A Sactifying Glance
It was a late spring afternoon, one of those kind of days when big clouds moved across crisp blue skies, allowing sunlight and shade to waltz around the gardens. I walked down the drive to the front lawn with my white five-gallon plastic pail in hand. I was picking up pine cones and tree litter in preparation to mow. Stepping around the weeping crabapple I noticed a woman walking along the blacktop road who, looking up, had noticed me in the yard. She looked to be a few years younger than … [Read More...]
Thursday’s Prayer for Priests
Dear Lord, Hear my prayer for your priests in my life. I pray that they will persevere in their calling in the face of ridicule and hate for the sins of their brothers. I pray that they find strength in you in a world that devalues the purpose of their work, and often sees them as useless and archaic. Sweet Jesus help me remember to thank them for the offering of their lives to lead mine towards you. I am only one small soul of the many that they touch, but may my heart be always grateful … [Read More...]
Equus Passage, May 21
Love is a direction and not the state of the soul. ~Simone Weil The experience of being loved and in loving draws me forward, into the world, into God. It restores peace and quites turmoil. Love is the direction that returns me to the heart of who I am. (Why Equus Passage...) … [Read More...]
Browsing your Backyard (Edible Landscaping): Practical Gardening Series
Fresh produce from the garden is one of the simplest delights of summer. What’s not to like about wiping off and biting into a tomato, cucumber or sugar snap peas still warm from the sun! Many of us do not have a yard large enough for a vegetable patch or do not have the time to volunteer at a community garden, but we still want home grown foods. There is a solution to growing your own veggies in a way that works with your small yard and requires only a little additional time from a busy … [Read More...]
Thursday’s Prayer for Priests
Prayer to Saint Joseph for a Particular Priest Saint Joseph, I present to you this day Father (N.), priest of Jesus Christ, and beg you to be to him advocate and defender, counselor and friend. Open your heart to him as you opened your home to the Virgin Mother in her hour of need. Protect his holy priesthood as you protected the life of the Infant Christ threatened by cruel Herod. In darkness bring him light; in weakness, strength, and in fear the peace that passes understanding. For the … [Read More...]
Art Exhibit and My Prose
If you're in Lansing, Michigan, my writing is part of: The 2nd Annual Spring Group Art Exhibition “For Everything There is a Season” A Juried exhibition May 15-September 12, 2013 Artist's Reception: June 2, 2013 4:00 pm (703 E. Main St., DeWitt, MI 48820, call 517-669-8321 for additional information) … [Read More...]
Equus Passage
Equus: a horse, a beast used for carrying or pulling loads. Passage: a slow, cadenced trot executed with great elevation of the feet and characterized by a moment of suspension before the feet strike the ground. Yeah...a moment before the feet strike the ground, a brief second of suspension in the continuation of a walk. That is what I pray these words...of prayers, quotes, Bible verses, utterances by friends or myself...shared on Tuesdays, will be; an elevated … [Read More...]
The Jasmine Branches Out
Delicate and white, Jasmine flowers are highly fragrant. Their small size belies their intense perfume. It only takes two small blossoms to fill a large living area with their heavenly scent. With flowers sometimes hidden behind leaves, it is comical at times to watch others try to find the source of the sweet aroma when they enter the room. I was blessed with the gift of a Jasmine plant from two former garden society volunteers. We three had made our yearly trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan, … [Read More...]
Thursday’s Prayer for Priests
Most gracious Heavenly Father, We thank you for our for our faithful priests and bishops, whose spiritual fatherhood and example of fidelity, self-sacrifice, and devotion is so vital to the faith of your people. May our spiritual fathers be guided by the examples of Saints Peter and Paul, all the Apostles and their saintly successors. Give them valiant faith in the face of confusion and conflict, hope in time of trouble and sorrow, and steadfast love for you, for their families, and for … [Read More...]
Muddied Mobility
Several weeks ago when I mentioned to the therapist about the discomfort I was experiencing in my arthritic back and legs when going for walks, he unsympathetically looked me straight in the eye and said “Independence is based on mobility.” He wasn’t being mean or disrespectful, but placed a truth squarely in front of me. It was my choice. It’s just that simple and not that easy. His words still echo with more than physical reference. When I think of what he said as it pertains to … [Read More...]
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