ancient story. Humans were making a mess. They forgot that they were all sisters and brothers. They each were looking out for themselves and their immediate “blood family.”

For many of my years, “Home for the Holidays” was in the back of most people’s minds come Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Have you ever thought you knew someone only to find that there was much more to this person than you thought?

I wondered what “wandering art gallery eyes” might mean; I often find intriguing insights in the French Catholic periodical La Croix.

Changing Clocks! It is an annual ritual in many parts of the world. I suspect most of us sleep through it.

Recently I reread John Allen’s reflection in Crux about an opportunity and a challenge for Catholics to play a major role in healing our deeply divided nation.

In my mid-eighties, I knew the day would come when I would no longer drive.

I grant there may be few among us who have had the privilege of meeting the likes of the saint we call Mother Theresa. Yet, you and I have touched, or been touched by, saints.

It popped up in a google search for material related to the words of a theologian “Pray with the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.”

Ancestry.com has some 30 Billion memories! These memories or historical records were valued at $4.7 billion in December 2020! Who knew?

Years ago, I could easily lose track of time with a 500 or1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. The picture on the puzzle box inspired me to see how the pieces fit together.

They were comfortable… until they were told a story. Then they learned an uncomfortable truth. The person in the story out there hid in their own heart.

Our lives have become pressure cookers. We can’t take it anymore!

Have you said, “I’m done with this virus?”

Many of us wear glasses. Others may need glasses to read. But that’s not the seeing I am asking about. I am asking how many of us see beyond the facts in front of us.

Have you ever watched time-lapse photography of the amazing process of a flower blooming or a moth becoming a butterfly?

The TV coverage of the Queen’s funeral allowed us to see the inside of Westminster Abbey from many angles. The Abbey is rich in history and could tell many stories.

Who are the great geniuses of history? There are certainly many who shaped the daily lives of people of their time … and well beyond.

We are many decades into the phenomenon of shopping for “gated communities” of like-minded people. So many do not experience that they are welcome.

If I asked you, I suspect most, without having any further details, would say they would rather be in a banquet setting than a court of law.

On 9/11 we immediately think of the pain and suffering, the injustice of the attacks. This leads to a defensive stance united against our enemies. The emotions run deep.

Pope Francis just keeps on going… well beyond what most consider normal for a man of his age and physical conditions.

Just imagine! You spent a lot of time, money, and energy in preparing a dinner party… perhaps a wedding or a birthday.

I am willing to bet that most of us think of Labor Day as marking the last hurrah of summer or a day of supposed “fantastic sales.” 

Six months ago, Pope Francis began a 16-part reflection on old age by asking the Holy Spirit to help us understand and appreciate the great contribution that the elderly can make to a just and fraternal society.

A late 19th-century artist, James Tissot,  graphically posed a question for us today. In his depiction of the Ascension, he asks, “Why do you stand looking up into heaven? (Act 1:11)

I found my path back to Galilee with the help of Pope Francis. For me, it was by way of a homily he preached in Canada.

I was barely 7 years old. I remember seeing bold newspaper headlines. I could not yet read them. But from my parent’s reactions, I knew something very important had happened

In many ways, he was very much like his peers. But in a most important way, he was different: He had a tremendous love for the Eucharist, His passion was Jesus Christ.