Back in ’77 and ’78, I went to Camp Mystic. The pictures splashed over CNN, Facebook, and starting nearly every newscast showcase buildings I know the names of, I hold memories. In those two summers, I learned to ride a horse, shoot an arrow, and snorkel but not very well. We sang all the camp songs and did camp fires. I shot an arrow through my finger before the six weeks ended. We also played musical chairs with horses, played... Read more
Having lived through raising ten kids over the past three decades, I’ve become an expert on Children’s films as a result and there are some hidden gems out there that don’t get seen because they aren’t all on Disney Plus or Cartoon Network. This is a fun list because summer needs people who gather and enjoy and discover there’s more out there than the algorithims recommend. First some oldies that people don’t know or haven’t watched. Raskin Bass’ The Hobbit. ... Read more
Back in 2001, our associate pastor introduced the parish to the “Total Consecration of Jesus through Mary,” by Saint Louis de Montfort. Like so many things with God, we entered without recognizing the bigger consequences of the reality. For the uninitiated, the thirty-three day spiritual exercise, starting it seems a touch archaic, but reasonable. It’s only once you’ve immersed yourself that you discover this process takes effort. It is like signing up for a 5K. We all think, I can... Read more
So what I done lately? Well, I used to have Small Success Thursday, so I thought I’d start that up again except I didnt’ have time on Thursday to write it up, I was so busy. It’s been a crazy June thus far. As such, here’s my small successes from the past week. 1) I got published for the first time in 2025. The link to the story is here: You Have the Gifts of Pentecost. 2) We finished the... Read more
We don’t call on the Holy Spirit enough. The third person of the Trinity longs to fully immerse us in God’s love and guide us so that others may know it too. Yesterday, I found a few old writings of mine, and I could feel the energy of the prose –as it surged all the way through from beginning to end. The language, the stories, they seemed to tumble out of me, waking me up in the middle of... Read more
We live in a world full of ungoverned passions, and are fast becoming a people that struggles to understand why others aren’t convinced by the sheer emotional conviction behind our own opinions. Sheer will, sheer belief, sheer emotional commitment is insufficient to changing people’s minds. Just as surely as mere logic does not persuade the heart, so also, mere fidelity to an idea, sheer enthusiasm, is the sign not of truth, but of one’s commitment to whatever it is, whether... Read more
So we have before us, this precious time. Yesterday, I learned about a tragedy involving a family that suffered unto death, from the scourge of mental illness. The father lost his fight, and took with him, his wife and two teen sons. My friend who knew the family, felt like what’s the point when all this scratching and striving and trying can lead to this sort of outcome. What is the value of a life lived in which one may... Read more
I watch cooking competitions all the time, like Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions.” (Yeah Antonia Lofaso)! We also watch Top Chef and this year, I am rooting for Tristan. The guy is a rock, steady in the kitchen and in life. Go watch the Pizza and the Restaurant Wars episodes if you want to know why. He’s a good cook and person –and that’s what I like. For years, we played a cooking game like Beat Bobby Flay (I’m Bobby... Read more
First, he really said this: And second, syncophants nearly wet themselves tweeting what a fantastic idea this was. I screenshot this but feel unclean for having seen it at all. So, President Donald Trump mentioned he wouldn’t mind being named Pope. Leaving aside the abolute hell no gag reflex, (and it isn’t easy), this is comedy gold. So I will started brainstorming things the Don would do if elected to the papacy, tongue planted firmly in cheekiness. THINGS PRESIDENT TRUMP... Read more
Pope Francis died Easter Monday and the world has lost a good and faithful servant of the Catholic church. His papacy began in the fall of 2013, when then Pope Emeritus Benedict retired. Hallmarked by a consistent deep love for the poor, manifested in visible outreach to the imprissoned and the marginalized, Pope Francis also called on the modern world, the western world, the wealthy world, to recognize the humanity of the poor and the suffering. When Pope Francis came... Read more
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