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The Blended Rosary: Intro and First Mystery
Confession time: sometimes when I pray the rosary, my mind wanders. Most of those wanderings do not merit recording. But sometimes, my mind wanders between the mysteries, and even between the sets of mysteries. In these wanderings, I’ve uncovered and explored some interesting themes. Sometimes I find themes within a set of mysteries; for example, I might reflect on how the Luminous Mysteries each deal with the theme of transformation. Or I might find it incongruous how a set of mysteries corresponds to an unrelated liturgical day or season, such as the Joyful Mysteries on Holy Saturday. This past Spring I led a pilgrimage to Greece “in the footsteps of…
The Narrow Way
I remember years ago, as a child, reading with awe the stories of great missionaries and martyrs. And so when in China I met “real live people” who were daily risking their lives to bring the Gospel, I was somewhat…
Have a Very Mercy Christmas!
The day is raw and rainy, and nobody wants to go the store for the necessary groceries. Even though (or perhaps especially because), the time to make dinner is fast approaching. Helpful Hal, nudged by his conscience and his wife,…
Know Rest for the Weary
“Never wake a sleeping bear!” says Aunt Margaret. “Or Aunt Grace!” pipes in then two-year old Zippy, wise beyond her years. I am not a morning person. I’ve often joked that the answer to “When does human life begin?” is…
Pilgrims & Progress
Note: this post has been edited to include two new pilgrimages I am leading in 2025, one to Italy for the Jubilee Year and one to Portugal. I grew up surrounded by books, and even today I often picture myself…
Bumper Cars: Let Him Drive
In each of the last several years, at the beginning of Advent, God has given me a theme for the upcoming year. One year the theme was “receiving”; another was “silence.” Each has been a theme that God developed powerfully…
Mary and the Magnifying Glass
I remember the day when I was in fifth grade when some of the more mischievous boys, not generally inclined towards academics, nonetheless took a sudden interest in science. They would get up and go to the potted plants on…
Not From Me But For Me
Peter began to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children…
Night Vision: A Reflection on the Transfiguration
I often receive images in prayer, but that night in prayer group they were different. Usually, the images were personal—if not for me, then for someone else with me. They were usually something to encourage or inspire, or perhaps (gently)…
Love in All the Wrong Places: On Leaving Behind the “Land of Transactions”
C.S. Lewis once wrote that God “whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain.” Years ago, l was living a “season of shouting”—when I was wrestling with deep spiritual longing and angst, but not yet recognizing God’s voice in…
I See What You Did There
I am among the reluctant fans of The Chosen. I must confess that when it first came out, I refused to watch it. I usually find myself disappointed even in regular film when I’ve “read the book first.” So often,…
