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“I Am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”  Revelation 22:13 “Every day we begin again.” St. Benedict “Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” From the song “Closing Time” by Semisonic There is a curious phenomenon—dare I say illness?—that sets in as one ages.  I will call…

“Silence is God’s first language.”   Thomas Keating “If you take time to just sit in silence and listen, you may begin to realize that in the ‘emptiness’ there is something there, something profound.  There is a fullness, closeness, a presence behind all the outer acoustic and visual activity.”  Erik Stensland “Ascetic solitude involves silence.  And…

“Jesus reached out his hand and touched him.” Luke 5:13 “The language of touch is a language all itself.” John O’Donohue What is that language that O’Donohue speaks of? You and I both know—it is the language of love.  There is no means of communication more powerful than that of “touching love.”  “Virtual reality”, which…

“Your right hand and your arm and the light of your face (saved them).”  Psalm 44:3 “The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you.” Aaron’s blessing recorded in Numbers 6:24ff “With age and memory, the face gradually mirrors the journey of the soul. The older the face, the richer its…

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”  Mark 10:21 “When you really look deeply at something, it becomes part of you.”  John O’Donahue[1] When was the last time you opened your eyes? Now, that’s a silly question, isn’t it?  We open our eyes every morning. That’s not the type of eye opening that I’m referring…

Aunt Lucille Henry died this past week. She was 106 years old. Her funeral was Friday. This blog is dedicated to her. The first segment is something I wrote two years ago on the occasion of her 104th birthday. The second is a poem that I wrote, attributed to my mom who loved writing poems…

“My heart said, ‘Seek Your Face’; Your face Lord do I seek.”  Psalm 27:8 “Your face is the icon of your life.”  John O’Donohue[1] What do you hear when you look at another’s face? Yes, I said that correctly.  I mean exactly what I said.  When we look at another person we don’t merely see—we…

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” John 1:23 “Truly listening to God is worship.”  Martin Heidiger “You don’t understand.” “You’re not listening to what I’m saying.” “I don’t think you heard what I told you.” Have you ever been on the giving or receiving end of statements like this? It is incredibly frustrating…

“Simeon took him in his arms and blessed Him.”  Luke 2:28 “According to the power of God’s Spirit may you be strengthened in your inner being and . . . be rooted and grounded in love.”  Ephesians 3:16-17 Happy New Year!  A Blessed New Year!  Which do you prefer? While New Year’s resolutions may be…

“Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart”  Luke 2:19 Merry Christmas! I hope you had a joyous one.  Or even better, I pray you had at least one thing, hopefully many more, that warmed your heart and that you will think about for a long time.  Something for you to treasure, that…