Poser Archives — Sometimes you just have to ask a question. Let it bounce around in your head awhile. Let it seek its own answer.
· 2 November 2006 | 67 words
Only eight Roman Catholic saints have been beatitfied from the United States. And of those eight, I believe only one was born in America; the others were immigrants. Mexico has nearly 30 saints. Japan, a country with a small population...
· 6 October 2006 | 12 words
What if interruptions are what we are supposed to be focusing on?...
· 5 October 2006 | 23 words
What if the traffic light turned red just for you so that you could stop and accept the gift of the present moment?...
· 14 September 2006 | 21 words
"Holy crap!" I hear this expression occasionally from my students. I wonder, is this to be found only in Jesus' latrine?...
· 13 August 2006 | 100 words
What is common between joy and sorrow? My answer: Joy comes from God; sorrow leads to God. Through the Cross, sorrow is transformed into joy. Simone Weil, in Waiting for God, says that the source is the same. She likens...
· 29 June 2006 | 104 words
I'm staying in Hot Springs, Arkansas for a week for an AP Institute for math and science teachers. Hot Springs is a neat little town situated among beautiful, tree-covered hills of the southern Ozark mountains. The downtown area with the...
· 13 May 2006 | 51 words
Is an inability to forgive another person connected to an inability to receive forgiveness? Are these connected to an inability to forgive oneself? Something to ponder. I know that I am much harder on myself than others. And I know...
· 11 February 2006 | 101 words
Tom writes "What Would Jesus Laugh About?". I have always wondered if the apostles joked around a little with each other as they journeyed across the country side with Jesus. I imagine Simon Peter got teased a bit by his...
· 19 January 2006 | 29 words
Go ahead, you know you want to answer. Please do as a comment, even if others have left the same comment. (There is a reason for this... ) Marco?...
· 19 December 2005 | 85 words
All is gift. Your next breath is gift. Reading this sentence is gift. Your next thought is gift. What you feel in your heart at this very moment, whether it is happiness or sadness or something else, ...
· 21 November 2005 | 575 words
What does a holy place feel like? There is no right or wrong answer to this question. I ask that you please pause a moment and think seriously about your answer before reading further....
· 31 July 2005 | 53 words
I was reading a post on another weblog this morning that reminded me of something. I once saw a bumper sticker on the back of a huge, expensive Ford Expedition SUV. It read, Don't let the car fool you. My...
· 12 June 2005 | 406 words
Some pointless ponderings on an age-old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Aristotle: Actuality precedes potentiality in terms of value. An egg is a potential chicken. A chicken is actual. Therefore, the chicken came first. Evolutionist: There...
· 27 April 2005 | 98 words
Sorry. :-) To see the answers, use your computer mouse to highlight the area between the arrows. What is the Pontiff's favorite snack food? >> Pope-corn << What does the Pontiff like on his pizza? >>...
· 26 April 2005 | 78 words
Here are some corny pope jokes. To see the answers, use your computer mouse to highlight the area between the arrows. What does the Pontiff have for breakfast? >> Pope-tarts << What is the Pontiff's favorite spice? ...
· 24 April 2005 | 481 words
I found this quote by Matthew Lickona, author of Swimming with Scapulars, posted at Godspy: "To submit themselves to Christ." Everyone must bend his or her will, but this desire to clean up one's own spiritual mess seems a more...
· 18 March 2005 | 111 words
You know how they have those plastic colored bracelet bands with sayings on them? Lance Armstrong started the fad with the yellow band that read "Live Strong". They have dozens of different colors and sayings on them now, from breast...
· 27 December 2004 | 795 words
How often do you hear the words, "I love you"? Be honest. Once a day? Once a week? Once a month? Can't remember the last time? How about the flip side of that question: how often do you say the...
· 7 December 2004 | 16 words
Ever wonder where ice cream cones come from? You have been warned... :-)...
· 4 December 2004 | 141 words
Have you noticed the prevalence of snowmen as a growing secular symbol for Christmas? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing personal against snowmen. I like them and they bring a sense of nostalgia along with the Christmas season....
· 29 October 2004 | 171 words
A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them, "In every life there is a terrible fight--a fight between two wolves. One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy,...
· 14 October 2004 | 99 words
My brother told me about this dream he had of our mom shortly after she had died back in 1993 of ALS. In this dream, she looked happy and healthy. She basically told him that she was alright, and that...
· 21 August 2004 | 41 words
We are familiar with Jesus' call to agape love, to love unconditionally. But we live in a fallen world. We are not perfect. Which makes me wonder: What are the consequences of conditional love? (Please share your thoughts within the...
· 16 August 2004 | 61 words
Do you greet the morning sun each day with your to-do lists? Or do you greet the sun with prayer and silence? Do you greet the morning with clenched hands stuffed with your own devices? Or do you greet the...
· 8 August 2004 | 151 words
What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, 'This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought...
· 18 July 2004 | 544 words
Have you ever noticed how some statements tell us more about the person than what the words actually say? So with Roman Catholicism, which at this [current] point in its history, I no longer believe to be a true Christian...
