The Charcoal Fire
Among my favorite smells of spring-going-on-summer is a charcoal fire. The scent summons me back to childhood summers when, draped in damp towels after swimming, we would gather after sunset around a charcoal fire at the town park. I loved…
The Word That Heals
One day a mother overheard her five-year-old playing “hospital.” Her patient was stretched out on the couch as the little girl touched various parts of her body—head, stomach, throat—pronouncing each time “Body of Christ”, “Body of Christ,” “Body of Christ.”…
Am I the Enemy?
“Healing is like an onion—there are many layers to it,” said the priest kindly. “God is moving foothills and mountains in your life—but you are looking for a volcano.” His words gave me a measure of peace, but still I…
In Your Hands
Packing up my things for yet another move, I came across an old diary from my childhood. It had two entries: in the first, January 1, 1985, I resolved to write daily, a fresh start to a new year full…
One in the Crowd
We were talking about faith as we drove to the Frassati hike. I remember looking up at the steel grey sky, in which a thick blanket of clouds blocked the sun from shining and warming the April air. I remember…
Sitting in Pairs
Gathered in the theater of the Sheen Center, we watched as survivors of the Rwanda genocide told their stories of living through unspeakable atrocities. How they hid from former friends and neighbors, who hunted them down in order to exterminate…
