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I was rummaging through some things that have been laying around the house for awhile and I came across my old charm bracelet.   I don’t really remember when I wore it last, but it is probably safe to say it was at least 45 years ago! Looking through the charms it occurred to me that the things I liked then, I still like today. On my charm bracelet, among other things, was a horse, a piano and a typewriter.   All things I definitely associated with back then, and still do today. It made me think back to about 15 years ago when I started an * online retreat.   Near the beginning of the retreat, I was supposed to write out sort of a history of my past.   As I started the retreat, I thought, “I don’t need to do this part; I know my past really well.”   No surprise, I figured I could jump to the next step. But, wisdom took hold and I decided I would bother to write down what it asked me to.   Boy was I surprised! It wasn’t that anything knew came out of the inf

St Paul in Prison , Rembrandt  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 14:25-33 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)     Now large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them,  ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him,  saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.”  Or what king, going ou

Sitting on the filing cabinet in my office is a set of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.   When I was in my twenties I ordered them from someone who made them.   It was a reminder of my childhood and the beloved characters. I realized when I was looking at them recently that the stitching on their faces is exactly the same.   There is no defining features that distinguish them as boy or girl, except for their clothes. In light of today’s culture that revels in attempting to meld distinct genders into one neutral gender, my dolls duplicated faces gave me reason to pause. It really is a confusing time. We have been created male and female by God, who knew what he was doing when he fashioned us into being.   My heart pours out to people today who are struggling with gender identity issues.   I am truly sad for their pain and the challenge they have of trying to live in a body that doesn’t feel like it matches who they sense they are. I believe that we cannot really know wha

Waiting with Elmer , by Deanna Klingel is excellent book for the young adult in your life who needs to learn patience. Learning to wait for God’s timing can be an impossible task for anyone, but especially for a child. Meet Willy Skyes, left at a train station, by his father, to fend for himself. As Willy sits on a bench, waiting for the father who will never return, he meets Elmer, who seems to run the town of Waitnsee. Elmer introduces Willy to all the town’s residents, especially Rake, who runs the Union Street Mission. Willy and his dad were always running from town to town because of the misdeeds of Willy’s dad. Now Willy was alone, but not for long. The men of the Union Street Mission take Willy under their wings, and Elmer makes sure that Willy has what he needs; a place to sleep, food, new clothes, and an education. As the story progresses, we see Willy grow in virtue, especially patience, building bonds with the men of the Union Street Mission. He finds a “family” in t

   “Era un mandamiento nuevo“... ... era algo que rebasaba toda doctrina, toda ley. Era algo que estremecía las entrañas y el corazón, era algo que sobrepasaba todo sentimiento humano para llegar a tocar lo que a "natural" no correspondía a nuestro sentir, a nuestro apasionado corazón y razón cuando alguien o algo nos daña... Recordando las palabras de SAN MARCOS 5,43-48. leer más...

When we see so much violence, hatred and evil, we sometimes wonder where God is and why He allows such atrocities to happen. As a result, we find it difficult to trust God, let alone anyone else. We walk away from Him, feeling all alone. And when we walk away, it is because we lack faithfulness in a God who is always with us; a God who will never abandon us. Yet, if He is always with us, and never abandons us, then how can He let such horrific things occur? Whether it be the mass shootings that seem to occur daily, or the diagnosis of cancer that steals the life of those we love, it can be difficult to be faithful to God. Maintaining faithfulness, in such times, may seem absurd, but that is what we must do. The Implication of Free Will First, let me answer the question as to why God lets such atrocities and devastation occur. When we experience violence, hatred and evil, it is solely at the hands of humans. God does not bring these things upon us. Rather, He witnesses what we w

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                                           Courtesy foxsports.com.au As we were nearing the end of the dramatic NBA (basketball) finals, I half-jokingly said to our son one night at dinner, “What should I write about on my next blog?” to which he quickly replied, “Your loser team.” You see, throughout the ramp up to the final games, I was supporting the Toronto Raptors.   I have no idea why.   I really don’t need a reason.   They seemed to be playing well, so I figured, “Why not root for them?” But when it came down to Golden State versus Toronto, I switched and had to cheer for the home team—Golden State—or as my son said, my “loser team.”  Turns out he was right. Anyway, when it comes to winning and losing in the spirit world, I am happy to know that God is victorious over evil. I find that very comforting, but the challenge for believers is to remember it when evil does happen.   The tendency is to ask, “Where was God when this was going on?” The answer, of

Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion at Holy Family Home for Girls, Bacolod City Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Luke 14:1, 7-14 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)     On one occasion when Jesus  was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lo

Kindness is sorely lacking these days. Why are we so mean to each other? Whether it is on social media, in the news, or face-to-face, we see meanness everywhere. What does meanness do for the human psyche? Nothing good, whether you are the deliverer or the receiver! The deliverer of the meanness comes across as angry, hate-filled, resentful and/or vindictive. The recipient is humiliated and abused. Meanness serves no good purpose. The human person was created with a yearning for happiness.  The source of all happiness is God. Therefore, the human person yearns for God. So, how does anyone think that the way to happiness is via a snarky comment on Facebook or Twitter, or a jab at another in an op-ed piece, or an outright slander against another person? Folks, we are better than this! Find Kindness Today Remember the old saying, “What goes around comes around?” Well, if you do not want a snarky comment hurled your way, be kind with your comments on social media. If you do not w

Nancy H. C. Ward's " Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story " has been in print and available on Amazon.com since April, 2019. Back cover blurbs include Lisa Hendey's "an enjoyable template for the challenge of evangelization" and Gary Zimak's "a book that needed to be written." "Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story" is a big deal for me, too. It's the first time I've had a byline in print since I wrote articles for the Red River Valley Historical Society's Heritage Press. That was in the 1970s. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

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Madeleine's pet gecko! To motherhood belongs the distinguished commodity: our own special toolbox of learned skills, the intelligent planning, and the intuitive wisdom gained and increased with each passing year of motherhood tucked under our belt.  With this process of mother-becoming, an old self is shed like the skin of my daughter Madeleine's gecko.  The old skin (in my own sad case) is, sadly, the selfish hoarder (granted, who was but a young girl), ultimately a person in denial about her own self-worth, and she casts that insecurity onto her friends and spouse and other family members like a crystal reflecting a prism.  When the child bursts upon the scene, her heart explodes with a wild-animal kind of love.  The passive aggressive, the petty, the thief of joy-- her selfish insecure moth-like insect transforms.  A mother is like a gecko with a fresh new skin, or in my case, a mother butterfly with her own little swarm of caterpillars. Every mother has her own bigge