· 15 June 2004 | 270 words
A poser: Is losing your domain name, even temporarily, analogous to losing your driver's license? Every year about this time, a month before renewal, my domain registrar always seems to screw things up with my domain name. (The cowpi.com part...
· 26 April 2004 | 276 words
I had a long, pleasant conversation with a dear friend about praying the other day. He said that he used to repeat the word "God" a lot in his prayers, as if he was trying to turn God's head, just...
· 21 April 2004 | 528 words
I edited/rewrote this from an email I received a long time ago... The teacher started class without saying a word. On the table in front of the class were three hot plates, each with its own pot of boiling water....
· 24 February 2004 | 31 words
Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong? -- seen on a bumper sticker (Comment: Have you ever spanked your kid for hitting a sibling?)
· 22 February 2004 | 70 words
This was inspired from a radio commercial... One man took a blank sheet of paper and wrote out a plan for his whole life. He signed it and offered it up for Jesus to bless. Another man took a blank...
· 16 February 2004 | 180 words
James Lipton asks the following ten questions at the end of the TV show Inside the Actor's Studio. These questions originally came from a French series, "Bouillon de Culture" hosted by Bernard Pivot. (Prompted by Steven) What is your favorite...
· 4 January 2004 | 54 words
Invariably, as soon as you get up from the computer chair and turn your back, the cat jumps right in and settles down. To get her out is a challenge. She won't budge. You have to push her out....
· 28 December 2003 | 166 words
I discovered this piece to ponder by TLS at Summa Mommas (via Video meliora...). It reminds me of a chapter in Thomas Merton's book New Seeds for Contemplation called "The Moral Theology of the Devil." And isn't it just what...
· 19 December 2003 | 15 words
Is God your steering wheel or your spare tire? -- seen on a church marquee
· 26 November 2003 | 218 words
Yesterday, I posted the story "The Room". Thanks again to Neely for the link to a short film adaptation of the story. At the end of the film, Joshua Harris, the author of the story, makes some very important comments:...
· 13 November 2003 | 61 words
In the previous journal entry, I used the word stewardship instead of the word ownership in regards to faith. We do not own our faith. We are stewards of it. Faith is a gift. It is the acceptance of friendship...
· 24 August 2003 | 177 words
Here are my questions for Caitlin: 1) As a junior in high school, what do you want to be when you grow up? 2) What is the best and worst thing about going to a small, catholic high school? Do...
· 21 August 2003 | 1306 words
Karl at St. Stephen's Musings asked me five interview type questions. You are all invited to participate. (See directions at the end of the post.) 1) You have written some short fiction in the past. Do you have other stories...
· 1 August 2003 | 28 words
In preparing to use toilet paper, should one wad or fold? (Hint: Theoretically, one of these methods will help facilitate the dissolving of the toilet paper in water.)...
· 1 August 2003 | 87 words
What is the optimum length of toilet paper needed to get the job done? Or, as my daughter would ask, how much can I use without clogging up the commode?...
· 1 August 2003 | 31 words
How should toilet paper hang? Should the end of the roll be in the front and drape over the top, or at the bottom and go under and behind the roll?...
· 1 August 2003 | 382 words
Photo by Don Norman This problem was originally investigated by usability expert Don Norman, and reworded into the form of a question by Gil Milbauer. In an attempt to provide a mechanism where someone is not left in a situation...
· 31 July 2003 | 261 words
Love, do you tend to see it as a noun or as a verb? [Be honest. Answer this question in your mind before you read further.]...
· 10 June 2003 | 200 words
When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not shouting "I am saved." I am whispering, "I was lost." That's why I chose His way. When I say, "I am a Christian," I don't speak of this with pride. I'm...
· 31 May 2003 | 118 words
I remember reading one of those "Question for the Day" calendars a few years ago. One group of questions really hit me in a profound way. It changed the way I took photos. What type of photos do you like...
· 26 March 2003 | 47 words
Tweedledum said, "The sum of your weight and twice mine is 361 pounds." Tweedledee replied, "Contrariwise, the sum of your weight and twice mine is 362 pounds." How much do Tweedledum and Tweedledee each weigh? (Based on the characters in...
· 12 March 2003 | 34 words
If you drop a jelly-covered donut, it always lands jelly-side down. If you drop a cat, it always lands on its feet. What would happen if you put jelly on a cat? (Thanks Kelsey)...
· 3 March 2003 | 58 words
If Jesus was sitting right next to you, just like any other person, what would you say to Him? What would you ask Him? How would you act around Him? Would you say or ask anything different than in prayer?...
· 16 January 2003 | 125 words
Someone asked a question about Limbo and Purgatory. Father's response was surprizing, a bit reassuring, and also down right scary. When you die, be an infant or an old person, God will ask you one question--did you love me to...
· 9 January 2003 | 30 words
As a homage to René Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematican, the following question is posed: To exist on the Internet, must one keep a weblog or online journal?...
May God’s love,
peace, and energy
touch you in faith.
![[Jerusalem Cross with Heart]](http://cowpi.com/journal/grafiks/jerusalem-cross-heart.gif "Jerusalem Cross with Heart")