I had the great privilege and honor of being one of the assistants to distribute ashes at our school Mass today. Ashes are a strong symbol for death, and after all, that is the point of Ash Wednesday, to remind us that we all will die. Ashes are also a strong symbol of life, at […]
It is our part to seek, His to grant what we ask; ours to make a beginning, His to bring it to completion; ours to offer what we can, His to finish what we cannot. — St. Jerome [via]
I wonder if she produces 3.14 liters of milk a day?
Grant, O Lord,that none may love Thee less this day because of me; that never a word or act of mine may turn one soul from Thee; and, ever daring, yet one more grace would I implore: that many souls this day, because of me may love Thee more. Amen. — Rev. James D. Watkins
In Luke 10:27, Jesus quotes scripture: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ This one sentence, this one command, represents the three dimensions of spirituality: vertical, horizontal, and inward. This also implies […]
I do not do many memes, but I like this one found at Happy Catholic. 1. Who is your favorite Biblical personage, other than Jesus? It is hard to narrow down to one person. Near the top of the list are Jacob (don’t think he would be considered a saint by the church’s standards today […]
Love brings peace. Peace brings patience, dispels fear, lifts up hope, deepens faith, extends trust, creates a space for forgiveness and acceptance; thus energizing love to flow to others. — Mark Woodward
God says (in part of this poem): I am independent of all purity and impurity, Of all laziness and all diligence in worship. I haven’t ordered my worship to profit from it, But to bestow a benefit upon My servants. I am not sanctified by their glorification: It is they who become sanctified and pure. […]
I very rarely click on ads on webpages, but this one had a t-shirt with “Calculus” written across the front. To be honest, there are just not that many neat math t-shirts out there that I like. But this one was cool enough to warrant further investigation. Following a link or two lead me to […]
Ten decimals are sufficient to give the circumference of the earth to the fraction of an inch, and thirty decimals would give the circumference of the whole visible universe to a quantity imperceptible with the most powerful microscope. — Simon Newcomb It’s March 14, and any student of mathematics should recognize today as Pi Day. Mathematicians do […]
Hanging over the desk in the priest’s office is a picture of the crucifixion. The point of view is from above the Cross, kind of high above His right hand and a little out in front, looking downward toward Him and this vast crowd of people standing around the hill staring up at Jesus. You […]
May the road rise to meet you; May the wind be always at your back; May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His Hand. — an Irish blessing
Found this in my email inbox… Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the fourth wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the third wife very much […]
Today in calculus class, we were finding the area between two curves. More specifically, as I pointed toward the graph on the board, I said, “Let’s find the area between functions f and g.” It sounded like, “f-n-g.” Or maybe that should be spelled like eff-in-gee. The whole class started smiling and giggling. Once I […]
By grace of God, I am what I am. (1 Corinthians 15:10) Reflection. These words of St. Paul seem to be filled with pride and presumption but they are really the fruit of humility for humility is truth. Humility does not deny one’s value or achievements but gives all credit for them to God. Prayer. God of […]
The long desert road stretched endlessly to the horizon, following the contour of the gently, low rolling hills, merging into the infinite of nothingness. The evening sun was no longer hot enough to create heat waves that would shimmer over the blacktop of the road, creating vanishing mirages of water puddles in the middle of […]
The Shadow of Death, by William Holman Hunt, 1873 Lent ends with the Easter Triduum—Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. The whole life of Jesus leads to the Cross. This painting reminds me of that in a poignant and real personal way that only art can sometimes do. Some items to take note in this painting (See a larger […]
Here is a meme that St. Ignatius of Loyola started. In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius wrote that four questions must be asked of any leader that one chooses to follow. The same is true of Jesus Christ. 1. Who is Jesus for me? He is “the way, the truth, and the life”, the source of […]
I wonder what Jesus thought and felt when He read or heard this passage from Isaiah as a young boy of about 12 years old? I wonder how His thoughts and feelings changed when He was a young man, before He started His public ministry? I wonder what He thought and felt when He began […]
Found this piece of advice for girls of all ages: Girls are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most guys don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes go for the apples near the ground […]
We were on our way home. We took the country road around the lake to avoid a dozen stop signs. Just five miles away from home, about eights minutes, with only two stop signs. Only another car or two on the lake road too. And then, from the back of the mini-van, child #3 said […]
For three gray days, this dead black bird laid next to the curb where I parked my car. I sat there after I turned off the engine each morning and stared at it for a long moment and wondered about life and death, sunshine and rain, heaven and hell, joy and sorrow. It is an […]