vincentian spirituality

The Holiness Quotient (Lk 2: 25-40) The initials “EQ.” Different from IQ, meaning Intelligence Quotient which measures mental ability, they stand for Emotional Quotient and refer to the degree to which one person can read the feelings and mood of another -- or more...

Words That Glow (Isaiah 6:11; John 1:23) A familiar phrase, “It leapt off the page at me!” Of all the lines and sentences in a book, one starts to glow and flash out as if it were being spoken to me personally. I mention this because a single sentence occurring in...

Nimble in Advent (Is. 64; I Cor 1:3; Mk. 13:33) There’s a term I’ve heard used lately in business circles that’s practically become a buzz word. And that’s “nimble.” It refers to the quickness with which a given company can react to changes happening in the world...

“Getting Ready” (Wisdom 6:12-16; Mt 25:1-13) “Be Prepared” is a famous theme in Boy Scout lore but also frequently shows up in the Scriptures. The injunction in the Book of Wisdom to keep a watchful eye for the coming of God’s presence (Wisdom 6), and Jesus’ praise of...

Some years ago, I experienced what you might call a “surprise in sound.” Coming down a corridor talking with a few other people in normal voices, we turned a corner into a smaller space. All at once our voices took on another sound -- fuller, richer, you might even...

I remember talking to a man who was leaving a good position in his company after over 30 years on the job. He didn’t want to, but he said it wasn’t the same company he had come to those three decades ago. He lamented that it had lost its lights and heart, particularly...

Just last week at the end of a sequence of calamitous happenings in the country and world, someone remarked that if he had one wish it would be that when turning on the news he’d hear something other than bad news. His wish caught the dark and heavy feelings of the...