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The Parable of the Lost Teddy and Goose
There once was a little boy who loved a soft blue teddy bear and a plush green goose with all of his heart. They went with him everywhere he went, tucked safely under his arm. Like the velveteen rabbit, they showed signs of the little boy’s love. The bear especially wore his wounds as badges […]
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Staying Awake with Others
My eight-year-old son has been having many bad dreams lately. They often come just as he is drifting off to sleep. He will come out of his room and ask me to say the “bad dream protection prayer” again that we say each night and then sit outside his door for a little while. That […]
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Book Review: Your Personal Apostolate
Your Personal Apostolate: Accepting and Sharing the Love of God by Michele Elena Bondi Rochester, MI: Joseph Karl Publishing, 2009 “Your Personal Apostolate: Accepting and Sharing the Love of God” is a small book that packs a big punch. Walking in the footsteps of St. Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Michele Elena […]
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Pondering the Transfiguration
The Gospel of Mark tells us of the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2 – 8). Jesus takes his closest friends, Peter, James, and John, up onto a high mountain. “There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became brilliantly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them.” Elijah and Moses joined them. Peter was at […]
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The Value of a Story
It is no secret that Jesus spoke in parables, stories that were meant to teach a lesson. Parables such as that of the prodigal son, the man who sought the pearl of great price, and the parable of the sower continue to speak to us through the ages. In Matthew 13:10-17, the disciples ask Jesus, […]
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The Thorn and The Hemorrhage
As I was reviewing this week’s scripture readings I came across quite a juxtaposition between the reading from the second letter to the Corinthians on Sunday (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) in which St. Paul speaks of a “thorn in the flesh” and the Gospel of Matthew on Monday (Matthew 9:18-26) in which a woman who has […]
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The Holy Spirit Speaks Through the Darkness
It never ceases to amaze me how the Holy Spirit can speak to us if only we are open to it. We might open a book and find just the passage we need to answer a question that has been bothering us or a friend might call at the monent when life is falling apart […]
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Understanding the “Good Shepherd” a Little Bit More
The Gospel reading for today (John 10: 11-18) features the image of Christ as the Good Shepherd. It was one that we are all familiar with. “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. . . I know my own and my own know me.” We can understand […]
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Loving the Neighbor Within Our Own Home
A wise priest once said to me, “It is often easier to love the orphans in Africa than it is to love our own siblings.” I thought of that quote today as we were doing a lesson on “loving one’s neighbor” in third grade CCD. The first page of the lesson talked about how we […]
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The Prodigal Son Revisited
The parable of “The Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11-32) is one that most of us are very familiar with, so much so that when that particular Gospel comes, we might be likely to tune it out. Yes, yes, we nod. We know all the angles of this story. First, there is the prodigal son himself. He […]